Velveting Chicken for Stir-fries
from https://thewoksoflife.com/

Velveting is a critical Chinese cooking technique. Meat or seafood is marinated and pre-cooked in oil (or sometimes poached in boiling water). Then, the cook adds it to a stir-fry with other ingredients.

Have you ever tried stir-frying chicken, only to have it appear (and taste) dry in the finished dish? Have you ever wondered how Chinese restaurants get their chicken to be so tender and moist-looking? Velveting is the secret! It gives the chicken that silky texture, with retained moisture and flavor from the marinade. It also protects the chicken from the hot wok, yielding juicy chicken.

All restaurants (and most home cooks) velvet their chicken before making stir-fries, fried rice, etc. but they don’t all use the same method. Some restaurants use baking soda as part of their marinade (you can tell by the crunchy or snappy texture of their chicken). In most cases, good quality chicken is already tender, which is why we don’t recommend adding any baking soda. We’ve seen other sources on the Internet suggest adding egg white to velveting marinades. This is unnecessary. Your return on that investment just isn’t worth the trouble. In my experience, most Chinese cooks do not do this.

So what do we recommend? To marinate chicken for stir fries, we use a simple mixture of water, oil, cornstarch, and a flavor agent like soy sauce or oyster sauce. Other ingredients, like Shaoxing wine or sesame oil, may also be layered in.

So what is oil velveting? Oil velveting is a common practice Chinese restaurants use as a first cooking step. The equivalent Chinese phrase, zǒu yóu (走油) in Mandarin or jau yau in Cantonese, means “passing through oil.” It essentially refers to deep-frying. We recommend searing the chicken in a hot wok, as opposed to deep-frying. Not only is it easier, searing really brings out the chicken flavor and creates an ever-so-light crust. This crust eventually melts when your chicken is added back into your sauce, creating extra flavor. The result is a silky mouthfeel and a flavor bomb in each bite!

For those of you who want to reduce fat in your diet or simply want that delicate taste of Cantonese cooking, you can blanch your chicken in boiling water. When blanching chicken, you may want to add a pinch of salt or more soy sauce or oyster sauce to the marinade, since some of that seasoning will be washed away while cooking.

Remember, in both scenarios, you will be cooking the chicken again in your stir-fry, so avoid overcooking it during the pre-cook process!

How to Velvet Chicken for Stir-Fry

12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast (or thighs, 340g)
3 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons soy sauce (or 1 tablespoon oyster sauce)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

First, slice your chicken into 1 ½ to 2 inch pieces, about ¼ inch thick. Remember to slice across the grain, especially if using chicken breast.

Add the water and soy sauce (or oyster sauce) to the chicken in a medium bowl, and mix until the chicken is well-coated. Set aside for 5-10 minutes. In that time, most of the liquid will be absorbed into the chicken.

Add the cornstarch and vegetable oil and mix again until everything’s incorporated and the chicken is uniformly coated. For the best results, let the chicken sit for 15 to 20 minutes to marinate.

To sear, place your wok over high heat. When it starts to smoke lightly, add a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil to coat the surface of the wok. Add the chicken in one layer, and allow to sear for 20 seconds. Stir-fry until the chicken has turned opaque, and remove from the wok.

To blanch, add the chicken to a wok filled with boiling water. When it turns opaque, cook for an additional 10 seconds (the chicken will be cooked 80% through). Then, remove from the wok.

Remember, in both scenarios, you will be cooking the chicken again in your stir-fry, so avoid overcooking it during the pre-cook process!

Servings: 4