By Martha Rose Shulman
- Total Time
- 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes' refrigeration
- Rating
- 4(472)
- Notes
- Read community notes
The extra step to “velvet” the chicken is worth it for such tender, succulent chicken. I always look for sustainably raised chicken.
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Ingredients
Yield:3 main-dish servings
- 12ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut across the grain in ¼-inch-thick slices
- 1tablespoon egg white, lightly beaten
- 2teaspoons cornstarch
- 1½teaspoons plus 1 tablespoon rice wine or dry sherry
- Salt to taste
- 2tablespoons hoisin sauce
- 1teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
- 2tablespoons peanut oil, rice bran oil or canola oil
- 1bunch Chinese broccoli (about 1 pound), ends trimmed
- 1tablespoon minced ginger
- 2fat garlic cloves, minced
- ½teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 8shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, sliced thin
- Rice, whole grains or noodles for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (3 servings)
328 calories; 13 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 5 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 21 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 32 grams protein; 794 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
Step
1
In a large bowl, stir together the egg white, cornstarch, 1½ teaspoons of the rice wine or sherry, salt to taste and 1½ teaspoons water. When you can no longer see any cornstarch, add the chicken and stir together until coated. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes
Step
2
Bring 2 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a large saucepan and add the Chinese broccoli. Boil 2 minutes, until it is just crisp-tender, and transfer it to a bowl of cold water. Do not drain the water from the pot. Drain the broccoli and dry on paper towels. Cut into 2-inch lengths
Step
3
Combine the remaining rice wine, the hoisin sauce and the soy sauce in a small bowl and set near your wok
Step
4
Bring the water in the pot back to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of the oil and turn the heat down so that the water is at a bare simmer. Carefully add the chicken to the water, stirring so that the pieces don’t clump. Cook until the chicken turns opaque on the surface but is not cooked through, about 1 minute. Drain in a colander
Step
5
Heat a 14-inch flat-bottomed wok or 12-inch steel skillet over high heat until a drop of water evaporates within a second or two when added to the pan. Swirl in the remaining oil by adding it to the sides of the pan and swirling the pan, then add the garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and stir-fry for no more than 10 seconds. Add the mushrooms, chicken, broccoli, hoisin sauce mixture and salt to taste. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through, and serve with grains or noodles
- Advance preparation: You can blanch the Chinese broccoli and marinate the chicken several hours ahead, but the stir-frying should happen at the last minute
Ratings
4
out of 5
472
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Cooking Notes
Sara
It's the "Velveting" step, and it really does make a difference in the texture of the chicken. You're not just boiling the chicken, you're sealing on the egg wash. You shouldn't cook it all the way through in the water.
Robert
I'd say triple the sauce. I used rice but think noodles, thin, best. I cut back on the red pepper.
Sara
Let the chicken and broccoli dry off pretty well before stir-frying, or the added moisture makes things steam instead of fry.
Dawn
Easy, delicious. Substituted green beans for broccoli, which is not popular in my home. Also, I chop ginger and keep it in my freezer, so when I want to make a dish like this, I have it at the ready, saves a bit of time.
Lis lewis
Too much work for too little reward.
ET
What with blanching/shocking the greens and velveting the chicken, this recipe was very elaborate for a "just fine" end result.
Stir fries should be cooked quick and hot. Even with my 12" skillet heated until blazing, the crowded pan (shrooms, greens, chix, and sauce all get dumped in at once) just steamed. I'd suggest stir-frying the ingredients in batches if you want sear. Otherwise this dish should be called "Asian chicken in sauce," not "stir fry."
Silicon Valley
This was OK but not really very flavorful.
jen
This was disappointing. The sauce was flat- too little depth to the flavor and the 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper was distracting instead of enhancing the flavor. Did like the velveting technique here and may use that in other chicken stir fry dishes.
Debbie K
I had never heard of velveting chicken… loved it! I did double the sauce and added a lot more veggies (carrots, red bell pepper, onion). I did not find it to be overly complicated or too many steps. A little mise en place goes a long way.
ShannonW
Extra effort was worth it for the lovely texture of the chicken and crisp broccolini. I used Chinese rice wine but substituted broccolini for gai lan and used 4 oz baby shiitake. Heat and size of the pan was critical to good texture; the chew paired nicely with brown rice. I would have liked the double the sauce, as it was a little bland with so little sauce ratio.
Bryndis
I substituted pressed tofu for the chicken and skipped the egg but heeded the rest of the recipe. It was excellent, although tripling the sauce sounds like a good idea.
LLC
Delicious as written. Easy and flavorful. I did double the sauce.
Mica
Agree with more sauce and maybe an extra vegetable or two, otherwise a little bland. Broccoli and chicken are good texture after following the steps.
Megan in Portland
I shy away from a lot of Asian recipes because there are so many steps and ingredients. But this is the first one for me that called for blanching the vegetables and the chicken (oh so briefly) so that in the final flash-fry nothing gets overcooked. Very successful!
Melissa
Added zucchini for extra vegetable (did not blanch). Need to double sauce.
GeeGee
Made this close to directions. Out of mushrooms and used sake (a rice wine). Took another’s advice to do boiling steps in wok, simplified things. Chicken texture was perfect, so don’t skip boiling. I added a splash of sesame sauce and scallions while cooking. Sauce a little sweet, possibly brand of hoisin. Next time I’ll make sure to add mushrooms and will add splash of fish sauce.
Lisa
Delicious but double or triple the sauce. Too bland otherwise.
mrbsmith
Good with bok choy
margaret
delioious
Allan
I highly recommend doubling or even tripling the aromatics in many of the Asian recipes here at the NY Times. I did the same for this one and it turned out pretty well.
brisketbeagle
Loved the end result. Took others' suggestions to double the sauce and that worked well. Used Chinese broccoli ("gai lan"), but may try plain broccoli next time; I find gai lan inconsistent in bitterness...salt water blanching usually works, but harvest time/seasonal conditions may enhance bitter flavors that can overwhelm the dish. The first batch of gai lan that I tried wound up in the trash. Switched to "baby" gai lan and that was fine.
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