Brief Summary
This video provides a comprehensive guide on how to velvet chicken, a Chinese cooking technique used to tenderize and marinate meats before stir-frying. It covers the essential ingredients for velveting, including cornstarch, oil, water, soy sauce, and oyster sauce. The video also explains the difference between water and oil velveting, provides tips for cutting chicken, and discusses whether or not to use baking soda. Finally, it demonstrates how to stir-fry velveted chicken using both brown and white sauces, highlighting the differences in flavor and texture.
- Velveting is a Chinese technique to tenderize and marinate meats.
- Key ingredients include cornstarch, oil, water, and seasonings.
- The video covers both water and oil velveting methods.
Intro
Bill from The Woks of Life introduces a tutorial on velveting chicken, a Chinese technique for tenderizing and marinating meats before stir-frying. Mastering this technique is essential for Chinese cooking, as it significantly improves the tenderness of chicken in stir-fries. This is a common practice in Chinese restaurants and home cooking.
What is Velveting?
Velveting is a process that simultaneously marinates and tenderizes meat. It involves cooking with oil (deep frying) or water (poaching). The key ingredients for velveting are cornstarch, oil, water, and seasonings like soy sauce and oyster sauce. MSG or shaing wine can also be added for extra flavor.
Cutting chicken for stir fry
Two tips for cutting chicken are shared: partially freeze the chicken until frosty but not solid to make cutting easier, and cut against the grain to enhance tenderness. The chicken should be cut about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Cutting against the grain involves identifying the direction of the muscle fibers and slicing perpendicular to them.
Do I need baking soda to velvet chicken?
The video references another video about marinating beef, where baking soda is a key ingredient. While baking soda can be used in two methods—a quick pinch or a more involved tenderization with washing—it's not recommended for chicken in the water method. Overuse or prolonged exposure can give chicken a rubbery consistency. Some restaurants use baking soda to achieve a specific texture, but the presenter prefers to avoid it for a less rubbery result. The chicken should marinate for about half an hour, or even overnight, without baking soda to prevent excessive tenderization.
Velveted vs. Unvelveted Chicken
The video compares cooked velveted and unvelveted chicken to highlight the differences. The unvelveted chicken appears drier, while the velveted chicken retains more moisture and has a smoother texture due to the cornstarch and oil filling in the lines. The velveted chicken is described as juicier and more tender, making it easier to eat.
Oil velveting chicken (shortcut!)
Oil velveting typically involves deep-frying, but the video offers a shortcut: searing the chicken in a wok. This method provides a similar taste with less oil and mess. The wok should be heated with a good amount of high-smoke-point oil, like avocado oil, until smoking. The chicken is spread in an even layer and seared on both sides until about 80% done, then set aside. The cornstarch in the velveted chicken creates a crispy sear.
Stir fry (Brown sauce)
The video demonstrates a chicken with mixed vegetables stir-fry using a brown sauce. The wok is not washed after searing the chicken to retain the flavors. Garlic, carrots, celery, and mushrooms are added and stir-fried, followed by shaing wine to deglaze the wok. A pre-mixed sauce containing cornstarch is added, along with the chicken and snow peas. The dish is cooked until the sauce reduces and coats the ingredients.
Stir fry (White sauce)
The video demonstrates a chicken with mixed vegetables stir-fry using a white sauce. Cornstarch is added, and the sauce appears yellow due to chicken bouillon. Oil and ginger are added first to infuse the oil, followed by harder vegetables and then snow peas. Clear rice wine is used to maintain a clear sauce. The chicken is added, heated, and then the sauce is poured in. The dish is finished with snow peas and additional sauces, cooked until the sauce sticks to the vegetables and chicken.
Taste test
The taste test compares the brown sauce and white sauce chicken dishes. The velveted chicken in the brown sauce is described as having a silky texture, juicy, and flavorful, almost like dark meat. The white sauce version offers a bright flavor with ginger and garlic, highlighting the chicken's texture and the vegetables. The brown sauce is noted to be lighter than typical dark soy sauce-heavy versions, characteristic of Cantonese cooking, with the white sauce being even lighter.
