Mongolian Beef Recipe {Video} - Butter Your Biscuit (2024)

FAQs

Why is Mongolian beef chewy? ›

Like many stir fry dishes, it is important to thinly slice the meat, which means stir-frying will obviously overcook the meat, which in turn will make it tough and chewy. No one wants chewy and tough beef. so this way we will have tender beef stir fry.

Cut the flank into thin slices no thicker than ¼ inch, against the grain. 🌟 Pro tip: On a flank steak, the horizontal streaks across the steak is the direction the grain goes. So cut against (perpendicular) to the streak so that the beef is as tender as possible.

The brining process generally takes at least 30 minutes before the meat is tenderized. Moreover, over-brining with saltwater can ruin the integrity of the meat. Alternatively, a baking soda mixture generally takes between 15 and 20 minutes to tenderize the cuts of meat.

While there are several ways to velvet, a pound of meat needs about two teaspoons of cornstarch and two teaspoons of oil, says Leung. You may also include two to three tablespoons of water. For beef, add a 1/4-teaspoon of baking soda for tenderizing. Additional seasonings are optional and vary from recipe to recipe.

Packages of pre-cut beef strips, beef for stir-fry, are often available in the meat case. Most tender beef cuts, such as sirloin, tri-tip, ribeye, top loin (strip), tenderloin, shoulder center (Ranch Steak), shoulder top blade (Flat Iron) and shoulder petite tender, can be cut into strips for use in stir-fry recipes.

Less than a teaspoon of baking soda ensures that your steak remains juicy and tender—even after a speedy marinade. While other recipes demand hours of marinating, this baking soda hack makes a flank steak or any other fibrous cut of beef ready to sear after just an hour.

Mattison explains that when baking soda comes into contact with a steak's surface, it alkalizes the steak, or raises the steak's pH levels. This helps the meat fibers be less tight. She clarifies that it's similar to the salt in a brine solution, which makes the steak more tender (and tasty).

Briefly soaking meat in a solution of baking soda and water raises the pH on the meat's surface, making it more difficult for the proteins to bond excessively, which keeps the meat tender and moist when it's cooked.

What cut of beef is best for Chinese stir-fry? ›

Flank steak

This cut has a rich, beefy flavor, with a texture that can be softened if cooked and marinated correctly. Its attributes make it perfect for any stir-fry dish (and home cooks can also use it in fajitas and stews). One important flank steak cooking rule you can't skip is to use high heat and cook it quickly.

Cut in the same direction as the grain, and your meat comes out tough and ropey. Cut against the grain, and you shorten the muscle fibers, effectively tenderizing the meat. The goal with any stir-fry is to cut the food into bite-size pieces that will cook rapidly and remain tender.

You Undercooked The Steak

If removed from the heat too soon, the connective tissue will remain intact. The steak may appear juicier when rare, but can have a chewy, sinewy texture. It's especially important not to undercook tougher cuts that have more connective tissue.

One of these complex reasons relates to muscle fibers and how they react to cooking. Collagen is one of those muscle fibers and as animals age these fibers become stronger, more stable, and break down less as meat is cooked. Therefore, meat from older animals is less tender meat than younger animals.

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.

Over-kneading has a tendency to result in chewy bread. Here's how to tell if you've kneaded enough. Another possibility—you used bread flour when all-purpose flour would do. If a recipe with bread flour turned out chewier than you like, try it with all-purpose and knead only as much as the recipe directs.