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just wondering, how long should I cook chicken breast pieces in a wok over medium heat for? They're around 1cm thick chicken breast pieces.

I tried cooking them today and although they looked white, one piece had a tiny streak of blood (blood vessels?). I was kinda scared so I didn't eat it although most of the chicken looked fine apart from that one piece with blood. And I mean it was surrounded by white

So does that mean I undercooked them? How long should I cook them for? Medium heat is around mark 4/6 on the hob. All the pieces looked white and not pink but I was just concerned

Thanks

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  • How much chicken did you put in the wok?
    – Batman
    Mar 13, 2015 at 18:11
  • I put two chicken breast fillets sliced into strips (300g) - too much?
    – user34193
    Mar 13, 2015 at 18:21
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    This question is still too vague. It will depend on the specific wok and how exactly you're cooking them. If you're this unsure about cooking meat, you need a thermometer. Period. Mar 13, 2015 at 18:28
  • I don't see anything here which makes this question different from the linked general question, so closing as a duplicate. If you meant to ask something not covered there, please edit your question to focus on the difference, and we can reopen.
    – rumtscho
    Mar 14, 2015 at 13:49

1 Answer 1

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Unfortunately, temperature is the only thing you can go by: the phrases 'medium heat' and '4/6 on the hob' don't really give us any information, and there could be significant variations in cooking time due to the shape of the wok, the starting internal temperature of the chicken, the shape of the breasts, and so on.

With chicken, the entirety of the meat (down to the center) has to be exposed to a high enough temperature for long enough that any bacteria that may be present will be killed. This happens essentially instantly at 165 F, though one can cook it at lower temperatures for longer periods of time for the same effect (this is much harder, because you need to sustain a relatively high temperature, in the range of 145-150, throughout the entirety of the chicken for something on the order of half an hour). Whether or not the meat appears bloody is irrelevant, so long as the meat has been cooked to the right temperature.

There are plenty of general guides on determining when chicken is done: for instance, Pan frying chicken breasts? and How to know when chicken breast has cooked through?. You will likely need to experiment or get a meat thermometer.

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  • Thanks, I'll get a meat thermometer and wait until it's 165 F.
    – user34193
    Mar 13, 2015 at 21:45
  • @salman I think he meant to say "medium heat is around 4 of 6 markers on the nob"
    – Escoce
    Mar 14, 2015 at 2:14

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