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Learn how to tenderize meat like Chinese restaurants. Chinese cooks use a magic meat tenderizer powder or baking soda to make tender and soft chicken, meat and pork.
Table of Contents
Silky Soft and Tender Meat in Chinese Food
Texture is highly prized in Chinese cooking, especially when it comes to proteins.
The meat—especially chicken, pork, or beef—are always cooked to a silky smooth mouthfeel that is succulent and tender—with a glossy sheen.
Chinese Velveting
Traditionally, velveting is a technique used in Chinese restaurants and home kitchens for tenderizing meat.
Meats are cut into uniform pieces, coated with an egg white and starch mixture, and then stir-fried and cooked to the desired satiny consistency.
Baking Soda is a Meat Tenderizer
A few years ago, I learn a quick tip from a Chinese chef, who uses baking soda as the secret ingredient in his restaurant.
He taught me how to use baking soda as a meat tenderizer. Since then, I have been producing the most amazing, tender, soft and juicy stir-fried meats at home.
Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is an alkaline agent at pH8.2. As such, baking soda is a magic meat tenderizer powder as it neutralizes the acids and breaks down the proteins in the meat and therefore makes a superb tenderizer.
Another plus, it also acts as a deodorizer to rid the meat of any potential foul smell it might have.
How to Use Meat Tenderizer?
If you are skeptical about using baking soda in home cooking, please don’t because it’s an essential ingredient in baking.
I use baking soda as a seasoning, marinade or dry rub that you can rinse and wash off before cooking. Of course, this meat tenderizing process is optional, so it’s up to you.
However, if you want to impress your family or guests with perfectly tender, smooth, and succulent meat, here is how you can do it.
Baking soda or meat tenderizer is best used for chicken breast as the breast meat is usually dry, coarse, and chewy. It also works with beef and pork.
If you already have a tender cut of beef, it is not necessary to tenderize the beef unless you want the texture to be silky smooth like the ones served at Chinese restaurants.
Step-by-Step Guide
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How to Tenderize Meat
Learn how to tenderize meat like Chinese restaurants. Chinese cooks use a magic meat tenderizer powder or baking soda to make tender and soft chicken, meat and pork.
Cut or slice the chicken breast to the desired shape or per the recipe instruction. Make sure it’s cut or sliced into uniform pieces.
Mix the baking soda with the chicken. Make sure the chicken breast is evenly coated with the baking soda. Set aside for 15 minutes.
Place the chicken in a colander and rinse thoroughly with cold running water. Rinse a few times if desired. Pat dry with paper towels. The chicken is now ready for the marinade or preparation called for in the recipe.
Course: Chinese Recipes
Cuisine: Chinese
Keywords: how to tenderize meat
Nutrition
Nutrition Facts
How to Tenderize Meat
Amount Per Serving (1 g)
Calories 110Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 3g19%
Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
Cholesterol 37mg12%
Sodium 651mg28%
Protein 11g22%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated, using Spoonacular, for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.
Velveting is a simple process of using baking soda or a mixture of egg whites, cornstarch and oil to marinate and tenderize economical cuts of steak, chicken and other meats before cooking. Velveting meat softens fibers to reduce toughness and enhance juiciness for maximum flavor and tenderness.
1. Physically tenderize the meat. For tough cuts like chuck steak, a meat mallet can be a surprisingly effective way to break down those tough muscle fibers. You don't want to pound it into oblivion and turn the meat into mush, but a light pounding with the rough edge of a meat mallet will do the trick.
The Aging. Most fine restaurants age their beef to intensify the flavor and improve the tenderness of the cut. Aging is done by letting the meat sit (in very controlled conditions) for several days or weeks.
Add Some Fruit. In addition to acid-based foods, plant enzymes in fruits like pineapple and kiwi can tenderize meat. Like with lemon juice or vinegar, you don't want to leave these foods on beef for too long—it will make the meat soft. You can blend fruit to create a marinade.
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.
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.
Regular or apple cider vinegar, wine or beer, lemon or lime juice, buttermilk or yogurt contain tenderizing acids. As well as acid, enzymes found in fruits like pineapple, kiwi, mangoes, and papaya disrupt the molecular structure of meat's connective tissue.
Using a meat mallet (or kitchen mallet) to pound steaks helps soften and tenderize the meat. Simply place the meat in between pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound it prior to cooking. If you don't have a meat mallet, you can also use a heavy kitchen tool such as a skillet, saucepan or rolling pin.
The trick for most of Texas Roadhouse's steaks is quickly searing and grilling the meat to create flavorful crusts and help lock in moisture. The chain does nearly the opposite with its prime rib, cooking it slow and low to achieve delicious, meaty tenderness.
Give it a boost by marinating! Not only does marinating infuse flavor, but it can tenderize too. A key ingredient in most marinades is acid (in the form of vinegar, citrus juice or yogurt) that starts to "cook" or break down the meat before it hits the heat.
How to Make It. Just add 1 to 2 tablespoons of white vinegar to your cooking liquids and your roasts, stew meats, and steaks will come out tender and juicy every time. Another option is to pierce your meat all over with a fork and then soak it in vinegar for 1 to 2 hours before you cook it.
Not only does the hammering motion soften the meat, but the spikes create pockets that allow marinades and seasonings to penetrate further into the meat. For these reasons, mallet tenderizers are considered more versatile, as their dual surfaces let you flatten and puncture meat.
Mattison explains that when baking soda comes into contact with a steak's surface, it alkalizes the steak, or raises the steak's pH levels. This helps the meat fibers be less tight. She clarifies that it's similar to the salt in a brine solution, which makes the steak more tender (and tasty).
Introduction: My name is Eusebia Nader, I am a encouraging, brainy, lively, nice, famous, healthy, clever person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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