How the chicken at the Chinese restaurant is so tender.
Here is a short article about what "velveting" is and why I will use it in many of my Asian recipes from now on.
What is it?
In short, it is a 2-step method in Chinese cuisine used to tenderize meat and give it a specific texture. This is achieved by marinating the meat in various ingredients and then preparing it quickly by blanching it briefly before cooking it a second time, for example in a wok at a high temperature.
Oil, egg white, cornstarch, bicarbonate, salt
The exact ingredients used to accomplish this vary. The method used to quickly cook the meat also varies. But here is a method that I found easy to accomplish at home with ingredients that are normally found in the pantry.
I combine egg whites, oil, cornstarch, baking soda, and salt into a marinade. Then I slice the chicken into thin slices.
For 500g chicken breasts (about 2 pieces), I use one egg white, 1 tbsp neutral oil, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda and a tsp salt.
Mixed with thinly sliced chicken breast
Quantities and ingredients may vary, but cornstarch and egg white seem to be something that appears in most recipes I've looked through. This particular mixture was one of the first ones I found and tried. It worked fine so I'm sticking to what I've discovered works well.
Once the marinade and sliced meat have been mixed, let it sit for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, I prepare a pot with 2 liters of water and about 2 tablespoons of oil. Then I boil the water so that it bubbles when the meat and its marinade have stood for their 20 minutes and then it's time to dump the meat in and give it a first cooking.
A way to do it at home
To cook the meat for the first time, you can use several different methods, but for home use, blanching is a good option.
2 liters of water and 2 tablespoons of oil
I read that people often fry in restaurants, but it is easier to blanch / cook at home because it is cheaper, safer and you don't have to worry about taking care of the oil that is left over when you are finished with the process.
The result will certainly be better with deep frying or a quick frying in hot oil in a wok, but for home use, blanching is more than enough.
So I take out a larger pot (about 5 liters) and fill it with 2 liters of water and 2 tablespoons of neutral oil. Then I turn on the heat about 5 minutes before the marinade has been in for 20 minutes so that the water is boiling when it is time to cook.
50-90 seconds
Then just dump the meat into the boiling water. The temperature will drop, but it should still be enough to cook the meat.
The process here takes 60-90 seconds and I've done it for 90 seconds to make sure the meat is cooked. It may sound like a short time, but the thin slices cook quickly and you shouldn't be too aggressive at this stage.
I've also stirred the pot a bit to make sure the meat doesn't clump together, although I'm not sure if that's necessary.
Drain in a pasta strainer.
There will be a lot of foam when the meat is blanched, which is to be expected. I just make sure not to save any of it.
After 90 seconds, I scoop out the meat (avoiding the foam here) and let it drain in a pasta strainer or similar. You can also rinse the meat to get rid of any stubborn foam if needed.
From here, the meat is prepared and ready to use in various dishes. It may not look very appealing at this stage, but this is just the first step and most likely the meat will be fried in a hot wok or similar to get some surface and color.
As an example, I made a quick dish (as shown in the picture for this article) by heating 2 tablespoons of neutral oil in a wok, quickly frying the meat until it got some color and then I mixed in 0.75dl light soy sauce, 0.75dl mirin, 20ml chicken stock, a few tablespoons of water and 1.5 tsp cornstarch and let it reduce until I was happy with the consistency. A quick and easy chicken dish that makes enough for 3 or 4 servings depending on how hungry you are and how much rice you have.
Is it possible to prepare?
One of the things I've been trying to do more of lately is to prepare as many steps as possible and, for example, have cooked meat ready in the freezer for the days I have less time, but still want to eat something good.
Vacuum packaging
Being able to prepare and have ready-made meat available is also perfect for when you want to offer food but don't have to do everything at once, but only the most necessary and final steps to complete the meal.
So I chose to cook 2 chicken breasts as above, then cool them down to near room temperature and vacuum pack the meat. Then I put it in the freezer to test if it was okay to use at a later time.
The freezing method actually worked well and I thought the meat was just as tender after it had thawed and cooked.
Then it is also possible to store the meat in the fridge for 1-2 days so freezing may not be necessary, but it is good to know that there are alternatives.
Another thing I also found out when I researched this is that it also works for beef, but at the time of writing I have no experience with this so I will leave that to future research and write about. :)
