It Tenderizes Meat It's all about tenderization. Treating small pieces of meat with a baking soda solution before cooking is a technique seen quite often in Chinese cooking, especially in stir-fries.
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.
Ever notice how the chicken in stir fries at your favourite Chinese restaurant is incredibly tender? It's because they tenderise chicken using a simple method called Velveting Chicken using baking soda. It's a quick and easy method that any home cook can do, and can also be used for beef.
While there are several ways to velvet, a pound of meat needs about two teaspoons of cornstarch and two teaspoons of oil, says Leung. You may also include two to three tablespoons of water. For beef, add a 1/4-teaspoon of baking soda for tenderizing. Additional seasonings are optional and vary from recipe to recipe.
Transfer the meat to a zip-top bag, stainless steel or glass bowl or other non-reactive container, and refrigerate for 3 hours or up to overnight. Remove the meat from the container and briefly rinse the meat in plain water to strip off the baking soda solution (or as much of it as possible). Cook as desired.
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.
THE WONDERFUL INGREDIENTS
The ingredients used by Chinese chefs to cook dishes are fantastic. Herbs and spices included in Chinese cuisine make each dish taste like heaven. We also can't forget about all the delicious types of sauces that make the dishes mouth-watering.
Baking soda is a raising agent that contains one or more acid ingredients, such as cocoa powder or buttermilk. Baking powder is better for recipes that contain little or no acid ingredients. Baking soda helps make fried foods crispy and light. It is also useful for cleaning and removing stains.
THE BAKING SODA METHOD – Great for Beef
Sliced meat (smaller pieces) works better using this method. Sprinkle over the meat your baking soda (bi-carb) 1tsp to 1kg is enough. Coat the meat evenly and leave in the fridge for 15mins or 20mins for tougher cuts like brisket or chuck.
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.
You can also mix baking soda with marinade ingredients like soy sauce instead of water to both tenderize and flavor the meat. For 12 ounces of sliced meat like chicken or beef, you'll want a teaspoon of baking soda. If you are cooking very small pieces like ground beef, just ¼ teaspoon will do.
How do Chinese restaurants get their beef so tender? They use a tenderizer before they cook it, which is usually made of corn starch, cooking rice wine and soy sauce. They marinate the beef in this combination for about 20 minutes before cooking.
This adds extra tenderness to your meats, which is great for beef stir frys. If you go this route, just make sure you wash off the baking soda before velveting.
Velveting meat—the practice of marinating slices of meat in egg white, wine, and cornstarch—is a Chinese cooking technique that we've covered on Serious Eats before. Typically, after the meat is marinated, it is quickly blanched in a bath of hot oil and then drained, at which point it's ready to be stir-fried.
Food cooks faster in a smaller wok, and that's why the food is ready so quickly. Every ingredient is all ready prepared and all the chefs have to do is add the right mixture to the wok. Chinese dishes don't take much time to cook. Much is prepared, or cut, beforehand and they are very efficient.
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.
Some people experience symptoms, such as breathing difficulties, headaches, and sweating, after eating monosodium glutamate (MSG). However, there is no evidence that MSG is harmful. MSG is a food additive that enhances flavor. It is commonly used in restaurants and pre-packaged foods.
The answer: high heat, expert tosses, and something known as 'wok hei. ' As J. Kenji López-Alt writes for Serious Eats, expert cooking with a wok (and the gas range it requires) is one of the main reasons that fried rice from a Chinese restaurant tastes so much better than what you can make at home.
Meat only has to sit in a baking soda solution for 15 to 20 minutes, but a brine solution can take at least 30 minutes to start working. Plus, letting the meat sit longer in baking soda will not harm it, whereas over-brining meat can make it stringy and mushy.
Most fine restaurants age their beef to intensify the flavor and improve the tenderness of the cut. Wet aging is done by vacuum packing the meat and letting it age in its own juices. Wet aging is done by more than 90% of fine steakhouses.
Mix in something acidic
It is important to balance its overtly bitter taste lest it overpowers your dish. Use a small amount of an acidic condiment such as lemon juice or vinegar to neutralise the soda.