Shadowing Practice: Every Way To Cook Chicken - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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Chicken breast is only dry because you're cooking it wrong.
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I'm going to show you the five best methods for cooking chicken breast.
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The first method is the most simple, and that is poached.
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Poached chicken has a terrible reputation.
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Most people think of it and think dry, bland food.
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But that's because most people bake their chicken before shredding it.
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This method keeps it nice and juicy.
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All we're doing here is adding a few chopped vegetables to a pot, along with a few aromatics, and then we add in our chicken breasts and make sure they're fully covered with some chicken stock.
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It doesn't have to be homemade, but bonus points if it is.
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Then we'll add a ring of parchment paper, also known as a cartouche.
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Cover it with a heatproof bowl to make sure everything stays submerged.
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Then toss on our lid and over to the heat we go.
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We'll bring this up to a simmer, and once it's there, set a timer for a minute and 30 seconds, and monitor your flame to keep it at that simmer.
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And once that time is up, turn off your heat and let this completely cool to continue cooking that chicken breast all the way through.
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The reason we finish cooking it in here is that it stays in that liquid the entire time, so it's never losing that moisture and becoming dry.
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Once cooled completely, I like to check that my poached chicken is done by cutting through the thickest part of the breast.
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And just look at how juicy that is.
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This chicken is also so good for shredding.
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Watch how easy it is for me to just simply pull it apart like that.
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But there's something special about good poached chicken.
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I think my favorite way to have it is sliced nice and thin on a big hot bowl of ramen.
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Our next method is the most popular in so many places, and that is oven baked.
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We'll begin by making a quick compound butter.
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This is a flavor-packed, well-seasoned butter that'll help to make much better baked chicken.
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And all you do is just blend some of your favorite herbs and spices into some slightly softened butter.
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You can keep it just like this, or if you want to do the fancy chef move, you can roll it up into a tube of compound butter like this.
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But regardless of what you choose, the next step is to pound the chicken just very lightly
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on the thicker part of the breast to get it as even in thickness as possible.
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Notice I'm not even touching the thinner side here.
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We're not trying to make some thin cutlet.
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We're just trying to get it to cook evenly.
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Because this is the most popular way to cook chicken, this is also where most of the world's dry chicken comes from.
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Every step that I'm showing you here will hopefully make for juicier chicken all around the world.
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Once that chicken's prepped, we'll slice our compound butter into a few thin medallions, or if you didn't make a compound butter here, you can use regular butter,
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and then carefully push that butter under the chicken skin, trying not to fully separate the skin from the breast while you do it.
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Finish it off by seasoning your breasts with whatever seasonings you want.
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I love making chicken so much that I actually made my own chicken seasoning called Golden Gourmet.
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Don't forget that just like with a steak, we want to season all sides.
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And for cooking, just so nothing sticks, we'll swap it onto parchment paper.
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And then into the oven we go at 425 Fahrenheit for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until your chicken looks done.
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If you watch carefully here, you can see that bubbling of that butter inside the skin.
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It's almost kind of butter-basing itself the entire time it cooks.
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This right here will ruin all other oven-baked chicken for you.
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And normally we'd want to let this rest, but I'm just so curious to cut one open now to see how much juice really holds inside
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that skin when we cook it.
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This one pretty much speaks for itself.
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Listen to that crispy skin.
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It really is just the most beautiful, well-rounded piece of oven baked chicken.
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Earlier I said you could skip the compound butter, but now I'm taking that back.
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Don't skip the compound butter.
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As you can imagine, oven roasted chicken is extremely versatile, but I like having it as a weeknight dinner with whatever random sides or vegetables I might have in my fridge.
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Our next method is a delicious one, a beautiful fried cutlet.
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We'll begin by butterflying our chicken breasts, cutting carefully through the center and then cutting each one in half.
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Then place them into a ziploc bag and using a mallet or even a small pan, pound them out until they're even and thin.
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For the breading process, we'll have three different stations.
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First, flour with a bit of salt and pepper or whatever seasonings you want.
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Then a few whole eggs, whisked until no streaks remain, and finally some panko breadcrumbs.
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Do the breading process in order.
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First, into the flour, or you just want to tap it around a little bit
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and give it that nice light first coat.
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Don't forget to give it a little shake as well.
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Then into the egg, but here's where you want to switch hands because we don't want to bread our fingers.
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We want to bread the chicken, where I'll just move it around to make sure it's fully coated here.
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And finally, with that same hand, into the panko breadcrumbs, where I'll switch hands again to get it fully coated.
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This is my dry hand.
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This is my wet hand.
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Once it's been fully coated, lay it off to the side to rest while you do the rest of your chicken.
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Learning how to make a good fried cutlet is easy.
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I find the hard part to be making a good fried cutlet without destroying your kitchen.
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Oftentimes when you're breading things and frying things in oil, it splatters all over the place.
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But if you stay organized like I'm doing here and clean as you go, it's actually not that bad.
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I like to let these rest for about 10 minutes before I fry, just to let that coating really stick.
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I'm just going to add in a layer of high smoke point oil about half the height of my chicken.
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Get that nice and hot over about medium heat.
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And once that oil is nice and hot and begins to shimmer, in we go.
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When I cook chicken like this, I want it to be perfect golden brown.
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So I'm constantly rotating the pan on the heat, changing that heat level, depending on what's happening, checking my chicken at all times, looking at the edges, smelling,
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using every scents I possibly have to make sure this does not burn.
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And you'll notice that only a few of those small little crumbs have fallen off the breading.
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That's because we gave it that 10 minute rest.
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Once fully golden brown, we'll carefully flip each piece.
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I'll add in some butter and then butter base with that butter oil mixture to give us an incredible flavor.
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An amazing top-notch cutlet will also start to bubble up like this.
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And this separation between the crust and chicken will give you an extra light and crispy coating.
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When the cutlets have reached that beautiful golden brown color, remove them from the oil and drain on a wire rack.
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I rarely let these rest.
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I like them extremely hot, so I cut them open right away.
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Oh, that hurt my hand, but it was so juicy though.
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Did you guys see that juice?
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I think having those simple, perfect layers doesn't allow the chicken to lose a single drop of moisture.
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I love using a good chicken cutlet for a chicken katsu curry or a milanesa like this.
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Again, it's so incredibly versatile.
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Our next method is one you'll want to make every week for the rest of your life, and that is pan seared.
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First, into a bowl with some salt and sugar, which I'll cover with just enough warm water to dissolve it.
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What we're making right now is a brine for our chicken.
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It's going to keep our chicken nice and juicy as we cook it.
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Then we'll toss in a few aromatics.
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I'm using garlic, bay leaf, thyme, rosemary, and a few black peppercorns.
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Then I'll add in a big handful of ice, enough to cool this mixture down.
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We don't want to be cooking our chicken while it brines.
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And in goes our chicken.
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This step took me just two minutes.
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It's going to make a massive difference in the final dish.
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Well, now that I think about it, we do have to cover it up and put it in the fridge for about an hour.
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Again, for the final result, I think it is more than worth it.
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And once it's fully brined, it's time to cook.
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One of the keys to getting that skin nice
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and crispy is making sure everything is very dry before it goes into the pan.
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To cook, stainless steel or cast iron pan, add a good solid layer of high smoke point oil and bring it up to high heat.
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And once that oil begins to shimmer, I like to dry my chicken once more and then make sure
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that skin is spread evenly across all the meat before laying it down carefully away from me.
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Then immediately, I'm going to turn my heat down to about medium high now
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and place down a weight to make sure my chicken has full, even contact across the pan.
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And if I smell or notice anything even remotely starting to burn, I'll turn it down even lower.
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This is when you really want to monitor that heat, but also be patient.
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I'm also going to rotate my pan occasionally to make sure all that heat is spread evenly.
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What I love so much about a pan-roasted chicken is
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that we're taking something that most people don't consider to be a very fancy protein, and we elevate it in the most simple, beautiful, technique-based way I can possibly think of.
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Once your chicken comes loose from the pan, lift up all those corners to let some of
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that oil go under the little areas that it might not have reached before.
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And then once fully golden, give it a good flip.
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Then, immediately toss in some butter as well as a few aromatics, because we're gonna finish this chicken by butter basting it.
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Over and over, let that butter run down all the edges of the chicken.
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It'll continue crisping up the top, and as that butter turns more of that golden brown color, you'll also get all that nutty flavor that the brown butter brings with it.
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Oh my gosh, that looks good.
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To know when your pan-seared chicken's done, take a thermometer, put it into the thickest part of your chicken, chicken and once it reaches 150 degrees Fahrenheit,
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I'll take it off the heat then place those aromatics right over the top
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and pour a bit of butter just to let it keep soaking in all that flavor.
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Once rested you should have crispy skin and once cut open it should be juicy and glistening.
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I'd like to enjoy this one plated over some fresh handmade pasta
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but as you can imagine it also works on just about anything.
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The final method is the most challenging but also the most rewarding and that is a stuffed chicken breast.
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We'll begin by making a small cut in the side of
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the chicken The goal here is to create a pocket big enough to stuff the chicken breast, but not so big that everything falls out the side.
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And once it has a nice pocket like this, I'll lay down a piece of ham, then add on a piece of Swiss cheese and tightly roll it up, at which point I'll slide it into the chicken breast.
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Now I'll lay down some plastic wrap on a clean work surface
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and add down my chicken and roll it up as tight as I possibly can.
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This is a very important step here.
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We need to make sure everything is held in place.
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This goes straight into the fridge to set, and after about two hours, We'll carefully unroll it and dredge it in some seasoned flour, egg, and panko breadcrumbs.
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And then we'll repeat this same exact process once more, since for this recipe, we want it double breaded.
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To cook, grab an oven-safe stainless steel or cast iron pan and fill it with a high smoke point neutral oil.
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Then turn your heat up to medium high.
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And once the oil begins to shimmer, carefully place down your stuffed chicken breast.
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The goal of this step here is to get some nice color on your cordon bleu.
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I also like to add in a few cubes of butter for that nice buttery flavor.
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So here, just carefully roll it around on all sides.
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Once you feel it's got nice color all around, place this into the oven at 350 Fahrenheit for about 10 to 15 minutes, or until the thickest part of your chicken reads 160 degrees Fahrenheit on a thermometer.
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When I cut this open, it should have some nice molten cheese on the inside.
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Swiss is my least favorite cheese, and I really don't like deli meat ham, yet something about this dish is just so, so good.
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I don't think I even need to plate this one since it's already fancy enough, but I'm gonna do it anyway.
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Now go out there and make the best chicken breast you've ever had.
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That said, I'm probably not going to have chicken for a good month or so after this video.
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Master English Speaking with "Every Way To Cook Chicken" – A Practical Guide
Learning English through real-world content like cooking videos is a fun, effective way to build fluency. The video "Every Way To Cook Chicken" offers rich dialogue filled with everyday vocabulary, natural phrasing, and clear instructions—perfect for english speaking practice and IELTS speaking practice. Whether you’re a beginner or refining your skills, this video helps you learn English with videos by connecting language to a relatable activity: cooking.
Top 5 Phrases for Daily Communication
- "This method keeps it nice and juicy" – A common way to describe food texture, useful in restaurants or cooking chats.
- "Pound the chicken just very lightly" – Learn action verbs and adverbs for precise instructions, key for giving/taking directions.
- "Don’t skip the compound butter" – A casual warning with a strong recommendation, great for friendly advice.
- "Monitor your flame to keep it at that simmer" – Vocabulary for cooking and general task management, applicable in various contexts.
- "This one pretty much speaks for itself" – A versatile phrase to say something is self-explanatory, ideal for conversations.
Step-by-Step Shadowing Guide for Success
Shadowing (or shadowspeaks/shadow speak) is a proven technique to mimic pronunciation, intonation, and rhythm. Here’s how to use the video:
- Watch once for context: Focus on the cooking process to understand the story, then replay short 5-10 second clips.
- Repeat immediately: Pause after each clip and speak aloud, matching the speaker’s speed and tone. Notice how "nice and juicy" is spoken with emphasis on "juicy."
- Focus on connected speech: Phrases like "cut through the thickest part" flow smoothly—practice linking words to sound natural.
- Record and compare: Record your shadowing, then listen to the original. Adjust areas where your pronunciation or pace differs.
By practicing with "Every Way To Cook Chicken," you’ll not only master cooking terms but also build confidence in daily English. Start shadowing today and see how quickly your fluency grows!
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | is poached · is done · is sliced |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have fallen · have reached |
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.