This pan-fried chicken breast recipe is a simple way to prepare chicken breast for a quick dinner or meal prep. It’s a simple, tasty marinade with some key umami-packed ingredients like oyster sauce and light soy sauce, as well as the key velveting ingredients of oil and cornstarch, which keeps the chicken moist and juicy.
The result is a tasty chicken breast that is still versatile enough for salads, sandwiches, wraps, pasta, and more.
Applying Our Velveting Technique to a Whole Chicken Breast
We’ve received so many reader comments on Bill’s post about how to velvet chicken for stir-fry. No one can believe how such a simple method yields such juicy, silky chicken!
In that case, the chicken is thinly sliced before marinating. In this recipe, we’re applying the same method to butterflied chicken breasts, with similar results: locking in flavor and moisture.
More of you are realizing that this extra velveting step can make or break a dish. We find that cooked chicken breasts, which are used in so many applications, can be dry and lack flavor.
This recipe ensures that you get flavorful, juicy chicken breast every time. While it does use a few Chinese ingredients, like oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and rice wine (you can also substitute a dry cooking sherry), the chicken doesn’t taste “Asian.” It can be added to any of your favorite recipes!
How to Use This Chicken Breast
Serve this chicken breast with simple sides like brown rice and broccoli, or try it in some of these other recipes!
- Use in place of salmon in our Green Goddess Pesto Pasta
- Add to Penne alla Rosé (a different take on Penne alla Vodka)
- Try it in our Nectarine Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing
- Add to a Banh Mi Sandwich
- Add to a bowl of Cold Noodles
Tip!
Do take the time (a minute or two) to work the liquid marinade into the chicken breast. As you massage the chicken with your hands, you’ll be surprised at how much liquid it can absorb! This is key to juicy chicken breast, which is very lean.
Recipe Instructions
Carefully butterfly each chicken breast, and then separate the two halves, so that you have 4 pieces that are about half the thickness of the 2 original chicken breasts.
Use the back of your knife to lightly pound the chicken breast on both sides, paying special attention to the thicker areas. This tenderizes the meat and also makes the thickness more even across each piece.
Add the chicken breast pieces to a bowl, along with the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, pepper, and garlic. Use your hands to mix well.
Then, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water (2 tablespoons for 1 pound of chicken, or up to 3 tablespoons for 11/4 pounds), 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing with your hands after each addition until the chicken absorbs the liquid.
Set aside to marinate at room temperature for 15 – 20 minutes. Just before cooking, mix the cornstarch into the marinated chicken until evenly coated.
Heat oil in a nonstick or cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Arrange the chicken breast in the pan in a single layer.
Pan-fry for a total of 8-10 minutes flipping them every 2 minutes or so for even cooking.
Enjoy!
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Recipe
Pan-fried Chicken Breast
Ingredients
- 1 – 1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast (about 2 chicken breasts)
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (or white pepper)
- 1 tablespoon garlic (finely minced; or substitute 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 2-3 tablespoon water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 tablespoons oil (any neutral oil)
Instructions
- Carefully butterfly each chicken breast, and then separate the two halves, so that you have 4 pieces that are about half the thickness of the 2 original chicken breasts.
- Use the back of your knife to lightly pound the chicken breast on both sides, paying special attention to the thicker areas. This tenderizes the meat and also makes the thickness more even across each piece.
- Add the chicken breast pieces to a bowl, along with the light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, pepper, and garlic. Use your hands to mix well. Then, add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water (2 tablespoons for 1 pound of chicken, or up to 3 tablespoons for 11/4 pounds), 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing with your hands after each addition until the chicken absorbs the liquid.
- Set aside to marinate at room temperature for 15 – 20 minutes. Just before cooking, mix the cornstarch into the marinated chicken until evenly coated.
- Heat oil in a nonstick or cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Arrange the chicken breast in the pan in a single layer. Pan-fry for a total of 8-10 minutes flipping them every 2 minutes or so for even cooking.
