How do chinese restaurants get the beef that texture?

Obviously, I have no exact idea the soft textile you are referring to. Make sure you pick the correct beef. Frank beef or skirt beef are ideal.

There are two main reasons why Chinese restaurants can cook meat (especially beef) much softer than you. One reason is that their woks are significantly hotter, so the meat are never "grilled" or "sateed".

Another method I suggest you to try is baking soda. Yes, you will never hear people talk about it but I am telling you now. I can also later tell you why not every Chinese restaurants do this. Try this tonight, divide your beef into two bowls. In one bowl, you marinate the beef as usual. The other bowl, you marinate the beef with an addition of baking soda, just a very tiny pinch. When adding to 1/2 cup size of beef, 1 rice-grain-size of baking soda is sufficient. Make sure you mix very well (due to the small amount) and marinate for at least 2 minute. You may add 1 teaspon of water just to help you mix easily. Baking soda reacts very quickly, so you do not need to wait too long. You can if you wish, but you don't have to. Now cook the two bowl of beef separately and see if you can taste the difference.

If you add enough favoring, especially a touch of vinegar, then you should not able to taste the baking soda anymore. (Vinegar will react with any excessive baking soda and vinegar has a very strong taste which will mask it) If you can taste baking soda, then decrease the amount. If that still does not work, then what you can do is rinse the beef with water before the actual stir fry. In that case, the steps are: add a pinch of baking soda (no marinate) to beef, mix well and wait for 1+minutes, rinse the beef with water, drain the beef as much as you can, marinate again only this time with regular ingredients.

Let me know if this is the kind of softness you are talking about.

I used to cook like that, but now I no longer cook like this because I am a real man.

Meeeeeeow

Maybe it's not really beef.

the sauce, not only to add flavour, but also add tenderness to meat, poultry and seafood

Use baking soda to "soak" the beef. Don't over soak it as the baking soda will ruin the texture of the beef. After the beef is tenderized, rinse it well under water to wash away the baking soda (baking soda will ruin the taste of the dish).

Baking soda is used to marinate the beef and let sit for overnight in the fridge. try it.

Yes!!!! use more cornstarch, u probably havent been putting enough. Before you cook the meat (while your marinating it, add a little cornstarch). I don't know why this works, but it does. My mom (shes chinese) swears by it and I've been to the local chinese reastaurants and thats what they use too.

Alot of asian meats are marinated in juices such as limes and lemons.

I wondered that myself. Maybe we should ask before we eat it. I love chinese food.

They slice the beef thinly, and then beat it with a meat hammer, just like chicken fried steaks. Then it is marinated, dipped in corn starch and simmered in whatever sauce it is being served with. Most of the texture is the corn starch coating. You can do the same thing with chicken or pork. The meat hammer reduces the meat texture from leathery to tender.


Slice it about 1/4" thick against the grain, then pound it between plastic bags, until it is paper thin. Then slice it into strips, and marinate in soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. Add a little papaya if you really want it tender, but be careful, because the papaya will make the meat dissolve into mushiness, if marinated too long. Dust it with corn starch, fry it briefly in oil, and then add it to you vegetables just before adding sauce