On Jul 30, 11:45 am, notbob > wrote:
> I know this was covered awhile back with a brocolli/beef thread, but I'm too
> lazy to dig through grougle and it's been long enough to cover it again. So,
> the question is, how do you make cheap beef tender for stir fry?

Buy good tender beef when it's on sale.

> Marinate?

Marinades often have tenderizing ingredients, such as pineapple
juice. If by cheap beef you mean bad, low-grade beef, you can use
baking soda on it, but at a cost of both taste and texture.

> Cross-grain slicing?

That certainly helps with those cuts that are particularly grainy,
like flank steak.

> Seems I recall one poster mentioning a 'special'
> pre-cook technique,

There are some dishes (including some shrimp dishes) that call for a
partial pre-cooking in moderately heated oil, then removal and a
finishing stirfry at high heat. It's more to achieve a subtle layer
of texture than it is specifically to tenderize. Some call it
"velveting."

>but I forget the term. Can't be the cut, as I doubt
> Chinese take-out is using sirloin.

Probably not, but I buy top sirloin, usda choice grade, when it's on
sale, cut it up and freeze it in appropriate sizes, then later use it
in stirfries. It works well.

> What's the secret to tender beef in
> brocolli-beef, thai waterfall beef, and other classic beef stir-fry dishes?

There's no secret. You just have to rid yourself of the traditional
American perception of Chinese food as "cheap." Use good ingredients
to begin with and the dish will be good. I've been known to buy
economy sale-priced packs of New York strip steaks for use in
stirfries. It's still relatively cost-effective because you use less
than when you're eating steak. -aem