First Post! Preparing Chicken for Stir Fry?

[2 Bar]

I work 12-22 so I normally eat at the cafeteria. But I am recently married, so I need to start cooking alot more at home. Hopefully this forum will help us feed ourselves well.

To prepare chicken for a stir fry (or even a salad), do I just take a raw breast (cleaned and dried) and cut it into small pieces? I thought it took longer to cook chicken then some of the times I am seeing in recipes for stir fry. I am assuming the short times come from cutting the chicken into smaller parts.

I'd like to have it clarified...am I am starting with a regular piece of boneless breast and cutting the raw meat into smaller pieces? Is it easy to cut a raw piece of chicken? I used to cook whole pieces and cut them up afterwards.

Thanks and hello.

 

[htc]

Yes it's very easy to cut and cook raw chicken breast. As for the quick cooking time, it's because you have the heat on very high for stir fry.


Welcome to DC!!

 

[Alix]

Welcome to the site! You will have no trouble cutting up the chicken breast. I have found that if I leave them just the teensiest bit frozen when I cut them up I can make them look a bit neater than otherwise, but it really doesn't matter.

 

[kitchenelf]

The chicken cooks rather quickly so you can do as Alix does with the slightly frozen but it is not totally necessary. You need to be sure the chicken is completely done and I'm afraid that partially frozen will make the cooking time longer than necessary. You will quickly learn when the chicken is done - just be sure no pink juices flow and there is no pink in the middle of the chicken - if there is just cook a bit longer. If you cook it too long the chicken maybe tough and you will know the next time. It will still be edible but you will know.

Remember when handling raw chicken - cut the chicken then immediately go to the sink and wash your hands, knife, and cutting board. Bacteria is easily and quickly spread if you start touching a lot of things with raw chicken on your fingers. That goes for wiping your hands on a dish towel before washing them also. If you have to touch things then be sure to wash with hot soapy water. I wash my pepper mill quite frequently due to this.

The same goes for any raw meat or fish.

And remember when you stir fry that is what you are doing - stirring your ingredients while frying. You can stir fry veggies first then remove them then add your chicken and stir fry last.

Good luck and welcome to the site.

 

[Brooksy]

G'day 2 Bar & welcome from DownUnder.

When stir frying, we actually do ours the opposite to Elfy, We do our meat, in this case chicken first, remove it from the wok then do the veges, adding the meat back when the veges and sauce are done.

We thinly slice the chicken breast, rather than cutting into small pieces and do it in small portions to keep the wok temp high.

Slicing is easier done slightly frozen(just firm), then set aside (duly protected - even in the fridge) while the other ingredients are prepared. This allows for defrosting.

Cleanliness is paramount as Elfy iterated, we use a separate cutting board and knife to prepare the chicken and also latex gloves.

Stir fries are great - don't forget the noodles.

Sweet chilli sauce & soy sauce are a fav over here.

 

[Piccolina]

Welcome to the site! You will have no trouble cutting up the chicken breast. I have found that if I leave them just the teensiest bit frozen when I cut them up I can make them look a bit neater than otherwise, but it really doesn't matter.

I do this too, it also works well if you're using pork loin or turkey breast instead of chicken in your stir fry.

A big welcome to DC, 2 Bar!

 

[AllenOK]

Welcome to the board!

I used to make lots of stir-fry when I was single. I always used chicken thighs that I boned and skinned, then froze in ziplock baggies.

If you let the chicken (this works for both breasts and thighs) partially thaw before you cut it, you'll find that you should be able to cut the meat paper-thin.

After it's sliced, I drop my meat into a marinade of soy sauce, garlic, and ginger that I made prior to slicing the meat. I immediately wash my hands, knife, and cutting board. I then prep the remaining ingredients while the meat marinates.

I've never had a problem with undercooked meat, as the meat thaws completely in the marinade, and being paper-thin, cooks completely in a minute or two.

 

[2 Bar]

Thanks all.With high heat, will the outside of the chicked cook before the insides? Or will it cook evenly if I cut it thin enough?
Thanks mods for moving this to the correct forum. I didn't see it before.

 

[jennyema]

2 bar

Chicken stir fry works well when the chix is sliced into pieces maybe 1/4 of an inch thick and 1x1 inches. Allows for quick, even cooking when so thin. And it is easier to slice (as others have pointed out) if the chicken is just a tiny bit still frozen. It will thaw really quickly, esp. if you marinade like Allen suggests (gives the chix better flavor).

Others cube their chicken into maybe 3/4 to 1 inch cubes.

The most important thing is to make the pieces of chicken as evenly-sized as possible, so they all cook in the same amount of time.

And I'll also agree heartily about sanitary procedures with raw chicken (or poultry or meat). But, you said you washed the chicken first, I might point out that the USDA says that that is both unnecessary and can be unsafe. Bacteria is killed by cooking, not by rinsing. So by washing the chicken you are not making the chicken more safe to eat, you are actually contaminating your sink and anything the rinsing water touches. If you rinse the chicken, you should immediately decontaminate the sink and counters or anywhere that got spashed or you'll cross-contaminate.

More on that

 

[ironchef]

2 bar

Chicken stir fry works well when the chix is sliced into pieces maybe 1/4 of an inch thick and 1x1 inches. Allows for quick, even cooking when so thin. And it is easier to slice (as others have pointed out) if the chicken is just a tiny bit still frozen. It will thaw really quickly, esp. if you marinade like Allen suggests (gives the chix better flavor).

Others cube their chicken into maybe 3/4 to 1 inch cubes.

The most important thing is to make the pieces of chicken as evenly-sized as possible, so they all cook in the same amount of time.

And I'll also agree heartily about sanitary procedures with raw chicken (or poultry or meat). But, you said you washed the chicken first, I might point out that the USDA says that that is both unnecessary and can be unsafe. Bacteria is killed by cooking, not by rinsing. So by washing the chicken you are not making the chicken more safe to eat, you are actually contaminating your sink and anything the rinsing water touches. If you rinse the chicken, you should immediately decontaminate the sink and counters or anywhere that got spashed or you'll cross-contaminate.

More on that

Regarding sanitation, one of the easiest, cheapest, and best ways to do this at home is to buy a jug of multi-quat sanitizer concentrate and an all-pupose spray bottle. You then dilute it with water and spray and wipe. It's cheaper than using the commerical products in the stores.

 

[Andy M.]

I add a couple of tablespoons of household bleach to a spray bottle full of water. For a spray bottle I use any old Windex or similar bottle.

A diluted bleach solution will take care of all food borne bacteria.

 

[2 Bar]

Thanks everyone. I made it last night and my wife loved it. The chicken came out really good, though I did use a bit too much oil at first. The marinade I had was old so that went in the garbage, and I quickly through together oil, pepper, Italian herbs, lemon, and garlic powder.

The night before I bought some onions, mushrooms, green and red bell peppers, snow pees, carrots, brocolli, and garlic. I had a stack of small paper bowls. So as I cut up each veg, it had its own container which made setting them aside and accessing them was very easier. I always laugh while watching cooking shows how every ingrediant has its own bowl and they don't have to run around the kitchen like people do at home. I almost felt as prepared as those cooking segments.

The water for the rice was boiling while I cooked the chicken. Once that was done I threw instant rice in a bag into the water while I began cooking the vegs. We used some Teryiaki Light sause and loved every bite.

Thanks for your help.

 

[buckytom]

that's the ticket 2 bar.

i do the same thing when stir frying. it is meant to be a quick method of cooking, so having all of the ingredients ready in little bowls helps a lot. other types of cooking allow for you to do some prep work while some things are already going, but wokking needs to be all ready to go.

btw, the next time you order take out chinese, either get a dish steamed with the sauce on the side, or ask them to make you an extra container of the brown or garlic sauce. use this instead of the store bought, msg and preservative loaded stuff in a jar. it'll make your home made stir fry taste like it was from the restaurant.