Velveting meat is a Chinese cooking technique used in Chinese restaurants. The process of velveting is one where you marinate raw meat to tenderise it in cornstarch and egg white or bicarb to give it a soft, velvety texture. For years I watched my mother "velvet" beef and chicken neither of us knowing what the term was but happy that the beef and chicken that we ate was soft in texture-I guess taking it for granted. It was only when I saw Rachel's recipe for velvet chicken that it ticked over in my head that my mother used this method and that it was called velveting!