What technique is used to tenderize meat in Chinese cooking?
A friend once told me that the only thing they do differently is be more careful about cutting with the grain of the meat, but that alone does not result in the kind of tender meat that I encounter in Chinese restaurants… what’s the secret?
Tags: chinese restaurants, tender meat
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8 Responses to “What technique is used to tenderize meat in Chinese cooking?”
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September 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
So many Chinese restaurants use the crappiest and cheapest quality chicken, to where they have to skin it and remove the meat from the bone – but somehow in the dishes it still comes out soo moist and tender!
How does it happen? Read on.
My dad, a Chinese chef, says it’s all about first beating the chicken with a mallet – you know, one of those hammer things where on one end it’s spiky? It’ll flatten the chicken some, thus make it softer.
After slicing the chicken, dip it into a cornstrach/water mixture before putting it your very hot wok – it is THAT that will give your chicken the tenderness you’re looking for, as well as the desired thickenss of your brown or white sauce.
But shhhh! Keep that a secret.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Chinese dishes are usually made using meat cut into small portions. That means that the meat isn’t cooked for as long as a steak and therefore retains all of its natural juices. Just as a medium-rare steak, with less cooking time and more juices intact, is tenderer than a well-done steak, so meat cooked in this way is tenderer than a piece of meat cooked for a longer period of time in a pan.
In Chinese stir fry, it is also common practice to cook the meat first, remove the meat, and stir fry the vegetables in the meat juice and sauce before re-adding the meat to the stir fry for final warming and presentation. This brief time off the heat allows the meat to "rest" – the muscular structures in the meat relax, making the meat taste more tender.
Meat for stir-fry should be cut *against* the grain. This is because it is easier (for the diner) to separate the muscle fibres cut against the grain, that to try to break the lengths of muscle fibre in a piece of meat cut with the grain.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
MSG-Mono sodium glutamate
Accent
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I find teryaki tenderizes so well.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Your friend is wrong, watch the "meat tenderizer" episode of Alton Brown. Against the grain is the way to make the meat more tender. I know Chineese resturants do this but it is not what makes the meat more tender. The best way is to buy good meat, top sections or center cuts. My favorite is the Tenderloin both beef or pork.
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
an iron meat hammer
only cook for a few minutes
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
Baking soda…just a little bit though, mixed with water to make it a little runny
September 3rd, 2010 at 4:46 pm
I think the more inexpensive Chinese restaurants use baking soda to break down the fibers. The beef is cheaper and tougher, a mallet alone would not result in enough tenderizing. And if you think back, the texture of the beef is very soft, that is the chemical reaction and it has (not to be gross) an "already been chewed" feeling.
As you get into pricier restaurants, you will find better cuts like top sirloin and tenderloin that don ‘t need that kind tenderizing.