Velveting beef (2024)

FAQs

How do you velvetize 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.

Velveting time

Now here's the secret ingredients: ½ teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) and 2 teaspoons of cornflour (cornstarch). Give everything a good mix and leave to velvet. (Is 'velvet' a verb? It is now!)

The longer it sits, the more tender it will be. However, if you velvet for longer than an hour, the meat will become too soft—more akin to goo than a tender cut of protein. Rinse well before cooking: After velveting the meat, you have the option to rinse off the baking soda or slurry to prevent clumps in your stir-fry.

Less than a teaspoon of baking soda ensures that your steak remains juicy and tender—even after a speedy marinade. While other recipes demand hours of marinating, this baking soda hack makes a flank steak or any other fibrous cut of beef ready to sear after just an hour.

If you're looking for a walkthrough on how to make beef tender for stir-fries, then you're in the right place! Luckily, it's quite easy to do and it's a 2 step process: Slice the beef against the grain, and make sure you always use cornstarch, water (to hydrate the meat), and oil in your beef marinade (velveting).

Whether hosting a holiday cookout, serving up some stir-fry or tackling game meats, baking soda is the go-to meat tenderizer to help make your steak, chicken or turkey silkier, juicier and yummier.

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.

Because the velveting process is great for tenderizing tough cuts of meat, it works really well on beef cuts like sirloin and flank steak. The cornstarch (or baking soda) and oil mixture used to marinate the meat helps the meat retain moisture while cooking for a more tender, juicy steak.

You can let the meat marinate for as little as 30 minutes or overnight. The longer the better. Heat about 500ml (2 cups) of oil in a wok until bubbles form and it is glistening. Then flash fry the meat in batches for about a minute to brown.

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.

Can I marinate beef after velveting? ›

You can marinate and/or coat the beef after tenderising, if required, for the recipe.

What is velveting? Velveting is a Chinese method of marinating which keeps delicate meat and seafood moist and tender during cooking. The velveting technique is very easy and gives amazing results.

How does Texas Roadhouse tenderise their steaks? Season each side of the steak well with the seasoning and set aside to rest for about 40 minutes. This causes the salt to infiltrate the surface (through osmosis) and actually aids in the breakdown of muscle fibres, resulting in more tender meat.

To give your velveted meat an even thicker coating of sauce, add an egg white to the slurry. Increase the cornstarch and you'll end up with something thicker and more substantive, maybe a slurry better-suited to a stew or soup, like the Chinese Filipino misua I grew up with. For additional flavor, try adding 1 Tbsp.

To enhance the flavor and tenderize the meat, Koreans traditionally add a grated Korean pear to the marinade. It's simply the best way. However, if you cannot find a Korean/Asian pear, you can omit it or use a Bosc pear or an apple instead.

Chinese restaurants use a technique called “velveting,” in which the meat is first marinated in a combination of egg whites, cornstarch, water or rice wine and salt for about half an hour. The meat is then blanched briefly in either hot oil or water. After this, it is stir-fried with the other ingredients.