How to make baking soda tenderizers

Baking soda, chemically known as sodium bicarbonate, plays multiple roles in our daily lives. It is often used as a leavening agent in baking to make pastries more fluffy. However, what you may not know is that baking soda also has its own unique use when cooking meat, which is to tender the meat. By using baking soda, we can turn the otherwise hard meat into soft and juicy, which greatly enhances the taste of the dish. Below, we'll take a deep dive into how you can use baking soda to tender meat and explain the science behind it.

1. Detailed analysis of scientific principles

The principle of tenderizing the meat of baking soda is mainly due to its alkaline properties. In an alkaline environment, the proteins in meat are denatured. This denaturing effect relaxes the muscle fibers, which in turn makes the meat softer. We can understand it more deeply that baking soda can interact with the protein and moisture in the meat, destroying muscle fibers and connective tissue, thereby helping the meat retain more moisture during cooking, making the final product tender and juicy.

Baking soda also helps to improve the water retention of meat, which means that it is less likely to lose its intrinsic moisture during cooking, thus keeping the meat tender. This is especially important when cooking older meats, which tend to have tight muscle fibers and are prone to water loss.

Second, the detailed description of the operation steps

The first step is to prepare the meat. First of all, you need to choose meat that is suitable for tenderizing with baking soda. In general, harder or older meats, such as beef, lamb or certain parts of pork, are best tenderized with baking soda. These meats usually contain more connective tissue, which can be made softer by treating it with baking soda. And for inherently tender meats, such as chicken or fish, using baking soda may not be necessary.

After the meat has been chosen, the next step is to wash and cut it. Meat is thoroughly washed under running water to remove dirt and bacteria from the surface. Then, depending on your cooking needs, cut the meat into appropriate pieces or slices. Make sure the cut is evenly sized so that the baking soda acts more evenly on each slice of meat.

Next are the steps to use baking soda. You need to determine the amount of baking soda to use. In general, you can use 1 teaspoon of baking soda for every 500 grams of meat. Then, sprinkle the baking soda evenly over the meat and gently rub it with your hands to ensure that each slice of the meat is evenly covered by the baking soda. Alternatively, you can choose to dissolve baking soda in a small amount of water to make a solution, and then soak the meat in the solution to ensure that the baking soda can penetrate the meat more fully.

The time of marinating is also very critical. Marinating for too long or too short can affect the quality of the meat. As a general rule, the marinating time should not exceed 20 minutes. During the curing process, you can observe the change in the color of the meat and the degree of softening of the meat. When the meat becomes slightly whitish and the feel is noticeably softer, it's time to move on to the next step.

Once the marinade is complete, you need to thoroughly clean the baking soda from the meat with clean water. This step is very important because if the baking soda remains in the meat, it will affect the final mouthfeel and flavor. You can rinse the meat several times under running water until it feels refreshing and odorless.

The final step is cooking. Baking soda-treated meat can be cooked in a variety of ways, such as stir-frying, grilling, grilling, or steaming. As the meat has become softer and juicier, it is particularly suitable for fast and high-temperature cooking to lock in moisture and nutrients in the meat. When seasoning, you can add a variety of seasonings in moderation according to your personal taste. It is worth noting that since the use of baking soda may give the meat a slight alkaline taste, some acidic ingredients such as lemon juice or vinegar can be added in moderation to neutralize the taste.

3. Detailed introduction of relevant recipes

In addition to the basic steps above, we can also combine specific recipes to further explain how to use baking soda to tender the meat. Here are two simple and practical recipes:

1. Baking soda tenderizes beef and stir-fried greens:

First of all, you need to prepare the following ingredients: 200 grams of beef, 200 grams of Chinese cabbage, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, vegetable oil, and a little baking soda. Thinly slice the beef and place it in a bowl, add a little baking soda and mix well. Allow the baking soda to coat the beef fillets well and marinate for about 15 minutes. In the meantime, you can start preparing other ingredients such as Chinese cabbage and washing them and cutting them into pieces for later use, and after marinating, wash the beef slices thoroughly with water to remove any remaining baking soda, and then start cooking. Pour an appropriate amount of vegetable oil into the hot pan and heat it to seven or eight minutes, then add the marinated beef slices and stir-fry quickly until it changes color, then add the Chinese cabbage and continue to stir-fry until it is broken, and finally add light soy sauce and oyster sauce to taste and stir-fry evenly before you can enjoy it out of the pot.

With this recipe, you can clearly see the remarkable effect of baking soda in tenderizing beef, which is soft and juicy after baking soda, and is even more delicious when stir-fried with Chinese cabbage.

2. Baking soda to tenderize pork steamed eggs:

This recipe likewise demonstrates the application of baking soda in tenderizing the meat. You need to prepare the following ingredients: 150 grams of pork, 3 eggs, salt, light soy sauce, sesame oil and a little baking soda. After cutting the pork into small cubes, put it in a bowl, add a little baking soda and mix well, marinate for about 10 minutes, thoroughly clean the diced pork with water to remove the residual baking soda, beat the eggs into the bowl and add an appropriate amount of water and salt and light soy sauce and stir well, then add the processed diced pork to the egg wash and mix well, finally pour the egg liquid into the steaming bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and prick a few small holes in the plastic wrap with a toothpick, so that the water in the steamer can drip into the steaming bowl, Put the steaming bowl into the steamer and steam for about 20 minutes, then take it out and eat, and you can drop a few drops of sesame oil to enhance the flavor before eating.

Through this recipe, you can find that baking soda not only tenderizes the meat, but also increases the water retention of the meat, making it more tender and juicy during the steaming process, and it is nutritious and delicious when paired with steamed eggs.

By understanding and applying the principle of baking soda, we can easily improve the texture of various meats and provide more delicious and tender dishes for our family, which is a simple and practical way to not only enhance the texture and flavor of the dish, but also broaden your cooking skills and recipe options, allowing you to use more creativity and imagination in the kitchen, bringing more flavor and joy to the family.