How do the Chinese get their chicken so tender?

Velveting is a Chinese cooking technique to tenderize or silken chicken, beef, and other meats. There are different methods of velveting, including oil velveting, water velveting, velveting with baking soda, and using egg whites. I prefer velveting chicken with baking soda.

What do Chinese takeaways use for chicken?

If the menu states chicken, then the kitchen is using chicken. Now, it may not be boneless, skinless, all white breast meat. But it will be some part of the chicken. Chinese cooks prefer to use dark meat because it has more flavor and doesn't dry out.

What do Chinese soak their chicken in?

Velveting meat is a Chinese cooking technique used in Chinese restaurants. The process of velveting is one where you marinate raw meat in cornstarch and egg white or bicarbonate of soda to give it a soft, slippery, velvety texture.

Why is Chinese fried chicken so crispy?

This is done by first poaching the chicken in water with spices (e.g. star anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, Sichuan pepper, ginger, fennel, and scallions), drying it, coating with a syrup of vinegar and sugar, letting it dry thoroughly (which helps make the skin crispy) and deep-frying.

Chicken & Mushroom Stir Fry - Khin's Kitchen - Chinese Chicken Recipes (2024)

Published: Jan 9, 2021 · Modified: Mar 16, 2021 · by Khin · This post may contain affiliate links.

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Chicken & Mushroom Stir Fry recipe with tender chicken slices, mushroom, and veggies tossed with quick homemade stir fry sauce. Easy weeknight dinner ready in 20 minutes and incredibly delicious!

Chicken & Mushroom Stir Fry - Khin's Kitchen - Chinese Chicken Recipes (1)

Stir fry dishes and are a staple in our Asian households and it takes no time to make and very versatile. You can add any meat or vegetables left in your fridge and make it a stir fry. And all the seasoning sauces used are cupboard-friendly. Perfect for a weeknight dinner or a quick meal for any time of the day. You just need to pair it with a bowl of simple cooked rice or noodle to serve together.

We can find this type of stir fry chicken dishes in most Chinese restaurants and takeaways. Every restaurant and family has their own version of it. In this recipe, I’ll share my homemade version of chicken and mushroom stir fry with simple steps! Tastes just like you’ve had at your favourite Chinese restaurant!

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Simple ingredients you will need

Chicken & Marinade

I used chicken breast in this recipe, but you can swap it with chicken thigh, lamb, beef, prawns or any protein you wish. If you wish to make it with beef, use a tender steak cut like sirloin, rib-eye. Rump or flank steak goes well too. You can simply season the meat slices with soy sauce, baking soda, corn starch and a bit of sugar.

Baking soda and corn starch in the marinade keep the meat slices moist and tender result when you stir fry with high heat.

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Vegetables that you can swap or add extra

Use any stir fry vegetables that can cook quickly over high heat wok/pan. I love to add button mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, and spring onions. Other vegetables like, broccoli, kai lan ( Chinese broccoli ), snow peas, baby corn, carrot, bamboo shoots goes well too. Chinese-style chicken and asparagus stir fry is one of our family's favourite too!

For vegetarian option, swap the chicken or meat with for tofu for an alternative. If you are a tofu stir fry fan, you can try out my Spicy Tofu Stir Fry recipe.

Stir Fry Sauce :

Like most Chinese stir fry sauce, this sauce is simply mixed with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, sugar, and white pepper. This homemade sauce mix tastes better than any store-bought stir fry sauce you have ever tried! It tastes sweet and savoury same time and gives the dish a mouth-watering result. Make the extra sauce and keep in the fridge and use it in any of your stir-fries like fried rice, fried noodles, stir fry chicken, or vegetables. In an airtight container, it lasts in the fridge for up to 7 days.

Quick Cooking Process

Once the pan is heated up everything cook very quickly, you need to prepare all ingredients and stir fry sauce ahead.

Marinade the chicken slices with cornstarch, soy sauce, baking soda, and sugar, then fry in wok/skillet pan with vegetable oil until chicken cooked through. Take the chicken slices out and set aside before stir-frying the vegetables to prevent it from overcooking. If the chicken stick to the pan, remove the crusts and add a drizzle a bit more oil before you add the vegetables.
Add dry chillies, onion slices for few seconds first, and add mushroom and bell peppers in.
Toss everything togetherwith medium-high heat for 1-2 minutes, place the cooked chicken slices back in the wok, pour the sauce mixture. Continue stir fry for another 1-2 minutes, add the spring onions, and combine all ingredients evenly.

Traditional Wok or Non-stick Wok?

Traditionally Chinese stir fry dishes are prepared on high heat wok to sear the meat. But for home cooking we can make it happen with any pan, non-stick, or skillet we already have in our kitchen. You just need to make sure to cook it on medium or high heat, based on the pan and stove you use. I use both non-stick wok and carbon steel wok for my stir-fries depend on how much cleaning and wok seasoning time I got.

Non-stick wok/pan transfer heat quicker and less likely the food from sticking to the pan. You can use less oil in a non-stick wok/pan than a traditional wok. Cleaning time is super fast as you don't need to season like traditional wok after cleaning.

If you a fan of unique wok flavour you can use traditional well-seasoned Chinese wok like carbon steel wok. It can stick sometimes depend on the ingredients you use, you need to add a bit more oil than a regular non-stick pan. We use carbon steel wok sometimes as my husband really likes the wok char flavour but for the days that I don't have much time for cleaning or seasoning the wok I just use my non-stick wok.

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How to serve this dish?

You can simply serve this dish with cooked rice, noodles or fried rice. I usually serve over hot steamed rice, topped with extra toasted sesame seeds, spring onions, and crispy chilli oil. Pair it with Hot and Sour Soup, Crispy Fried Wonton, and make it a perfect family dinner.

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