How do I make meat tender (for stir fry)?

Question

Hi,
Every time I go to a Chinese restaurant I am amazed how the meat in the stir-fry dishes is so tender. When I stir-fry at home the beef is always chewy and the chicken is dry…
Do I need to marinate it in something or is it the way I cook? I do buy good meat.
I know that for larger pieces I should cook longer but what about stir fry? Thanks
UG

Answer 1

Beat the meat with a mallet first so the strips are thin then marinate it in some corn flour/corn starch for an hour or two. Mix some cornflour and water to make a liquid that looks like milk, and sit for a while. Drain before cooking. Cook the meat in small batches on high sear quickly until almost cooked through. take the meat out and cook the veges and then add it all together with the sauce. Its the best way to keep the meat tender and not boiling in the sauce or vege juices.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
How do I make meat tender (for stir fry)?
Hi,
Every time I go to a Chinese restaurant I am amazed how the meat in the stir-fry dishes is so tender. When I stir-fry at home the beef is always chewy and the chicken is dry…
Do I need to marinate it in something or is it the way I cook? I do buy good meat.
I know that for larger pieces I...

Answer 3

meat, esp red meat is harder than white meat. when you cook red meat you have to cook until it becomes tender and that will take a longer time, as long as 40 to 50ms.
usually what i do when i stir fry beef or mutton is, i would put it in a pressure cooker (add some salt, pepper and other preferred seasoning with water) and make the meat tender first. you would be amazed to see that the meat becomes soft and very tender and that takes about 20 to 25ms only. next all you have to do is begin on your stir fry.
by this way much time is save and not only that by pressure cooking the meat all the flavour is preserved and makes your dish taste better.

Answer 4

Cheaper cuts of meat are better and more often than not , marinade. Sometimes adding a teaspoon of vinegar to the marinade helps to tenderise the meat (or lemon juice). Never marinade using this way for longer than about four hours as it can make the meat go off. Most of our meat these days is too fresh and therefore tough to eat so the vinegar/lemon juice helps to age it somewhat. I always do this with the red meat types. Another thing to do is heat your wok up really, really hot until you see smoke coming from it, add a little of your meat, stir quickly to brown, then pop into a hot oven while you're cooking the rest. Do your veggies, add your sauces then add your meat back.

Answer 5

Actually, in Chinese restaurants they don't go through all the riggermarole suggested here. They cut the meat for the dish, mix it with corn starch in a bowl, and soak it for a little while in the appropriate sauce (usually soy sauce) and then wok it.

Answer 6

I notice one thing they do in the restaurants is their meat is sliced so thin you can almost see through it. That will make it super tender. With the chicken, don't cook it so long. That dries it out.

nfd♥

Answer 7

depending on the recipe..
I marinade mine in lemon or orange juice with tons of garlic, black pepper and sweet soy sauce for 30min
also sometimes I marinade it in 7up.. it makes a nice tender meat..
shrimp marinaded in 7up with a bit of garlic, soy sauce, black pepper, lemon, mustard, ketchup, for about 30min, then scewer them on sticks and BBQ them or broil .. mmmm!

Answer 8

Place it between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound it flat with a mallet or a can of soup. Then do not over cook it, undercook it if you have to.

Answer 9

the only way to get ur beef tender is to boil it in water for about an hour depending on how much u have and how big the pieces are.....same goes for white meat but i would add some butter to it or olive oil