In this tutorial on how to cut chicken for stir-fry, I’ll be showing you three ways to prepare your breast fillets so they are cut evenly, making them easier to cook.
Stir fries are my go to for a quick meal, all you need is a few fillets, a bag of frozen vegetables, and a sauce for a complete healthy meal.
My personal favourite is using the thigh fillet because of its distinctive taste. I’ll also show you how to cut your thigh fillets into strips for stir fry as well.
How to cut chicken breast for stir fry
Cutting your chicken breasts is easy to cut it into strips. But the issue is your breast fillets are not the same thickness all the way through, if you look at a breast fillet it looks like a teardrop and the bottom heavy end is where the majority of the meat is and that’s where the wing connects to. As you go along the breast it will taper down to a point.
Now you can simply just start cutting and the pointy end will be quite thin and small and the fat end and will be quite thick causing you to have uneven strips.
So to get the breast as even as possible, I will show you three ways to cut and prepared your chicken to achieve this.
The quick method
This method is the fastest way to cut chicken for stir fry however the pieces don’t always come out the same size.
- Start by washing, drying your breast fillets and cutting any excess fat.
- Next would be to remove the tenderloin which is on the underside of the breast fillets, simply pull it off and set it to the side.
- Place the breast fillet horizontally on the chopping board in front of you.
- Starting from one side to the other, cut vertical slices into the breast fillet just a little bit bigger than the width of your finger.
- Because the thickness of the breast fillets on one side, some of your pieces will be much bigger than others. To even out the thickness, cut these pieces in half so you have more evenly cut strips.
The cut in half method
This method is similar to the quick method above but with one extra cut where you’re taking a cut through the breast fillet to make it as even as possible first before you start making the breast into strips.
- Start by washing, drying your breast fillets and cutting any excess fat.
- Next remove the tenderloin which is on the underside of the breast fillets, simply pull it off and set side.
- Place the breast fillet horizontally on the chopping board in front of you.
- Place your hand flat across the breast fillet to steady it for the cut.
- Starting at the thickest part of the breast fillet slowly cut the breast fillet in a horizontal fashion. As you run your knife through the breast fillets, try to cut the breast fillet evenly as possible.
- You now have 2 breast fillets that are very similar in thickness. Cut strips vertically that are just figure than the width of your finger.
The Mallet method
This method is all about using a meat mallet to even out the breast fillet before you cut it. In a similar way to when you’re making schnitzels.
- Start by washing, drying your breast fillets and cutting any excess fat.
- Next would be to remove the tenderloin from the underside of the breast fillets, simply pull it off and set side.
- Place the breast fillet on the chopping board in front of you and place some cling wrap on the breast fillet.
- Begin to bash out the thick side of the breast fillets until it has a consistent thickness with the rest of the fillet. It doesn’t need to be perfect, close enough will be fine.
- Remove the cling wrap and place the breast fillet horizontally in front of you on the chopping board and start to cut strips slightly thicker than a finger in a vertical fashion starting from one side and working your way to the other.
How to cut chicken thighs into strips
Chicken thigh fillets are not always used for stir fry but I think that they’ve got a wonderful taste and are harder to overcook than a breast fillet. But, they do need a little bit of extra work to remove the fat. They are so worth it if you ask me.
Thigh fillets are not completely flat all the way through. The two ends are a little bit thicker than the middle, so it’s just a matter of making a couple of extra cuts to get the job done.
- Start by washing, drying your thigh fillets and cutting / scrape any excess fat.
- Place the fillet horizontally on the chopping board in front of you.
- Start at one end hand cut vertical strips a little bit thicker than a finger, do this until you’ve cut the whole thigh fillet.
- You will notice the two ends of the thigh fillet are a little bit thicker than the centre. It’s easy enough to just cut the thick bits down the centre so they match the others. It’s not necessary to use a mallet to make them flat.
And that’s all it takes to cut chicken for stir fry. You now know three ways to cut breast fillets for stir fry and my favourite thigh fillets into strips. You can use these techniques when you want to knock up a quick meal for the family and when you want to meal prep, separate in to zip lock bags.