How to marinate beef for Chinese cooking?

In Chinese cooking, velveting meats includes 2 steps: tenderizing and marinating. Tenderize beef in a mixture of baking soda, soy sauce, salt, and oil. Let the mixture marinate for at least 15 minutes or overnight for optimal flavor and tenderness .

What to do with dry shredded beef?

Dried like jerky, then pounded into shreds, machaca can be rehydrated and used in all sorts of dishes, from scrambled eggs and stews to a filling for burritos .

Why is Chinese restaurant beef so tender?

In Chinese cooking, proteins like beef, pork or chicken are velveted first before stir-frying them. There are several ways to velvet, but at its most basic level, it involves marinating meat with at least one ingredient that will make it alkaline . This is what tenderizes the meat, especially cheaper, tougher cuts.

What makes Chinese food beef so tender?

There are two popular velveting techniques in Chinese cooking: the baking soda method and the cornstarch method . Before making your favorite Chinese stir-fry, learn how to velvet thinly sliced beef with baking soda to ensure tender, juicy meat.

How to make beef tender like Chinese restaurants?

📺 Watch how to make it Place the steak strips in a bowl. Sprinkle over 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda and rub it into the meat with your hands. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Rinse the beef in cold water to remove the bicarb. Pat dry with paper towels and use as per your recipe. Jul 11, 2023

Do you marinate beef before stir-frying?

Velveting meat simply involves marinating strips of meat in a combination of cornstarch, baking soda, soy sauce and mirin for 30 minutes . After that, you can remove the beef from the marinade and add it straight to your stir-fry.

What is the secret ingredient to tenderize meat?

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.

What do the Chinese use to marinate meat?

Tips to making basic meat marinade. Alcohol: (whiskey or rice wine) Alcohol is an acid. Acids break down protein. ... Soy sauce: There are so many brands and tastes of soy sauce out there and they range in price. ... Sesame oil: This is optional, but I like the smell and taste of sesame oil.

How to prepare beef for Chinese cooking?

To tenderize beef, cutting the beef against the grain is usually enough to keep it tender and soft. You can also add ¾ teaspoon of baking soda mixed with 2 tablespoons of water with your beef slices for 30 minutes but you must rinse out the baking soda before you start to marinate it.

Do you need to rinse baking soda off meat?

From there, leave it in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours or overnight. Then take the meat out of the container and rinse it ensuring that all—or most—of the baking soda is off the steak .

Why is my shredded beef not tender?

First, it may not have been cooked long enough . If not cooked properly, the meat will remain tough and difficult to shred. Another reason is that there may not be enough liquid. It's important to use the right amount of liquid to keep the beef moist and tender.

Can you overcook shredded beef?

Yes, you absoultely can overcook meat in the slow cooker and it will end up tasting dry and mushy.

What kind of beef do Chinese takeaways use?

Chinese restaurants typically use flank steak , an affordable cut with great flavor. The steak should be cut thinly against the grain. Each slice should be about one-eighth of an inch thick, since thinner slices have more surface area for the marinade.

Crispy Salt and Pepper Beef - Khin's Kitchen

Published: Oct 11, 2020 · Modified: Mar 16, 2021 · by Khin · This post may contain affiliate links.

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Crispy salt and pepper beef, also known as ' crispy shredded beef ' is one of our family's favourite Chinese beef dish. Crispy deep fried beef steak tossed with restaurant style classic mix of salt, pepper, Chinese five spices and fresh crisp vegetables.

Crispy Salt and Pepper Beef - Khin's Kitchen | Chinese Beef Recipe (1)

Yum

Whenever we order salt and pepper dishes its never enough for me and the beef dishes are not very cheap when you order from the restaurants. So I tried to make at home few times and the taste turns out really nice. Super quick, easy, budget-friendly and the entire family members can enjoyed.

Crispy Salt and Pepper Beef - Khin's Kitchen | Chinese Beef Recipe (2)

Learn how to make the beef strips crispy outside and moist and tender inside in this easy to follow recipe. I simplified the recipe so anyone can make at home without much hassle. You can always adjust the salt, spices and vegetables according to your taste and make it your own style crispy salt and pepper beef.

These beef strips are seriously addictive and perfect for anytime with Chinese tea, cold drink or beer.

If you like this recipe you can also try my very popular Crispy Sweet Chilli Beef and Crispy Shredded Beef recipes.

📖 Recipe

Crispy Salt and Pepper Beef

Crispy shredded beef strips tossed with simple seasonings.

4.39 from 13 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Appetizer, Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese Cuisine

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Beef marinate time: 15 minutes minutes

Servings: 2

Ingredients

▢ 300 g Beef steak ( ribeye, sirloin or any tender steak )
▢ 1 Egg
▢ 1 Cup Corn/potato flour ( starch )
▢ 2 cloves Garlic
▢ ½ Sweet onion
▢ ½ Bell Pepper

Beef Marinade

▢ 1 tbsp Light soy sauce
▢ 1 tsp Ginger paste
▢ 1 tsp Sesame oil
▢ 1 tsp Sugar
▢ ¼ tsp Baking soda

Seasonings spice ingredients

▢ ½ tsp Salt ( or salt to taste )
▢ ½ tsp Black pepper powder
▢ ¼ tsp Chinese five spices powder ( see in note )
▢ ¼ tsp Chicken powder ( optional ) ( see in note )

Instructions

First of all cut the beef into thin strips. In a large bowl, mix the beef strips evenly with the beef marinate ingredients. Set aside and marinate for 15 minutes.
Prepare the vegetables by cut the vegetables into thin slices.
In a small bowl, mix all the seasoning ingredients evenly for later use.
Break one egg in the marinated beef strips, mix it well.
Coat each beef strips with corn flour. Make sure all beef strips are coated well and separated. Toss the excess flour out before frying.
Heat the oil into high heat about 350° F. Add the beef strips and deep fry for1-2 minutes until the coating is crispy.
Remove from oil and transfer to paper towel or cooling rack.
Heat the wok/pan into medium high heat. Drizzle a tablespoon of oil, add the garlic slices and stir for 5 seconds, then add the onion and pepper slices. Toss for 1 min then all the beef strips back in. Sprinkle the seasoning spices and toss well for 1 minute to combine all ingredients.
Transfer to serving plate and serve immediately!
I usually have this dish with fried rice, steamed rice or stir fry noodles or just perfect on its own as a savoury snack.

Video

Notes

If you want to take exactly like the Chinese restaurants and takeaway you can add chicken powder in the seasoning but that is totally optional.
Chinese five spices is a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, star anise, fennel seeds and Sichuan peppercorns powder. You can buy Chinese five spice in most Oriental/Chinese grocery stores.

Nutrition

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Reader Interactions

Comments

Hazel says
September 02, 2023 at 6:26 am

I made this with vegetarian beef and I'm addicted. an amazing recipe that I'm now making again two days later. thank you so much!
Reply
- Khin says
  September 06, 2023 at 10:51 pm
  
  Sounds delicious with vegan meat. Glad that you enjoyed it, Hazel.
  Reply
Heather Douglas says
April 28, 2023 at 12:37 am

Best ever recipe, bit fiddly but worth the final result.
Reply
- Khin says
  May 05, 2023 at 10:48 pm
  
  Thanks for trying out this recipe and sharing your feedback, Heather.
  Reply
alice says
December 04, 2021 at 4:42 pm

hi i’m planning on making this, could i use diced beef instead of strips?
Reply
- Khin says
  December 05, 2021 at 9:57 pm
  
  You can use diced beef Alice but it won't be as crispy as thin strip beef. Thank you Alice.
  Reply
Kim says
April 21, 2021 at 9:48 am

Love this recipe. Really easy to follow and tasted delicious.
Does anyone know the calories for this dish ?? It doesn’t say on the recipe.
Reply
Darlene says
April 07, 2021 at 1:46 pm

What is chicken powder?
What is corn flour?
Thank you !! Looking forward to making this
Reply
- Khin says
  May 02, 2021 at 3:57 pm
  
  Hi Darlene, Chicken powder is a chicken bouillon in powder. You can find it in Knorr brand at Asian grocery stores or you can use chicken stock cubes as a substitute. Corn starch or potato starch can be used for coating. Hope you enjoy making it.
  Reply
gavin brewer says
December 10, 2020 at 8:55 pm

Made it this evening and it was superb!
Reply
- Khin says
  December 11, 2020 at 9:05 pm
  
  Thank you Gavin. I am so happy that you like the recipe.
  Reply

Crispy Salt and Pepper Beef - Khin's Kitchen | Chinese Beef Recipe (2024)