The "Velveting" Secret: How to Get That Crazy-Tender, Restaurant-Style Chinese Chicken Textures at Home
Even if you aren’t that good at cooking, you’ll get the most tender chicken with an exotic taste every single night.
We’re used to believing that achieving that perfect, glossy Asian restaurant texture isn’t possible without complex chef techniques or professional woks.
However, this recipe for iconic Chinese chicken will completely debunk this theory. Just half an hour, and you’ll get incredibly soft meat that effortlessly slips off the bone, a rich glaze with a hint of garlic sweetness, and a velvet-smooth sauce perfect to the very last drop.
Ingredients: 6 chicken drumsticks, a small piece of ginger, 1 scallion, 2–3 tablespoons of vegetable oil, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, ½ teaspoon of malasan, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, salt to taste.
Make several shallow cuts in the drumsticks. Place them in a pot, add ginger and green onions, and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer for a few minutes, then drain the water and pat the chicken dry.
Heat oil in a clean skillet, add sugar, and wait until it melts and turns caramel-colored. Add the drumsticks and brown on all sides until they have a beautiful golden-caramel color.
Then pour in water until it reaches about halfway up the drumsticks, add the soy and oyster sauces and the malasang, and simmer over medium heat for about 30–40 minutes. Finally, dissolve the cornstarch in cold water, pour it into the pan, and let the sauce thicken.
P.S. If you don’t have ready-made malasan, it’s easy to make at home: a pinch of ground pepper, a little sweet paprika, dried garlic, chili, coriander, and sesame seeds.
