The fried beef is old and tough, because you only add cornstarch, and the chef makes the beef tender and smooth with just one move!

Stir-fried beef is a very common home-cooked dish, such as stir-fried beef with cabbage, stir-fried beef with kale, stir-fried beef with green vegetables, etc. However, when frying beef, many people encounter a problem, that is The beef is too tough and tastes dry. I asked the chef how to make fried beef soft and not chewy, what part to choose, how to distinguish between meat cuts along the grain and against the grain, etc. In addition, people have always said that salt should not be added to corned beef, but the chef said otherwise. As long as you do an extra step after adding salt, the meat will still be soft and shiny.

What part should be used for stir-fried beef?

If you are rich enough, you can certainly buy beef tenderloin or beef tenderloin, but Master Lei Qiyu recommends beef tenderloin. He said: "Actually, there are many parts of beef that can be used, such as cowboy tenderloin, but beef tenderloin is more commonly used. It is cost-effective and other cuts are of course more beautiful. But when it comes to stir-frying beef, most cattle will use beef tenderloin. "Go stir-fry." He pointed out that the meat and fat of yellow beef are unevenly distributed and will not have snowflake patterns like Wagyu beef. Instead, there will be oil on one side and meat on the other. Some of them have too much fat and are not suitable for stir-frying at all.

Chinese restaurants generally use beef tenderloin, which is the buttocks, which is a part of beef that is more lean and less fatty. It has a soft texture and a strong meaty flavor.

In addition, size is also an issue. In addition to being cost-effective, beef tenderloin itself is relatively large and looks good when cut. On the contrary, beef tenderloin is round and would be too big if sliced ??directly. However, cutting it into two would affect the presentation, so Chinese stir-fried pork slices are rarely used.

How to cut beef along the grain and against the grain?

After selecting the right beef, the next step is to slice it. I wonder if you have ever heard of a saying that beef must be cut against the grain so that it will not become tough. However, for novices, when picking up a large piece of beef, how can they tell whether it is against the grain or against the grain? The chef will give detailed explanations with pictures and texts to ensure that everyone will understand it after just one look!

The chef teaches you how to distinguish the texture of beef:

The growth texture of this piece of meat is very obvious. If you want to slice it, do you know how to cut it?

The chef said that you can clearly see the fiber lines running across it. We call it along the grain.

However, we have to cut against the grain, cut off its lines and destroy its tissue, otherwise it will definitely strangle.

Taking this piece as an example, the texture grows horizontally, so we need to cut straight down to cut the texture.

The one on the left in the picture is the meat cut along the grain. The fibers of the meat are connected like strands, just like when you eat shredded squid and tear it out one by one; and the one on the left It is meat cut against the grain.

The chef explains why it is better to cut against the grain, because if you cut against the grain, the meat will be in pieces instead of strands.

He said: "Think about the difference between biting a grain and a thread. If you bite a thousand pieces, the meat will go away; if you bite a thousand pieces, the meat will pile up. , you feel it is hard to bite and old.”

He pointed out that it is indeed more difficult to cut meat along the grain, but if it is high-quality beef, it will still taste good even if it is cut along the grain.

< p> However, it turns out that the texture of beef is not always so obvious, and sometimes it is difficult to see it. It is even obviously the same piece of meat, but it can be cut along the grain and against the grain. In the final analysis, it turns out that the master cut it randomly!

The chef explained: "For example, the chef at the meat stall hoisted a whole piece of meat. There are already several groups of muscles in it, but it If you treat it as one piece, it will become two pieces of muscle. Many butcher shops are like this, and supermarkets are the same. Most of them sell beef tenderloin in one piece, which is relatively neat; but if it is beef tenderloin, it may be divided into two or three pieces. There are several pieces of muscle. When you say you want beef tenderloin for 20 yuan, he may cut it into pieces at will."

The texture of the beef is not consistent. They are all so obvious, and some pieces of meat can go both along and against the grain.

The secret to making corned beef tough even after adding salt. After you learn how to pick and cut beef, how can you skip the step of marinating beef? I remember sometimes eating satay beef noodles in a tea restaurant. The beef was so chewy with loose meat powder that it was completely tasteless. No matter how soft it was, it was in vain. This time, the chef demonstrated how to marinate beef with the most basic marinade. It can still be tender and juicy without using loose meat powder.

Although some say that salt should not be added to marinated meat, the chef says that is not necessarily the case, because salt also has other functions besides seasoning, but you have to do another step later, and you must give the beef some flavor. Enough time.

It is best to choose these wide and tall containers for marinating meat.

Chef’s secret technique for marinating beef:

As with any meat, you need to add salt at the beginning.

When talking about why salt is added, the chef explained that salt will produce osmosis, which can release the protein in the beef and form a protective film, making the beef smoother, sticky and taste better.

After adding salt, the most important thing is to connect the beef. At first, the beef is not very sticky, but after adding salt, connect it twice to make it "gluey" and become sticky. .

Next, you need to add sugar, because sugar can enhance the freshness and prevent the beef from being too salty.

The next step is very critical, which is to add water, but try to add it in batches and little by little.

After adding salt to the beef to create osmosis, the meat will become empty, so we need to let it absorb water so that the cow will not grow old

This is beef after adding water. Pressing it can squeeze out the water, and it is also relatively shiny. On the contrary, if no water is added, the cow will be very dry. Experts will say that it is not moist enough and the meat will taste poor.

The next step is to add the egg yolk, because the enzymes in the egg yolk can make the beef slippery, but for this amount of beef, only one egg yolk is enough.

When asked about the difference between egg whites, egg yolks and whole eggs in cured meat, the chef said: "The egg whites are mainly found in white meat, such as seafood, pork, and chicken, while the egg yolks are found in red meat. ”

However, even if you use whole egg marinated beef, the difference is not big, but the ratio is 5 pounds of beef to 1 whole egg, so the amount of eggs is actually very small.

After removing the egg yolk, add cornstarch to form a layer of protective surface, which will shrink once cooked.

Finally, add some oil to seal its surface, and gently stir the oil until even.

One thing to remember is that the beef itself is indeed tough. If you want it to be flavorful and soft, it must be marinated for at least one night.

Since beef requires "water", we must add water and marinate it overnight to allow it to absorb enough water and achieve a completely loosened state.

The key step to stir-fry beef is to prepare everything. Just stir-fry the vegetables and beef and you're done. Since it is vegetables and meat, there will always be people who are lazy and cook both in one pot, but this is a big mistake and may even waste all their efforts. If you want to make the stir-fried beef delicious, no matter what kind of vegetables you use, remember to pay attention to the order. First blanch the vegetables, stir-fry them until they are half-cooked, drain the water and stir-fry again, so that the finished product will not be soggy.

The chef said: "Why does it sometimes become watery when you cook cabbage and stir-fry beef? That's the reason. Either stir-fry it first, or stir-fry the cabbage raw and drain. Only when the water is dry can you add beef and stir-fry it, which makes it "beautiful." This time, he used jade melon, lotus root, carrot, etc. to make seasonal stir-fried beef.

Chef’s steps and tips for stir-frying beef:

First blanch the vegetables in water.

Since vegetables contain moisture, if you blanch them and drain them before frying, the finished product will not be soggy. No matter what kind of vegetables you cook, do it this way.

You should also pay attention to the "oiling" of beef, fry it and then drain the oil. Not only will it taste more delicious, but the fried dishes will not be too oily.

This step is also called "pulling tender oil". Although a lot of oil is used, there are not too many bubbles when frying. The pot is very still, which is different from frying meat. :

To fry meat, boiling oil is used, and the oil temperature is very high, but this one uses low heat and relies on the heat of the pot to slowly cook the beef.

Since it will be fried later, the beef can be served after it is cooked to about 80%.

The next step is to process the ingredients, including scallions, garlic, carrots, etc., which can be slightly sauteed until fragrant.

Fry the spices and return the vegetables to the pot.

Add beef, seasonings and XO sauce, stir well and serve.

Stir-fried beef with seasonal vegetables, using the chef's method, the beef slices are guaranteed not to be old or bitter.