Herein lies the secret to the tender meat you get from the restaurant or take-out place…surprise!  It’s because of one of the most versatile products you have in your home!

Authentic Beef And Broccoli

For more years than I care to mention, I’ve always wondered how the Chinese restaurant was able to take any cut of beef and give it that wonderful, melt-in-your-mouth slightly spongy texture.  This was ONE tip I forgot to ask my college chum’s sister (regretfully).

Anyway, I went to my best pal Google and simply typed my question…”how to get meat tender like Chinese restaurant,” and I came up with several possibilities.  I read about a technique called “velveting,” which appears to be used for chicken and such and involves the use of cornstarch.  I thought I may be set.  However, I wanted to check out *other* possibilities.  I happened, just out of pure luck, to find a message board where someone asked the exact question I did.

Velveting

This was just a plain old message board, like back in the early internet days of BBS and Usenet…but there was my answer.

They talked about velveting, and one gal said that’s what her mom uses for everything, but cornstarch is expensive and restaurants look to save money so they probably used  baking soda primarily.  She said especially if the meat has that slightly spongy texture.  BINGO.  And below is the marinade mixture she gave.  And Eureka, it WORKS.

The Recipe