Cooking a Chinese meal for a family Party. Need tips on which Beef is best/cheapest

lancslass2008

Hi all


Before anybody says this is not a money saving tip it is, because of this.....

Our family have a get together a few times a month where the host family on each occasion pays for a massive take away for us all. Last time the cost of the Indian Take-Away was over £200 when they factored in the drinks.

Well, our turn has come...........

This weekend it is our turn to buy the Chinese. However, we all get on great and after reading lots of recipes, books etc and watching many programs on the Cooking Chanel, I am gonna attempt to cook it all myself. I have managed to make some lovely Chinese dishes and meals. I am so pleased with myself and I'm sure they're gonna all be impressed when they know I've made the whole thing from scratch. Up to now, I have it down to £80 (a saving of £120 on what it would be from the Chinese Take-away nearby). However, I am struggling with the Beef Dishes. No matter what I try or which cut of Beef I buy my Beef is not as tender as it is from the Chinese. I have tried using the cheapest frying steak to the most expensive Beef Medallions. I even bought a special knife for £25 to make sure I cut the Beef thin enough. Recently the Beef Medallions were £8 just for 2 small pieces of Beef, but the Beef was still chewy. Even though I could see there wasn't a bit of fat on them. Now, there's no way the Take-Away use these cuts of Beef because they would cost more than the dish. Therefore, here are my questions:

What Beef should I use/buy for use in Chinese Dishes (Beef in Black Bean Sauce etc).

Maybe I'm wrong though! Maybe it's not the actual type of Beef I buy, but something that they do to the Beef in the Restaurant?????????

Any help please??????

ifonlyitwaseasier

i'd suggest coating the beef in cornflour before cooking, i saw (i think it was ching's kitchen) and she did this and it looked fantastic.

also i'd suggest asking on the Oldstyle board (or a nice guide moving this for you ) as thats where a lot of very clever cook's hang out

hth

ioiwe

becky_rtw

Q1. Are you tenderising it??

Q2. Are you heating the wok enough?

All good things to think about - I just use cheap cuts, bash them a bit, and chuck them in boiling hot oil - it will spit so watch out

You could check on the old style board too - they are great with food prep

jenhug

my chinese takeaway says he uses silverside. not sure if thats for all his dishes though?
what you could do is do all the rice dishes, noodles, chicken dishes and just pop to the takeaway for the beef ones if you really can't get the hang of it!

lancslass2008

Hi Gals

Tenderising??? How do you do that? Maybe this is how the Take Aways make it less chewy..................

Aghhhh, things are becoming a bit clearer.......

Also, WOK HOT ENOUGH????? I didn't know that made that big a difference.

MrsE_2

I would get cheapest frying steak for stirfries

galvanizersbaby

lancslass2008 wrote: »

Hi Gals

Tenderising??? How do you do that? Maybe this is how the Take Aways make it less chewy..................

Aghhhh, things are becoming a bit clearer.......

Also, WOK HOT ENOUGH????? I didn't know that made that big a difference.

I bash mine with a wooden mallet on a chopping board to tenderise

Also a little bit of balsamic vinegar will soften it during cooking

Good luck - it's sounds great - wish I was coming to dinner

becky_rtw

Yes the wok must be really hot because otherwise the meat will cook too slowly and become tough - the idea is 2-3 mins at most and it should be cooked

jm2926

I use left over cooked roast beef for stir frys, normally top rump. It's very tender and you can cook it the day before. Just add at the end to heat it through.

hot.chick

It'scorn flour and egg white the meat needs to be coated in - I think it's called velveting...

http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art16774.asp

This link adds some other bits but the main things are the corn flour and egg white -leave the meat in it for a while to soften.

Good luck!

PasturesNew

An extensive Chinese food thread on MSE - by somebody who seems to specialise
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1616107

Here's a post in that thread where the question of tough beef was asked/answered
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showpost.html?p=20572921&postcount=64