This is how to tenderise beef with a Chinese restaurant method called “velveting beef”. Also used for chicken, it’s a simple, highly effective technique using baking soda that transforms economical beef so it’s incredibly tender in stir fries and stir fried noodles.
It’s a quick and easy method that any home cook can do, any night of the week. No deep frying, no special equipment. This is a game changer!
How do Chinese restaurants get their beef so tender??
Ever notice how the beef at Chinese restaurants is so incredibly tender, and how your stir fries at home are just never the same?
The secret is tenderising the meat. It’s called velveting beef.
Your cheerful local Chinese restaurant is using economical stewing beef to make stir fries with ultra tender strips of beef by tenderising it!
How to tenderise beef – easily!
There are a few methods, but this is the easiest way:
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Sprinkle 3/4 tsp baking soda (bi-carbonate soda) on 250g / 8oz sliced economical beef cuts
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Toss with fingers, leave for 30 minutes
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Rinse, pat off excess water
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Proceed with stir fry recipe. It can be marinated with wet or dry seasonings, or cooked plain. The beef will be really tender and soft, “velvet’ like. Just like in stir fries made by your favourite Chinese restaurant!
Other tenderising methods include marinating in a cornflour/cornstarch sludge then frying in oil before using in the stir fry, chemical tenderisers and egg white marinates. The baking soda method is the simplest for every day purposes and just as effective which is why it’s the method I use.
Beef cuts to tenderise
These are the best cuts of beef to tenderise:
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economical steaks* – any type, like good value rump, porterhouse, sirloin, round bottom etc. that are otherwise quite dry when used in stir fries;
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chuck and similar cuts of beef used for stews – this technique will tenderise the beef perfectly, however, by their very nature, stewing cuts of beef don’t have as strong a natural beef flavour as steaks. However, I’m fine with that because stir fries always have great sauces!
* It sounds counterintuitive to tenderise steaks because one would assume if beef is sold labelled as “steaks”, that indicates they’re good for quick cooking (eg grilling) so it should be good for stir fries. But it’s not – even steaks range from economical to high quality. You can use any high quality (expensive) steak in stir fries without tenderising (which is what fine dining Asian restaurants do). Use this tenderising technique on budget steaks, not expensive steaks.
Tenderising time
Tenderising time differs for different cuts of beef. Here’s the general rule of thumb I’ve come up with based on all the beef I’ve tried:
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Chuck beef, gravy beef, oyster beef and other traditional stewing beef – 30 minutes
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Economical steak cuts (eg. cheap rump, hanger) – 20 minutes
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Blade, bolar blade – 40 minutes
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Brisket – the only cut I don’t recommend, haven’t been 100% happy with outcome
If you’re unsure for your cut of beef, go for 35 minutes. Even when I under or over tenderised, it was still tender and juicy. You’ll quickly figure out the best marinating times for your preferred cuts of beef – just adjust up and down by 10 minutes at a time.
Word of caution: The beef will turn freakishly bright red. See?
Don’t be alarmed – that’s just what happens. In fact, if you put your ear very close to the beef, you’ll hear faint fizzing – that’s the baking soda at work!
Marinating Tenderised Beef
After it’s been tenderised, go ahead and marinate it in whatever you want – wet sauce or dry seasonings. Because we’re using thin slices of beef here and it’s been tenderised, we don’t need to marinate for long. Even 10 minutes will suffice.
Also, stir fries have the benefit of glossy sauces coating the beef so that’s another reason why we do not need to marinate it for long.
Pictured below is the stir fry sauce / marinade for Chinese Beef and Broccoli.
How to cook tenderised beef
Tenderised beef can be stir fried the traditional way – hard and fast on a hot stove in mere minutes – or even deep or shallow fried in oil like in this Crispy Mongolian Beef (pictured below).
Whichever way you cook it, the beef comes out much more tender and juicy than even expensive cuts of beef like beef tenderloin!
What does tenderised beef taste like?
The flavour of the beef is not affected by the tenderising. So the beef flavour will only be as good as the cut you use.
Tenderising affects the texture not the flavour of the beef. It has a “velvety” texture. The fibres are softened so you get less “meaty” texture, which is why I only use this technique to tenderise strips of meat and not cubes or steaks which would be a bit too eerie!
Why tenderise beef?
Tenderising beef enables you to make fast-cook beef recipes using economical cuts of beef that usually require slow cooking to break down the tough fibres, like in Stews. And it stays tender even if you overcook the beef!
What to make with tenderised beef
Because this is a Chinese restaurant method, I’m sharing this with stir fries like Beef and Broccoli and stir fried noodles in mind. Build your own stir fry using my All Purpose Chinese Stir Fry Sauce or Peanut Sauce for stir fries!
You can also use tenderised beef in place of chicken or pork in any of the stir fries.
But don’t limit yourself to just Chinese recipes! The plain tenderised beef isn’t flavoured, so it can be used for any recipe calling for strips of beef that are cooked quickly, such as Beef Stroganoff.
If you try this tenderising technique, I’d love to know what you think! – Nagi x
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How to tenderise beef (velveting beef)
Ingredients
- 250 g / 8 oz stewing beef or other economical beef cuts (Note 1)
- 3/4 tsp baking soda / bi-carbonate soda (Note 2)
Instructions
- Slice beef thinly against the grain. (Note 3)
- Place in a bowl. Sprinkle over baking soda, toss with fingers to coat evenly.
- Refrigerate for 30 to 40 minutes. (See Note 1 for different cuts)
- Rinse beef well with tap water. Shake off excess water, then use paper towels to blot away excess water (doesn't need to be 100% dry).
- Proceed with recipe of choice. Beef can be marinated or seasoned before cooking, stir fried or deep fried, and it will be soft and tender, "velvet" like. Use for Stir Fries, Stir Fried Noodles, Beef Stroganoff and any other recipe calling for quick-cooked beef strips.
Recipe Notes:
1. Beef cuts - Use this for stewing cuts and to improve the tenderness of economical steaks. It will work with any cut of beef but is obviously wasted on expensive beef like tenderloin or high quality, well marbled fillets and rib eyes. Tenderising time differs for different cuts of beef. Here's the general rule of thumb I've come up with based on all the beef I've tried:
- Chuck beef, gravy beef, oyster beef and other traditional stewing beef - 30 minutes
- Economical steak cuts (eg. cheap rump, hanger) - 20 minutes
- Blade, bolar blade - 40 minutes
- Brisket - the only cut I don't recommend, haven't been 100% happy with outcome
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
This is the only beef he’s getting today… 😂
Would this be suitable for a rather tough cut such as Eye of Round if used for stir fries and stews?
Can you velvet beef for Pho?
Thanks
Can this technique be used for grilling steak?
Sorry Adnan – it’s more for stir fries! N x
Nagi, you’ve done it again – perfect!
I tenderised some cheap cut blade steak last night and made beef and broccoli stir fry, it was so tender and juicy. Thanks once more
I’ve used this for both chicken and beef. No matter how much I rinse, it always has a ‘flavour’ to it. It is a flavour that is as one you get it Chinese food. Not noticeable so much in stir fries, but in something like stroganoff, very noticeable.
If I freeze the meat after doing this will it still be tender? I’d like to make up stir fry kit meal batches so hoping I could tenderize the meat before freezing it.
I have not actually tried that yet Lauren..I think that if you rinse the meat then freeze it, it could work but I would need to test it. Can you let me know if you try it? N x
The beef was really tender. The 30’mins makes a difference. Just like in the restaurant. Thank you!
I am glad that you enjoyed it Cristalyn! N x
Wow, it’s really that simple?! I just bought $15. worth of thinly sliced beef, got home and said now what? ANY kind of beef I’ve ever cooked turns out like shoe leather :^( Cannot wait to try. Thanks!
Wow. Followed exactly as written and the beef was so tender. It is a keeper!!
I am glad you liked it Corinne! N x
After veleting, do you then marinate the meat or leave as is?
Hi Gayle – as per Step 5, after you rinse the beef you can proceed with marinating or stir frying as per whatever recipe you are doing! N x
I’ve always thought velveting meat was done with cornstarch. Son weird to hear baking soda being used, hmmm.
That’s the other way to do it which is handy for bulk, involves tenderising with corn starch then blanching then stir frying. Baking soda is much handier for small batch tenderising! N x
How long do you leave the bi carb on chicken please?
Hi Alison – https://www.recipetineats.com/velveting-chicken-chinese-restaurant-tenderise-chicken/ N x
Other way is by diluting salt in hot water then once deluted add tap water and bring it to room temperature then add 1 to 2 table spoon pf baking soda per liter and soak your meat for 24hours, of course you need to out it inside the refrigerator, not freezer.
after 24 hours rinse it well then you can add your falvor
Well explained easy to follow thankyou
Has anyone tried this with non-asian cuisine? Eg fajitas
It didn’t work, the cut I used was chuck steak, left it on for 40 minutes, rinsed it. Still tough and has weird texture and smells funny 🙁
I used chunk and it was so tender melted in my mouth. Maybe your meat was bad
I find it amazing this isn’t more widely known.
Over the years I’ve found a few variations that also work well.
1) Using 1/4 tsp in a marinade (per 500g) and NOT rinsing.
2) Using your technique, but mixing the baking soda into a decent amount of shaoxing wine. The shaoxing wine mixture makes it easier to cover all the pieces of meat.
Thanks for the post!