Chinese Soy Chicken Stir-Fry with Vegetables
Chinese restaurant chicken is coated in cornflour and egg white before frying — a technique called velveting — which traps the moisture and keeps it tender. It's fried fast over high heat, then the vegetables and a cornflour-thickened sauce go in and set in under a minute.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Total
- 32 min
- Calories
- 380
Photo: Takeaway — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
The reason Chinese restaurant chicken is so tender has nothing to do with the chicken. It's a two-minute step called velveting, and it changes the dish completely.
Method
-
1
Velveting
Toss the sliced chicken with the egg white, the cornflour and a pinch of salt, and leave it fifteen minutes. That coating locks the juice inside.
⏱ 16 min -
2
The sauce
Mix the soy, vinegar, honey, sesame oil and slaked cornflour in one cup and set it beside the pan.
⏱ 3 min -
3
Frying the chicken
Over the highest heat in a wide oiled pan, fry the chicken in two batches, two minutes each, until it turns white on the outside. Lift it out.
⏱ 6 min -
4
Vegetables and sauce
In the same pan: garlic and ginger for fifteen seconds, then the peppers and broccoli for two minutes, stirring. Return the chicken, pour in the sauce, and stir until it thickens and turns glossy — under a minute.
⏱ 5 min
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Tips that actually matter
- Fry the chicken in two batches; a crowded pan steams rather than fries.
- The sauce sets in seconds — kill the heat the moment it turns glossy.
- Slice the chicken against the grain for a more tender result.
People also ask
My chicken came out dry.
Either it was overcooked or the velveting step was skipped. Two minutes a batch is enough — it finishes cooking in the sauce.
Can I use beef or prawns?
Yes, same method. Prawns need one minute only; thinly sliced beef needs two.
The sauce won't thicken.
Add another half spoon of cornflour slaked in cold water, pouring it in gradually over medium heat while stirring.
Cook mode
Chinese Soy Chicken Stir-Fry with Vegetables
-
1
Velveting
Toss the sliced chicken with the egg white, the cornflour and a pinch of salt, and leave it fifteen minutes. That coating locks the juice inside.
-
2
The sauce
Mix the soy, vinegar, honey, sesame oil and slaked cornflour in one cup and set it beside the pan.
-
3
Frying the chicken
Over the highest heat in a wide oiled pan, fry the chicken in two batches, two minutes each, until it turns white on the outside. Lift it out.
-
4
Vegetables and sauce
In the same pan: garlic and ginger for fifteen seconds, then the peppers and broccoli for two minutes, stirring. Return the chicken, pour in the sauce, and stir until it thickens and turns glossy — under a minute.
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