Name: How to Prepare and Tenderize Beef For Cooking Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 lb steak, top round, sirloin, or flank; 1/4 tsp baking soda; 1/2 tbsp Shaoxing Wine; 1 tbsp naturally aged soy sauce, or dark soy sauce; 1 tsp Zhenjiang Vinegar; 1 tsp cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred; 1/4 tsp salt, Himalayan pink salt, or sea salt; 1 tbsp Arrowroot Flour; 2 tbsp cooking oil, such as avocado oil or canola oil; 2 tbsp cooking oil, such as avocado oil or canola oil; 1 small piece of ginger, about 10 g, thin sliced; 1 stalk of green onion, chopped

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Prepare and tenderize beef properly is the key to juicy and tasty beef dishes. Many people, me included initially, find it challenging to make a juicy Beef Dish. Compared to pork or chicken, beef meat gets toughened up easier during cooking. If you are searching for solutions on how to prepare and tenderize beef for a delicious Beef Stir Fry, search no more. You absolutely come to the right place, as you will learn all the tips and tricks to cook a juicy and yummy Beef Stir Fry and other dishes.

Topics I am going to cover include how to cut beef, what is the important step before marinating the beef, and how to marinate beef. Last but not least, how to cook beef slices. With this knowledge at hand, you can cook all kinds of delicious Beef dishes. Better-than-take out Mongolian Beef, Beef with Broccoli, Beef with Bitter Melon, Beef with Green Pepper or Beef Soup with Daikon Radish and potatoes. You name it.

how to prepare and tenderize beef for cooking?

Step 1 is to cut the beef across the grain into thin slices

It is important that you cut the beef across the grain into fairly thin slices. How thin it needs to be? Well, it is a fine balance of meaty flavor and texture vs. tenderness. A little under 1/4 inch would be great.

It is so much easy to slice the beef while it is in a semi-frozen state. If the steak is in the freezer, remove to the fridge to thaw the night before would be perfect. If you are using the fresh steak, put them into the freezer for a couple of hours prior to the cooking will do the trick too.

Cut Beef across the grain into thin slices

After you have sliced the steak across the grain into long thin slices, and then cut across again into bite-size slices or julienne cut slices.

Cut beef into bite size slices to prepare and tenderize beef

Step 2 is to soak the beef slices in cold water

Place the beef slices in a mixing bowl filled with cold water. Let it rest for about 10 minutes while you prepare other ingredients.

Two benefits of doing this. The first is to get rid of the residual blood, hence making the beef more refreshingly tasty. The second is to hydrate the beef so that it becomes more tender.

Soak beef in cold water to prepare and tenderize beef

Step 3 is to use a pinch of baking soda to prepare and tenderize the beef

Use 1/4 teaspoonful of baking soda for one pound of beef. Use a pair of wooden spatulas to toss and mix well. This will be the first thing you do after having soaked the beef slices. You will notice the beef slices already have the nice plump looking.

Mix beef slices with baking soda to prepare and tenderize beef

Step 4 is to marinate beef slices to prepare for beef for stir fry

Add Shaoxing wine, naturally aged soy sauce, Zhenjiang vinegar, salt, sugar, and arrowroot flour into the mixing bowl. Toss and mix well using a pair of bamboo or wooden spatulas. The same way you toss a salad.

Step 5 is to wrap the marinated beef with cooking oil

For one pound of beef, add 2 tablespoonfuls of cooking oil such as canola oil and then toss and mix well with marinated beef slices. This last step before cooking will ensure we shield the beef so that they stay moist during cooking.

Marinating Beef to prepare and tenderize beef

Step 6 is to sear beef slices in small batches

It is important to cook the beef first before stir frying together with selected vegetables. For cooking the beef, use a pan-fry or sear method in a hard-anodized nonstick fry pan, about half a pound in a 12-inch fry pan at a time.

It is important you use a nonstick pan, otherwise all the nice coating we put on the beef slices will come off during the cooking.

Sear about half-pound of beef at a time. Since the beef is wrapped with oil, you do not need to add additional oil for the searing. The quality non-stick fry pan also helps.

Turn the heat to medium and heat the fry pan for 1 minute. Then add the ginger slices and chopped green onion along with the marinated beef slices.

Try to lay flat the beef slices on the pan, cook for about 2 minutes. Then flip and cook the other side for 1 minute. Following that, use a slotted turner to fold and stir fry for another 2 minutes.

Sear Marinated Beef Slices in a hard anodized fry pan in small batches

Repeat for the other half of the marinated beef slices.

Hooray, you have properly prepared the beef and are ready to make a delicious Beef Stir Fry. Try these delicious Beef Stir Fry Recipes:

How to Prepare and Tenderize Beef For Cooking Recipe

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Prepare and tenderize beef properly is the key to juicy and tasty dishes featuring beef. Learn old-fashioned tips, follow easy step-by-step tutorial on how to accomplish this.

Ingredients

1 lb steak, top round, sirloin, or flank

For Marinating the Beef:

1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tbsp Shaoxing Wine
1 tbsp naturally aged soy sauce, or dark soy sauce
1 tsp Zhenjiang Vinegar
1 tsp cane sugar, organic unrefined preferred
1/4 tsp salt, Himalayan pink salt, or sea salt
1 tbsp Arrowroot Flour
2 tbsp cooking oil, such as avocado oil or canola oil

For Sear the Beef:

2 tbsp cooking oil, such as avocado oil or canola oil
1 small piece of ginger, about 10 g, thin sliced
1 stalk of green onion, chopped

Instructions

Gather ingredients.
Cut the steak across the grain into thin slices, a little under 1/4 inch will be great. Cut across again to get the bite-size slices.
Soak the beef slices in cold water for about 10 minutes. Then rinse a couple of times and gently squeeze to remove the extra water and place them into a mixing bowl.
Add 1/4 tsp baking soda into the mixing bowl. Toss and mix well with the beef using a pair of bamboo or wooden spatulas. Toss like you are tossing a salad.
Add Shaoxing wine, naturally aged soy sauce, Zhenjiang vinegar, sugar, salt, and arrowroot flour. Toss and mix well again.
Add 2 tbsp cooking oil such as avocado oil or canola oil into the mixing bowl. Toss and mix well.
Turn the heat to medium, and heat a 12-inch hard-anodized fry pan for 1 minute, and then add about half of the ginger slices and green onion
Add about half of the marinated beef slices onto the pan. Try to lay flat the marinated beef slices on the pan, cook for 2 minutes, and then flip and cook the other side for 1 minute.
Use a slotted turner, fold and stir fry the beef for another 2 minutes, and then remove the beef from the pan and set it aside.
Repeat for the other half of the marinated beef.
All done! You are ready to make a delicious Beef dish.