The trick to a tasty chicken stir fry is the chicken marinade! This is one of the most common ways we marinade our chicken.

Why you want to marinade Chicken for Stir Fry

Marinating is a fantastic way to add flavor to your chicken and tenderize it before you stir fry.

It is also known as ‘velveting’.

Velveting is a Chinese cooking technique that marinates meat in an mixture to make it more tender and help it retain moisture while cooking. The mixture can include cornstarch, baking soda, egg whites, oil, vinegar, or rice wine. It also creates a protective barrier that seals in moisture and prevents the meat from drying out and becoming too tough.

While it is true that when it comes to marinating, the longer is better, even if you marinade for at least 15 minutes you will see and taste a difference!

Key Ingredients for Marinades

This is what marinades usually consist of:

• Acid: Helps tenderize the meat. Such as vinegar – it balances the saltiness of the soy sauce, and helps tenderizes the meat.
• Oil: Helps distribute flavors and prevents the protein from drying out.
• Soy sauce: This adds umami flavor and helps tenderize the meat by acting like a brine.
• Aromatics: Garlic, ginger, scallions, are my go to’s.
• Sweeteners: Honey, brown sugar all work to balance out the rest of the marinade
• Cornstarch: Cornstarch helps to retain moisture in the meat, preventing it from drying out during the high-heat cooking process of stir-frying. It also helps the marinade cling to the meat

How to marinade chicken for stir fry

First gather your ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 1/4 cup light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 2 garlic, minced

Cut chicken in to smaller pieces – this can be sliced, or in to bite size.

Place chicken in zip lock bag or a mixing bowl along with all the marinade ingredients. Combine and mix well so all of the chicken is soaked in the marinade sauce.

Marinade for 30 minutes up to overnight.

Stir fry chicken accordingly. If you’re looking for ideas, check out my chicken stir fry recipes:

Chicken and Snow Peas Stir Fry

Chicken Zucchini Stir Fry

Jalapeño Chicken Stir Fry

Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry

Chicken Asparagus Stir Fry

Chinese Chicken and Broccoli

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