Enhance Browning by Brining the Meat
Chicken can dry out in no time. Several methods, such as salting, marinating, and simmering, can help, but there is another method you should use. For a juicy, tender piece of chicken, add velvet.
Velvet is a Chinese technique that helps small pieces of meat retain moisture while cooking at high temperatures. Even if you haven’t cooked chicken this way at home, you’ve probably eaten velvet chicken at your favorite Chinese restaurant. Velvet is a simple technique in which cuts of meat are coated in a cornstarch marinade, usually a mixture of cornstarch, and a flavored liquid such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, or a combination of sauces. The meat is then pre-cooked quickly and gently. This moment of partial cooking allows the starch coating to absorb moisture from the cooking liquid and meat juices, forming a soft, one might say “velvety” layer. The starches gelatinize and coat the meat, effectively protecting it from the next cooking process, which is likely to take place over high heat in the wok. The chicken stays tender and moist despite the smoky flavor of wok hei .
This method should be used for small cuts of meat that you plan to cook intensively. Slice the meat you will be searing into thin slices against the grain. Put the slices in a bowl and add a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce or other marinade you want to season the meat with. Let the marinade do its thing for 10 minutes or so. Sprinkle with a couple of teaspoons of corn starch. You want to add just enough starch to thinly coat the meat in a noticeably cloudy slurry, so dust some more if needed.
Rub this mixture into the slices until the corn starch has dissolved and all the slices are completely coated. Cook the first in boiling water or a thin layer of oil over high heat. Cook the meat until it becomes opaque, but do not cook it completely. It will only take about 30 seconds. The goal is to gelatinize the starches. If you cook it thoroughly now, you will end up with a tough piece of meat the second time you cook it, no matter how velvety you cover it. For a robust and easy velvet chicken , try this one . Set the partially cooked meat aside until you’re ready to toss it into the rest of the roast. After you try this method, you will want to ennoble everything. Luckily, you can do more than chicken. Try thinly sliced strips of beef, pork, or even shrimp.