This is how to tenderise beef with a Chinese restaurant method called “velveting beef”. Also used for chicken, it's a simple, highly effective technique using baking soda that transforms economical beef so it's incredibly tender in stir fries and stir fried noodles.
There are several ways to velvet, but at its most basic level, it involves marinating meat with at least one ingredient that will make it alkaline. This is what tenderizes the meat, especially cheaper, tougher cuts. “People go for either egg white or baking soda as they are both alkaline ingredients.
Rub And Marinate The Meat With Sugar & Salt
Sugar helps keep the moisture in the meat (moisten the meat), and salt helps to break down the proteins and muscle fibers. Pierce the meat with a fork or a meat tenderizer, and sub the meat with sugar, then, repeat with salt. Ideally, marinate the meat overnight in a fridge.
Velveting meat is a common practice in Chinese stir-fries: By marinating strips of meat with egg white and cornstarch, then dipping then in a hot oil bath before finally stir-frying them, the meat develops a texture that is tender, silky, and smooth.
There are two popular velveting techniques in Chinese cooking: the baking soda method and the cornstarch method. Before making your favorite Chinese stir-fry, learn how to velvet thinly sliced beef with baking soda to ensure tender, juicy meat.
in Chinese restaurant baking soda. it tenderize tough cuts of meat effortlessly. simply add it during the marinating stage. for every pound of meat, use no more than one teaspoon of baking soda. or else it will leave a weird taste.
It all starts with tenderizing the meat with baking soda and water that is massaged into the thinly sliced meat. It is then left to marinate for about an hour or two before cooking. Cornstarch instead of baking soda will also do the trick. Typically, the cornstarch is blended with soy sauce and sesame oil.
Pear juice or puree is traditionally used in Korean meat marinades—the juice not only adds sweetness but also works to tenderize the meat.
Often, meat recipes call for tenderizing via a wet brine, a low and slow cooking method, or pounding with a meat mallet. If you opt for baking soda for a meat tenderizer, far less elbow grease, a bit less time, and about half as much sodium (compared to salt) is required.
Briefly soaking meat in a solution of baking soda and water raises the pH on the meat's surface, making it more difficult for the proteins to bond excessively, which keeps the meat tender and moist when it's cooked.
The answer is yes—to an extent. When collagen and muscle fibers, the connective tissues in meat that make it tough, are tenderized and broken down, it helps the meat retain all of its juices. Acidic ingredients like vinegar, lemon juice, yogurt and wine weaken collagen and protein in meat.
It's milk. Here's why: A steak that marinates in an acidic or enzymatic liquid too long, such as citrus juice or cola, becomes tough or mushy. But the acid in milk is so mild that you can soak beef in it long enough to tenderize it effectively, without damaging the proteins on the surface.
Although it is sometimes added to condiments used to tenderize meat before cooking, MSG does not act as a meat tenderizer. Instead it functions as a umami taste enhancer giving an extra flavor boost to the meat being tenderized.
Exceptional tenderising effect – Korean barbecue marinades incorporate fresh fruit such as nashi pears, regular pears, apples, kiwis and pineapples which have natural tenderising qualities.
Soak the meat in cold water.
It's not blood... its myoglobin! This will remove the myoglobin (what people think is "blood") from the meat. It will significantly reduce any gamey or irony taste from the meat.
Toss With Corn Starch
This is similar to (but less involved than) a common technique in Chinese restaurants called velveting, where they will marinate meats in corn starch and cooking wine or soy sauce for about 15 minutes. The corn starch helps keep the beef moist and tender while cooking.
By adding salt to your steak, you will help pull out moisture from the meat, enriching the flavor of your steak while tenderizing it in the process. Salt will act as a natural brine and can be added up to 24 hours before cooking, instilling deep, rich flavors and tenderness to any cut of beef.
Besides velveting the meat prior cooking, the meat in restaurants may be marinated with chemical meat tenderizers. The active ingredients are usually papain or bromelain, which are enzymes extracted from fruits.
There are different ways to tenderize meat, including slow cooking, marinating, and pounding. While you can tenderize meat at home using a meat mallet or rolling pin, some manufacturers handle the process by using mechanical tenderization, which involves breaking down the meat's connective tissue with sharp blades.
Salt and soy sauce tenderize meat, help it retain moisture, and increase its savoriness. Sugar helps browning characteristics. Oil helps distribute fat-soluble aromatic compounds over the meat.
In Chinese and Cantonese cuisine, blood (particularly duck and pig) is collected, congealed into cubes and used as a protein. In regards to tenderizing, soaking in water does make the meat more tender, but at the cost of reducing the flavor.
Alternatively, a baking soda mixture generally takes between 15 and 20 minutes to tenderize the cuts of meat. It also carries less risk of harming the meat should the cuts sit in a baking soda for longer. As a result, a baking soda wet brine can be more forgiving and foolproof than a traditional saltwater brine.