Easy Velveted Chicken Stir Fry

This healthy chicken stir fry is prepared in the authentic Chinese method of velveting.  It’s customize-able, so add whatever vegetables you like!

How much do you love cooking takeout meals at home?  Obviously I do, since it seems like every week or so I’m bringing you another takeout-inspired meal lol.  This one is super cool… it’s the stir fry you know and love, but cooked in the authentic Chinese cooking style of “velveting”!

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Simply Potatoes. All opinions are 100% mine.

Soooooo what exactly is “velveting”?  Honestly, before this, I had never even heard of it!  It’s a cooking technique that involves marinating the meat in a mixture of egg whites, cornstarch, rice wine, and salt.  For this one, I added a bit of sesame oil to the marinade as well.  Most of the meats you’ve had from Chinese restaurants, have been velveted!

Now measuring egg whites accurately can be tough… so here’s an awesome solution for you… All Whites liquid egg whites!

Not only are they a healthy source of protein, and a great way to always have egg whites on hand, but they’re also incredibly easy to measure out!  They’re found in the refrigerated section of your grocery store.

You can velvet the meat in oil as well… but why add those extra calories?  THIS article from Serious Eats showed that there really wasn’t a distinguishable difference between oil velveted and water velveted after the meat had been stir fried.

Once you’ve whisked together the velveting marinade, pour it over your chicken and set it in the refrigerator while you bring a pot of water to a boil.  Before cooking the chicken, quickly blanch your veggies, and remove with a strainer.  Now just carefully drop the marinated chicken into the water and boil for a minute or so, until the meat is opaque, but not cooked through yet.  Drain the chicken and let it dry.

At this point, it’s like a regular stir fry… you heat up some oil, add in your garlic and ginger, saute them, then add in your veggies and chicken, cover and steam, toss with sauce and that’s it!

One thing I love about stir fry’s is how customize-able they are!  If you aren’t a huge carrot or snow pea fan… feel free to swap for just about anything!  Mushrooms, asparagus, peppers, onions, broccoli… the sky’s the limit.

This meal comes together with minimal effort and time, and with maximum taste!!  It’s perfect for lunch, or a quick weeknight meal.

I served this chicken stir fry over some brown rice, but feel free to make some long grain white rice or even some quinoa to really bump up the protein factor!!

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Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!

Easy Velveted Chicken Stir Fry

4 from 1 vote

Author: The Chunky Chef

Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 servings

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This healthy chicken stir fry is prepared in the authentic Chinese method of velveting. It's customize-able, so add whatever vegetables you like!

Ingredients

• ▢ CHICKEN VELVETING MARINADE:
• ▢ 1 lb . boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenders, cut into ½ inch pieces
• ▢ 1/4 cup AllWhites® egg whites
• ▢ 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• ▢ 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
• ▢ 1 Tbsp rice wine
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt
• ▢ STIR-FRY:
• ▢ 3/4 lb . fresh snow peas
• ▢ 1/2 cup julienned carrot
• ▢ 1/4 cup sliced water chestnuts
• ▢ 2 Tbsp canola or peanut oil divided
• ▢ 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
• ▢ 1 Tbsp grated ginger
• ▢ 1/3 - 1/2 cup your favorite stir-fry sauce

Instructions

• Mix chicken, AllWhites egg whites, cornstarch, rice wine, sesame oil and salt in a medium bowl until thoroughly combined. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to a boil. Add peas and carrots; cook about 30 seconds or until peas are bright green. Remove with a strainer or slotted spoon to a bowl; reserve hot water.
• Remove chicken from refrigerator. Bring water back to a simmer; stir in 1 tablespoon oil. Add chicken to water, stirring to separate pieces. Cook about 1 minute or until chicken is opaque. Drain chicken.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger; cook and stir until fragrant. Add the sugar snap peas and carrots; cook and stir 1 minute. Add chicken and water chestnuts. Cover and steam 1 to 2 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in center.
• Toss with stir fry sauce, sprinkle with sliced green onions and sesame seeds.

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Chef Tips

** add in or even replace vegetables with ones of your choosing
Recipe from AllWhites

Nutrition Disclaimer

The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.

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