The trick of the old Vietnamese will ensure the instant softening of the meat. With just one ingredient, it will be wonderfully juicy

Tender and juicy meat is a treat for your palate. Treat yourself to such tasty meat with a trick that is absolutely simple.

Beef is tougher and tends to be difficult to chew when eaten. Most recipes where you’ll be working with this meat call for marinating the meat. This allows the meat to soften before cooking.

The meat will remain tender

Baking soda is a popular helper not only in the kitchen and its use is very wide. In this case, it will help the meat to soften so that it is tender and juicy when finished.

Baking soda raises the pH of meat when marinating. This makes it harder for the protein to bind and keeps the meat tender. The process is more commonly known as velveting and can be done using not only baking soda but also cornstarch. Baking soda can be used on all meats except fish.

If you decide to try baking soda, rub the washed piece of meat with baking soda on all sides and refrigerate for 15 minutes to 3 hours. Let the meat rest in a resealable bag, stainless steel or glass container. The length of time to let the meat pieces marinate depends on their thickness. If you will be preparing steaks, it is recommended to leave them so rubbed in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Then rinse the soda off the meat, pat dry and then you can season and cook or roast as usual. The soda must be washed off the meat after marinating so as not to impart an unpleasant flavour. It is not advisable to coat the fish for the sake of subsequent washing, as the meat will fall apart under your hands during this step.

Velveting

You can not only use baking soda to velvet the steaks, but also leave it as part of the marinade. For the marinade, use less than a teaspoon of baking soda, worcester sauce, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar and fresh garlic. Let the steaks rest in the refrigerator for 1 hour and then sear the steaks briskly.

If you don’t want to brush the meat but make a baking soda solution, you will need 1 teaspoon of baking soda and ½ cup of water for every 350 g of meat. The next procedure is the same as for rubbing. Again, don’t forget to rinse the meat after removing it from the soda solution.