Butter-Soy Chicken and Asparagus Stir-Fry

By Kevin Pang

Updated January 5, 2025

  • Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Judy Kim.
Media 1 of 1
Total Time
50 minutes
Prep Time
10 minutes
Cook Time
40 minutes (including 30 minutes' marinating)
Rating
5(1,723)
Comments
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How do Chinese restaurant stir-fries deliver silky and tender meat with a sauce that seems to cling? The secret is a technique called velveting. When meat is velveted (a two-step process of marinating in a cornstarch mixture and blanching in either oil or water), even lean cuts like chicken breast become supremely juicy. Here, velveting does the heavy lifting in this lightning-quick stir-fry, featuring a sublimely savory sauce of butter, soy sauce and lemon. To speed things along further, you can prep the vegetables while the chicken marinates.

Featured in: The Simple Trick to Silky, Juicy Chicken Breast

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Ingredients

Yield:2 to 4 servings

FOR THE CHICKEN

  • 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (10 to 12 ounces), or 2 smaller chicken breasts (about 6 ounces each), thinly sliced

  • 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch

  • ½ teaspoon baking soda

  • ¼ teaspoon sugar

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce

  • Black pepper

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • 1 tablespoon egg white (from 1 egg; save the rest for an omelet)

FOR THE STIR-FRY

  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

  • ¼ pound asparagus (4 to 5 medium stalks), cut into 1-inch pieces

  • 6 large button mushrooms, quartered (about 4 ounces)

  • ½ red bell pepper, sliced

  • Salt and black pepper

  • 3 tablespoons butter

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

  • 1 lemon wedge

  • Toasted sesame seeds, for serving (optional)

  • Cooked rice, for serving

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (2 to 4 servings)

20 grams carbs; 80 milligrams cholesterol; 337 calories; 9 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 7 grams saturated fat; 19 grams fat; 2 grams fiber; 519 milligrams sodium; 22 grams protein; 2 grams sugar

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

  1. Step 1

    Marinate the chicken: In a bowl, combine chicken, cornstarch, baking soda, sugar, salt, soy sauce and a few cracks of black pepper. Add the oil and 1 tablespoon of egg white. Using a spoon, mix until well combined and the chicken appears glossy and velvety. Cover bowl and refrigerate chicken for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

  2. Step 2

    When chicken is marinated, place a colander in your sink. In a saucepan, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Carefully add marinated chicken to the boiling water. Use tongs or chopsticks to separate the pieces (some egg white may float to the surface). Cook for 90 seconds, then drain the chicken in the colander. Shake the colander to remove excess liquid (the chicken won’t be fully cooked yet).

  3. Step 3

    Start the stir-fry: Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high. When the oil is hot (it should flow quickly when you tilt the pan), add the asparagus, mushrooms and bell pepper and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer chicken from the colander to the skillet and add a pinch of salt and pepper. Stir-fry constantly for 1 minute.

  4. Step 4

    Push the chicken and vegetables to one side of the skillet and reduce heat to medium-low. In an empty area of the skillet, add the butter, allowing it to melt and sizzle. Then pour the soy sauce onto the butter and stir to combine. Push the chicken and vegetables into the sauce and stir-fry for 30 seconds. (The sauce should cling to the chicken.)

  5. Step 5

    Transfer to a platter and squeeze juice from the lemon wedge over top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Serve immediately with rice.

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Ratings

5 out of 5
1,723 user ratings
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Comments

Kevin Pang

@Carla Hi Carla, it’s Kevin Pang, the recipe developer here. Yes, you can velvet the chicken a day in advance and keep it in your fridge until it’s ready for stir-frying.

Kevin Pang

@Brownhut Kevin the recipe developer here. You should use light soy sauce if it’s a Chinese-style soy, but here I prefer the Japanese-style shoyu (like a Kikkoman).

Squirrel Butler

Brownhut, how do you know this needs some oyster sauce and sesame oil? Is it because that's "the way I always do it and I know best"? I am genuinely curious about why someone would criticize a recipe (which you are doing) without offering a rationale, or even a "I made this recipe and feel it is missing something".

MaureenPDX.

I enjoyed making this dish and learning a new technique! And it was delicious. For those wanting to change the recipe or “spice it up,” I would suggest that you make the dish as written and savor the delicious sauce and the sublimely tender chicken produced by following the recipe. The aroma from the butter -soy sauce was wonderful and the flavor was an almost like a caramel— so good! Don’t expect a spicy sauce ; this is a delicate, aromatic coating on the chicken and veg. The only change I would make is to add more asparagus.

cooks4bob

Whenever I have a recipe that calls for an egg yolk I freeze the egg white so I always have one available for velveting. This technique works well with shrimp too.

Lisa T

Love the chicken technique. Came out so moist my daughter swore it was thighs instead of breast meat. BUT! Agree with those who said needed flavor. I added three cloves of garlic, minced, right before the chicken went in. Would add ginger next time. We wanted more veggies too

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