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Ever wonder how restaurants get that perfectly tender chicken in their stir fry? The secret is velveting. It’s a simple step that makes the chicken unbelievably soft and juicy, and once you learn how to velvet chicken, you won’t want to make it any other way.
What Is Velveted Chicken?
When my husband worked at a Chinese restaurant as a teen, one of his favorite things to make was stir fry. A few years ago, we were out to eat and I asked him what restaurants do to make the chicken for stir fry so tender. I don’t know how this never came up before, but he said, “We just kind of parboiled it before adding it to everything else.” My mind was actually blown. Also, I was mad the rest of the night that he had been (unintentionally) keeping this awesome culinary secret from me.
Later I learned that this “parboiling” is an actual technique used in a lot of Asian cooking called “velveting”. Instead of drying out in a hot pan, the chicken is coated in a light marinade and briefly cooked (or parboiled) before it goes into the stir fry. This step locks in moisture and gives the chicken that soft, silky texture you usually only get from takeout. It also helps the sauce cling to the chicken better, so every bite is nice and saucy. It might sound like an extra step, but this is what takes your stir fry from good to restaurant-quality. If you haven’t tried this method before, you are in for a treat!
🩷 Erica
Ingredients to Make Velvet Chicken
Chicken breasts – Chicken breasts really are the best thing to use. The chicken will get so tender, they will pretty much taste like chicken thighs. I like to partially freeze mine before cutting. Freezing will help you to get really thin slices.
Chicken broth – Just regular ol’ chicken broth. You can use vegetable broth if you prefer but I like the flavor if chicken best.
Soy sauce – You can use regular or low-sodium for the soy sauce.
Vegetable oil – You can also use avocado oil, peanut oil, canola oil or any other mild oil.
Cornstarch – This helps thicken the marinade and will also help it all cling better to the chicken.
How to Velvet Chicken Step-By-Step
- Cut the chicken into thin strips, slicing across the grain. If the chicken is slightly frozen, it’s much easier to get those thin, even pieces.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the chicken broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and oil until smooth.
- Add the sliced chicken and toss until every piece is well coated. Let it sit for about 20 minutes.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drain the marinade from the chicken, then add it to the boiling water in batches. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the chicken turns white.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken from the boiling water.
- Place chicken on paper towels to continue draining as you make the other batches.
- Immediately add it straight to your hot pan with your sauce (like this mushroom chicken). Toss over high heat until fully cooked and nicely coated.
- You can also make this recipe in bulk and freeze for later! Allow the chicken to cool completely, divide into bags, and freeze!
Expert Tips for Velveting Chicken
Partially freeze the chicken before slicing: This recipe is for a 20 pound ham, so it’s likely you’ll have leftovers. Lucky you! Dice up the ham and use it one of these recipes: split pea soup, omelettes, ham salad (link to recipes).
Slice the chicken against the grain: Look for the faint lines running through the chicken. That’s the grain. Turn your knife so you’re cutting across those lines, not along them. This keeps the chicken nice and tender instead of stringy.
Don’t overcook during the velveting step: You’re not fully cooking the chicken during this step, just setting the coating. It should only take a couple minutes until it turns white. Finish the cooking in the stir fry over high heat.
Have everything ready before you start: Once the chicken is velveted, stir fry cooking goes fast. Your veggies and sauce should already be prepped.
How to Use Velveted Chicken
This is the fun part! Once you have velveting chicken down, you can use it a billion different ways. You can sauté up some veggies (onions, zucchini, mushrooms, peppers, carrots, snow peas… etc…) and use store-bought stir fry sauce or make your own! Or you can swap out the chicken in so many different recipes and simply add the velveted chicken instead. I use velveted chicken with our Kung Pao Chicken recipe and it is outstanding. Try it with our Chicken Lettuce Wraps for a fresh, light dinner, or toss it with the ingredients and sauce in our Mushroom Chicken Recipe. If you want to put a Thai spin on it, try it with our Thai Peanut Noodles or with our Massaman Chicken Curry recipe!
Storing and Re-Heating Tips
I will often triple or quadruple this recipe and portion it into 2-cup freezer bags. That way, when I’m making dinner, I can just pull out a bag, thaw it, and add it straight to my meal. I can literally have dinner on the table in about 10 minutes when I do it this way. Let the velveted chicken cool completely before storing. You can keep it in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, or freeze it for longer storage. It’s perfectly fine to freeze the chicken even if it isn’t fully cooked through yet, since it will finish cooking when you add it to your stir fry. For freezing, place the cooled chicken in a freezer-safe bag, press out as much air as possible, and lay it flat so it freezes evenly and thaws quickly. When you’re ready to use it, thaw in the refrigerator overnight or add it straight to a hot pan from frozen with a splash of broth or sauce and cook until heated through.
Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but you won’t get quite the same texture. The quick par-cooking step is what sets that coating and keeps the chicken from overcooking later. If you skip it, it’ll still be good, just not quite as tender.
Yes, and once you try it, you’ll see why restaurants do it this way. It keeps the chicken juicy, gives it that soft texture, and even helps the sauce cling better to every piece.
Definitely! This works really well with beef, pork, and even shrimp. The process is the same and gives you that same tender, restaurant-style result.
What to Serve With Stir Fry
Have you tried velveting chicken yet? I’d love to hear what you think! Drop a comment below and let me know how you used it in your favorite dishes. And don’t forget to take a pic and tag us on Instagram @favoritefamilyrecipes! 📸🍲
Easy Velveted Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- water, for boiling, unsalted
Instructions
- Cut chicken into thin strips against the grain. Slightly frozen chicken makes this much easier and helps you get that thin, restaurant-style cut.
- In a bowl, whisk together chicken broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and oil until smooth.
- Add chicken and toss until every piece is evenly coated. Let it sit for about 20 minutes.
- Note: If you’re making a stir fry, this is a great time to sauté your vegetables until crisp-tender and get your sauce ready in a wok or skillet. Reduce the heat to low while you velvet the chicken.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drain off the marinade, then add the chicken in batches. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, just until the chicken turns white.
- Remove with a slotted spoon or drain in a colander. Shake off excess water.
- Add the velveted chicken straight to your favorite stir fry and toss over high heat until fully cooked and coated in sauce.
Notes
- Slightly freeze before slicing: Chill the chicken for 20–30 minutes so it firms up. It makes it much easier to slice thin, even pieces.
- Slice against the grain: Look for the faint lines in the chicken and cut across them, not along them. This keeps the chicken tender instead of chewy.
- Don’t overcook when velveting: You’re just setting the coating here. Cook until the chicken turns white, then finish it in your stir fry over high heat.
- Prep everything ahead: Once the chicken is velveted, things move fast. Have your veggies and sauce ready to go.
- Make ahead and freeze: This is great for batch cooking. Portion into freezer bags (about 2 cups each), press out the air, and freeze flat. It reheats quickly and makes weeknight dinners so easy.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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