How do you make small strips of beef, chicken, etc tender/soft in Asian cooking (especially Chinese)?

Before slicing into strips, pound the boneless meat with a meat tenderizer mallet between 2 sheets of plastic wrap until thin. Then slice and marinate or coat as directed in your recipe. This is how we prepared pork, beef and chicken in the Thai restaurant where I used to cook. Works beautifully!

In India and Pakistan meat seller if asked for these strips they can made for there customers. These are known as parcha or pasanda meat. However some skill and shrp knife is needed to be made at home. We are purchasing these from our meat seller.

One of the key techniques used is called "velveting": http://www.foodista.com/technique/36453G8G/velveting Essentially, you coat the meat in a mixture of corn start and xiaoxing wine (you can substitute water) before cooking. Wether it be stir frying or deep frying, this coating will make all the difference!!