How do you make moist and juicy steamed white chicken? (onion, bake)

[southdown]

Sounds intriguing! Will have to try it. Thanks!

I swear by my trusty roasting/oven bags - they keep all the juices in and keep the oven clean too .

Tho I sometimes worry if cooking in plastic is really safe...

[SATX56]

I've tried the baking soda on chicken with mixed results. First time sort of liked it ...gave the chicken a smoother texture. Next time or two... thought it was a little funky tasting. Told a friend here on CD about this method. Something was lost in the translation and she did not rinse off the baking soda. Cooked it as it was. Needless to say it was a disaster. Let's keep this to ourselves.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by davidt1

My steamed chicken is always dry, not moist and juicy like the one they make from the Chinese restaurant' healthy menu. Anybody knows to make moist and juicy steamed chicken? Thanks.

you would be much better off using a dutch oven or a crock pot..or I prefer it that way. Baking soda can be used to help keep it moist, but remember, just a little goes a long way and you don't actually cook the meat with baking soda. The most important thing, regardless, is, not to overcook. I think this is the number one error people make when cooking chicken on top of the stove. The other suggestion, use a whole chicken or chicken parts. Too many people think they need to eat only breasts. That is fine, but chick breast can be dry and do not have the flavor you get from other parts of the chicken and from the meat close to the bone. I also like using the crock pot or dutch oven cause I can then skim off any fat and that is how I make my chicken stock for freezing.

[nmnita]

Originally Posted by SATX56

I've tried the baking soda on chicken with mixed results. First time sort of liked it ...gave the chicken a smoother texture. Next time or two... thought it was a little funky tasting. Told a friend here on CD about this method. Something was lost in the translation and she did not rinse off the baking soda. Cooked it as it was. Needless to say it was a disaster. Let's keep this to ourselves.

don't think baking soda left on would make a very appealing entree. We won't tell anyone that the person was here on CD, who was it?

[maggie2101]

I recently made a beef w/broccoli recipe in which the meat marinade included 1/2 tsp. of baking soda along with other ingredients. The baking soda really did make the meat incredibly moist and tender. So, if you mix it up with other ingredients and use a very small amount, it does not have to be rinsed off.

[PennyLane2]

You can get the really moist and tender chicken slices like they have at the Chinese buffet by using the velveting technique. Basically you marinate the chicken in a combination of corn starch, wine (I use sherry, a lot of people use shaoxing), soy sauce (or not), and then you lightly poach it in simmering chicken stock or broth. Add it to your stir fry during the last couple of minutes and it finishes cooking.

[JanND]

Originally Posted by {geek}

How are you currently steaming it?

The way I make steamed chicken is a little different than most people, I suppose. What I do is put a large pan on the stove (med. heat) and fill it with about 4 cups of water.

Then, I put the chicken breasts into a colander and set the colander inside of the pan with the steaming water. The colander doesn't reach to the bottom of the pan, nor does the water level rise above the bottom of the colander.

Then, I place a lid over the outer pan (which covers the colander too) and allow it to steam for about 45 mins. The chicken turns out very moist.

This sounds good. Cover your chickenpot id or foil and regardless of how you cook it, it will be moist usually.

[jasper12]

I usually put the chicken in a covered roaster, with chicken broth in the roasting pan, cover it, bake it for an hour, moist, juicy, is it steamed, roasted, baked? I don't know, but it is very good. I have also "marinated" the chicken in a salt water bath for a day before roasting, salt dispersion goes from a higher salt area to a lower salt area, so it floods the chicken with moisture, I use a low saline solution. The breast is literally bursting with juice.

[milehigh5280]

Regarding the asian way to get super white, moist chicken like in moo goo gai pan.... i too was always frustrated until i found the answer to my chicken stirfry prayers. The technique is called "velveting" and now i ALWAYS do this. It involves marinating raw chicken chunks in egg whites, garlic salt, oil, sherry, and cornstarch mixed into the raw chicken in a certain order and extremely gently (stress on gently here), then you let it sit for 30 min... you then dump the chicken mixture into an already-rolling-boil pot of water and stir it around, and only leave it in for 1 minute and take the chicken out. Then you can add that chicken to your stir fry. It's amazing and I never do a stir fry now without velveting the chicken first. Search youtube for moo goo gai pan, and it's a video by a young asian gal named Lela who does a great job (AsianCookingmadeEasy). I basically kept pausing the video and writing it down. The only thing I changed was I cut the amount of cornstarch in half, it's awesome every single time. You can get cooking sherry in the supermarket if you don't want to trek to the liquor store.

[lubby]

I always coat my chicken breasts in a little cornstarch before cooking. I have never steamed chicken but anytime I make a recipe using cut up breasts into cubes that's what I do. I don't over cook them and the chicken is moist and tender.