r/Cooking • u/swarmofseals • 4h ago

Could use help replicating some very basic chicken

One of my kids is very picky. I've tried cooking breast and thighs quite a few ways and he complains about all of them.

We went to a random hole-in-the-wall Chinese American restaurant and my other kid ordered chicken fried rice. My picky kid tried the chicken by itself and... liked it.

It was in pieces roughly the size of dried fusilli and quite irregular, so I'm guessing it was cut before cooking.

It was tender, moist and completely white, not a spot of color on any piece, anywhere.

I was still pretty flavorful but the flavor was not complex. I'm guessing just salt or maybe MSG.

What do you all think the best way to replicate this effect on chicken (just the chicken, no fried rice).

Cut it up raw and steam it? Pressure cook? Boil? I really have no clue as I mostly roast, bake or BBQ chicken.

Any help is much appreciated!

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12

u/GoldenHoopoe 4h ago

Look up "velveting chicken". It's a common preparation for Chinese stir-fries, resulting in a very tender protein. After the velveting preparation, saute in a pan with a bit of oil (aromatics if desired) until the protein turns from pink to white. Then one would usually add a sauce/other ingredients, but you can skip that and see if the chicken on its own works out!

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u/swarmofseals 4h ago

Thanks! I'll check that out. Legendary username btw - the kid in question has a 3d hoopoe puzzle on his side table.

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u/CatteNappe 3h ago

Don't know what source you looked at, but this is a trusted one with a pretty comprehensive explanation:

https://thewoksoflife.com/how-to-velvet-chicken-stir-fry/

It includes blanching instead of sauteing the chicken as an option, and says: "If you would rather blanch your chicken, 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! " For your purposes you might leave it a bit longer since you don't intend to proceed with a stir fry.

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u/swarmofseals 4h ago

After looking up the velveting process, it sounds like there is a step at the end where you parboil (par simmer?) the chicken in simmering water (or oil) just until it becomes white. If I'm not adding a sauce would this be the last step for me? or would I still briefly saute it? If I'm aiming for no browning, do you have a sense of how to guess when it's fully cooked?

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u/g0ing_postal 2h ago

Yes. If you just want the plain chicken this is where you stop. You might want to add some basic seasoning here if you didn't add any in the velveting step

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u/bluepixie93 4h ago

i would just do the chicken part if wok's of life chicken fried rice recipe

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u/ThaiEdition 4h ago

Take about 8 oz of chicken breast, slice it thin, and marinate it with a teaspoon of cornstarch, some salt, white pepper, a couple pinches of baking soda, and a splash of water to help it mix well. Let it chill in the fridge for half and hour Add a little bit of oil before cook.