The Meat Prep Technique That Takes Stir-Fries To Another Level

Chinese takeout ticks off all the boxes after a long, hard day. No cooking, no cleaning up, and leftovers made for reheating in a variety of ways. Oh, and then there's meat that is so tender it's nearly impossible to replicate at home, no matter how many times you try. Or is it? Chinese restaurants use a technique known as velveting, and it's actually quite simple and easy to do at home. Plus, you likely have all the stir fry ingredients you need already in your pantry.

To velvet meat, whether it's beef, chicken, or pork, you'll use either cornstarch or baking soda. The baking soda method is the easier of the two, as you sprinkle it over your thinly sliced meat, toss it to make sure it's evenly applied, and then stick it in your fridge for about half an hour. The cornstarch method involves a few more pantry items, such as egg whites, sesame oil, salt, and any seasonings you want to add. Use these to create a mixture and marinate your sliced meat in it for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator. You'll always want to rinse the meat after velveting it, as the extra ingredients can cause your stir-fry sauce to go sideways.

Whether or not you opt to velvet your meat — it can really help tenderize tough or difficult cuts of meat, like flank steak — you should take your protein out of the fridge 30 minutes to one hour before cooking to let it come up to room temperature. (It's still safe, just as long as it's not out for more than two hours.) This prevents the oil from cooling down when it touches the cold meat and helps your protein of choice get a good sear.

You should also get everything ready before you begin cooking (chefs call this mise en place). This means doing all your chopping and sauce mixing first so that you can just toss everything into the pan in quick succession. Speaking of, if you can, invest in a wok — they are designed for this type of high-heat, fast cooking. The high walls of a wok allow you to push ingredients up and off to the sides, keeping them warm but away from the direct heat, and giving all the ingredients a chance to cook. And while we're offering suggestions, try Gwen's Peanut Butter Better sauce for a delicious satay-style stir fry.