Step 1 of 4

Coat the chicken

Toss the sliced chicken with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of the cornstarch until every piece is slick. Leave it while you get everything else ready. Stir the remaining cornstarch into 3/8 cup of cold water with the rest of the soy sauce and set that aside as the sauce.

— The cornstarch coating is what keeps stir-fried chicken tender. Skip it and you get dry white edges.