chai@utflis.UUCP (Henry Chai) (11/26/85)
I'd like to clear up what is, I think, a common misconception about
stir-frying beef: beef should NOT be STIR-fried. Whilst frying
the meat should not be stirred since it toughens the meat.
In Chinese restaurants, the beef is first blanched in hot oil so it's
half cooked. Then the veggies are stir-fried and the beef is added
at the last instant, stirred for a few seconds and then served
immediately. Domestic cooks generally don't bother to heat up a panful
of hot oil just to blanch beef for half a minute, so here's how we
do it at home: heat a bit of oil in a wok and put beef in, preferably spread
out in a single layer. DO NOT MOVE THE MEAT until the edges change color.
Then, flip to the other side and fry for a little while longer. Add
prepared veggies and stir for a few seconds and serve. Alternatively,
remove beef when half-cooked and stir-fry veggies, adding beef at end
of cooking.
Another way to ensure tender 'stir-fried' beef, but one which I don't
recommand at all, is to use baking soda to marinate. This is nothing like
somebody's experiment of coating the entire piece of meat in the stuff,
as was discussed on the net a while back. Rather, about 1/4 tsp. of
soda is added to 100 g/ 4 oz. of meat to tenderize it. I frown upon this
because it utterly destroys BOTH the FLAVOR and the TEXTURE
of the meat. I can always tell when restaurants use it since it is
overly tender and it has no 'beefy taste' but rather an 'alkaline' taste.
I've yet to discover a good restaurant which refrains from using it!
I myself never tried using soda until tonight. Last night I talked to somebody
who said that if you wash the beef after you let the soda do its thing for
a few minutes, you'll retain the flavor but the meat will be tender.
So I tried it. I think I let it sit for about 5 minutes (while I washed
and chopped the nappa* ), washed it and added soy sauce etc. And what I got
was what I'd like to call 'soda beef', no taste but all tender. I swore
that I'll never use soda with beef again!
The problem with beef is that it cooks quickly and toughens quickly
when over-cooked. Other meats are less susceptible to over-cooking
so they are easier to handle.
*nappa is a kind of chinese cabbage which can be found in most supermarkets
(here in T.O., at least).
--
Henry Chai, just a humble student at the
Faculty of Library and Information Science, U of Toronto
{watmath,ihnp4,allegra}!utzoo!utflis!chai levy@ttrdc.UUCP (Daniel R. Levy) (11/28/85)
In article <605@utflis.UUCP>, chai@utflis.UUCP (Henry Chai) writes: > >Another way to ensure tender 'stir-fried' beef, but one which I don't >recommand at all, is to use baking soda to marinate. This is nothing like >somebody's experiment of coating the entire piece of meat in the stuff, >as was discussed on the net a while back. Rather, about 1/4 tsp. of >soda is added to 100 g/ 4 oz. of meat to tenderize it. I frown upon this >because it utterly destroys BOTH the FLAVOR and the TEXTURE >of the meat. I can always tell when restaurants use it since it is >overly tender and it has no 'beefy taste' but rather an 'alkaline' taste. >I've yet to discover a good restaurant which refrains from using it! > >I myself never tried using soda until tonight. Last night I talked to somebody >who said that if you wash the beef after you let the soda do its thing for >a few minutes, you'll retain the flavor but the meat will be tender. >So I tried it. I think I let it sit for about 5 minutes (while I washed >and chopped the nappa* ), washed it and added soy sauce etc. And what I got >was what I'd like to call 'soda beef', no taste but all tender. I swore >that I'll never use soda with beef again! > Didn't someone else also post an article on this (though the treatment was more gross than what you describe--a whole steak was encrusted in the soda over- night)? There was a followup from the same person saying that the replies had uniformly frowned upon this and in fact warned it might be toxic. If you are encountering restaurants which do this, perhaps it is not toxic (but I would agree with you, it tastes lousy, I'd sooner eat textured vegetable protein)? I have yet to see a REAL clarification of what happens when the beef is soda-treated--saponification (conversion to soap) of the fats? Surely there must be more if a "tenderizing" effect occurs. The commercial ten- derizers work on a different principle--they contain enzymes like papain and bromelain (derived from papaya and pineapple, respectively) which catalyze the chemical breakdown of the proteins themselves, which is what would happen in the stomach anyway, so they don't sound as bad as the "soda" treatment. But if someone would illuminate, perhaps more people than I would appreciate seeing it, too. -- ------------------------------- Disclaimer: The views contained herein are | dan levy | yvel nad | my own and are not at all those of my em- | an engihacker @ | ployer or the administrator of any computer | at&t computer systems division | upon which I may hack. | skokie, illinois | -------------------------------- Path: ..!ihnp4!ttrdc!levy