A “secret” technique for preparing chicken can help homecooks achieve restaurant-quality tenderness, an expert says. While many Britons love cooking a bird for Sunday lunch, getting the kind of flavours that professional chefs achieve isn’t easy.
Thankfully, one foodie has shared the simple way you can get your chicken “unbelievably tender”, via a method used by the best. Nagi Maehashi, creator of the popular food blog RecipeTin Eats, says restaurants achieve that elusive texture by tendering via a method called “velveting” which involves baking soda. She describes the approach as a “closely-guarded Chinese restaurant secret” that can be used in various dishes featuring chicken breast, including stir fries.
To achieve the effect, she tosses chicken breast pieces with bicarbonate of soda before cooking, (3/4 teaspoons for every 250 grams of either chicken breast pieces or strips).
She then marinates them for 20 minutes before rinsing them thoroughly under running water, and removing excess water by patting them with a paper towel.
You can then cook up the chicken using your favoured recipe, with the technique well suited to various dishes, including a stir fry, Kung Pao Chicken and Chow Mein, Nagi says.
The technique is described as a “game changer” that will result in the “most tender chicken breast you’ve ever had”.