The Marinating Technique That Makes Stir-Fried Meats Extra Tender

One particular quality that marks a stir-fry as a stir-fry is the small, bite-sized pieces of each of the different components like the shredded, repurposed coleslaw vegetables and the tofu or chicken. As a downside, however, the chopped texture lends to potentially dry and rubbery meat. When small pieces of a protein hit the heat of a stir-fry, their cooking time is expedited, risking turning into an overly chewy piece of meat. Kenny Leung, executive chef at the New York Cantonese restaurant YAO, shared his tips to ensure tender and juicy stir-fry meat.

"We prepare meat with a technique called 'velveting,' which is a certain kind of marinating," Leung told The Takeout. "Velveting helps to retain moisture and lock the seasoning into the protein for maximum flavor and tenderness."

Leung said the restaurant mixes soy sauce, oil, water, cooking wine, sugar, sesame oil, and occasionally egg or fish sauce for its marinade. Though you can add any desired seasonings, Leung said an effective marinade can be as simple as soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil.

Velveting is a cooking technique that comes from Chinese cuisine. It's used to preserve the succulence of thinly sliced meat while also helping the sauce cling to the meat. To velvet meat and achieve that tender texture in a smooth sauce, envelop the meat in a combination of starch, liquid, and oil. Cornstarch, often used to thicken sauces with a glossy finish, is most commonly used.

This technique is fairly typical of popular sauces in Chinese takeout, which tends to feature juicy meat in silky, sturdy sauces. To replicate this method at home, add equal parts of oil and cornstarch to the marinated meat. Add the ingredients incrementally, checking to make sure that the sauce sticks to the meat. Once the consistency is set, let the meat marinate anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight. The longer the protein sits in the liquid, the more it will seal in juices and flavor.