monosodium glutamate - chinese, soaking chicken in liquid to tenderize

[jaymer]

so i saw this chicken the other day at my local buffet. labeled "hot & spicy". not much sauce on it and looked kinda white. but REALLY tender. I figured it was quick boiled then tossed in sauce to add some color. my Gringo manager friend there said that it was super tender because it was soaked in MSG (monosodium glutamate). He said they have a formula for a liquid that gets mixed up and they add 60lb of chicken into it. soak for a specified amount of time, then wash off the tenderizing solution.
at that point, job done. super tender when it cooks.

am going to try to get some more details on the ratios. would really like to try this at home.
many recipes i see add MSG to the sauce, but i can't find much info on this method.

jaymer...

 

[kuan]

Uh nope. That's not it. It's likely velvet chicken. A two stage process whereby you coat the chicken in cornstarch and soy sauce, rice wine, or other flavor, cook it quick one, and then stir fry it the usual way.

 

[jaymer]

oh, i was going to say i've been doing velvet chicken at home - and this isn't what he was talking about. but thx. i'll try and get some more details from him.

 

[phatch]

Sounds more like a sodium bicarbonate soak--baking soda.