Stir-fried beef is a common dish on the table, and it can be combined with other ingredients to create a variety of flavors. For example, stir-fried beef with green peppers, stir-fried beef with water spinach, and so on.

The biggest fear when stir-frying beef is dry and tough. To achieve delicious results, pay attention to the three key steps of cutting, cleaning, and marinating. You can achieve tender, juicy, and flavorful beef.

Cut the Meat Horizontally

For delicious stir-fried beef, care begins with the cutting process. Cut horizontally, following the grain of the beef. Cutting horizontally cuts the beef fibers, avoiding chewiness and potentially getting stuck in your teeth.

Add cornstarch when rinsing

Place the cut beef in a bowl and rinse it with cornstarch and a moderate amount of water. This will clean the meat more thoroughly and remove any fishy odors. Finally, rinse thoroughly with boiling water.

Pre-marinating: To improve the toughness of meat, soak it in small amounts of cooking oil in batches.

For lean, tough meat, try soaking it in a small amount of cooking oil. Once the meat has absorbed the oil, add more oil. After repeated soakings, season the oil-soaked meat with a little soy sauce or salt.

Adding a little cooking rice wine will make the meat tender and juicy while also locking in its moisture.

Try marinating meat with fruit.

Adding a little pineapple juice to marinating or cooking meat can make it more tender. This is because fruits like pineapple, papaya, and kiwi are rich in protein-degrading enzymes, which break down the chains of protein (large molecules).

Amino acids (small molecules) are broken down into fragments, aiding protein digestion and absorption. This mechanism of protein enzymes can soften the meat and enhance its flavor.

Some people may be accustomed to coating shredded or sliced ​​meat in cornstarch before cooking, believing this step makes the meat more tender and allows it to absorb sauces.

However, this can actually cause it to stick to the pan or absorb too much oil. Next time you cook meat, try marinating it beforehand. For example, using the method mentioned above, marinating in small amounts of cooking oil or using fruit juices can soften the meat and enhance its flavor.