Basic Marinade for Stir-Fried Meats Recipe (2024)

Why It Works

  • Salt and soy sauce tenderize meat, help it retain moisture, and increase its savoriness.
  • Sugar helps browning characteristics.
  • Oil helps distribute fat-soluble aromatic compounds over the meat.
  • Cornstarch insulates the meat form the high heat of a hot wok, ensuring that it doesn't overcook along its edges.
  • Aromatics like pepper and wine add a nice basic flavor to meat that pairs well with other ingredients.

Anyone who's read our Wok Skills 101 Guide knows that with a stir-fry, having all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go is of the utmost importance. Meat should be sliced, vegetables chopped, sauces mixed, and aromatics minced, all before you turn up that heat.

But there's another secret that will improve both the flavor and the texture of your proteins: proper marinating. When done right, a marinade is more than just a flavoring agent. It can help tenderize meat and alter its proteins so that it retains more moisture. It can improve the browning characteristics that is the goal of high-heat cooking. It can also help it absorb other flavors more easily.

Whether it's chicken, pork, or beef, the basics of marinating are the same. Here's what we do.

The Ingredients

Basic Marinade for Stir-Fried Meats Recipe (1)

While you can add as many aromatics to a marinade as you'd like, there are a few ingredients that serve as far more than just aromas—they actually physically alter the way meat cooks, aiding in flavoring, tenderizing, and browning.

When I construct a marinade, I like to add my dry ingredients first (salt, sugar, pepper), followed by my wet ingredients (Shaoxing wine, soy sauce), then the oil, and finally some cornstarch.

How do each of these ingredients function?

  • Salt: Both a flavor and a texture enhancer, salt is essential in all marinades. It brings out meat's natural flavors and also tenderizes it by breaking down myosin, a tough protein found in meat, just like in a good brine. Tenderized proteins also contract less during cooking, which means better moisture retention.
  • Sugar: A flavor enhancer like salt, it also aids in both caramelization and the Maillard browning process. Sugar speeds up browning and creates more depth of flavor. It also provides a balance to the saltiness of salt and soy sauce.
  • Soy Sauce: Essential in stir-fry dishes, a dash of it makes a big difference. Just like salt, soy sauce is a flavor enhancer and builder. It is rich in glutamates, which makes meat taste more savory and improves juiciness.
  • Oil: It helps distribute cornstarch, seasonings, and fat-soluble flavors evenly when mixing the marinade with the meat. You want to use an oil that has a high smoke point, which should be the same oil you will be using when you are stir-frying. Peanut oil is a popular and traditional choice, but you can also use corn oil, refined light olive oil, vegetable oil, or canola oil.
  • Cornstarch: When added to marinades, cornstarch provides a light coating to meat that protects it slightly from the intense heat of the wok. This helps prevent overcooking and toughening of the outer layers of meat. The starch also acts as a binder and helps liquid ingredients, like soy sauce and shaoxing wine, come together and bind to the meat. The results are more flavorful, tender, and evenly cooked pieces of meat.

Along with those functional ingredients, I usually include the following aromatics:

  • Pepper (white or black): Spicy and pungent, a little goes a long way. Since black pepper tends to be more aromatic, I usually add white pepper in stir-fry dishes when I'm going for a more subtle flavor profile. But black pepper is great when I want something bold and robust.
  • Shaoxing Wine: Slightly nutty tasting, this flavor builder adds an unmistakable aroma to any stir-fry dish. Dry sherry can be substituted for Shaoxing wine, but do try to find it if you can. Any well-stocked Chinese or Southeast Asian market will carry it.

The Dos and Don'ts of Marinating

Before you begin to marinate, keep these tips in mind.

DO make sure your meat is dry before slicing and marinating. If you wash your meat before cooking, make sure to blot it with paper towels until dry. Water is not a flavor enhancer and will only serve to dilute flavor and make browning more difficult.

DO marinate your meat in a bowl that's big enough for mixing. You don't want a bowl that just perfectly holds your sliced protein. You'll be mixing ingredients around, so make sure you have room for the meat to move.

DON'T add minced aromatics to your marinade, like garlic, ginger, or scallions. Stir-frying is high heat cooking, and those minced aromatics rapidly burn. Instead, add them toward the end of the stir-fry. Alternatively, you can slice them into big pieces and fry them in oil for about 30 seconds. Once you remove the aromatics, you can use cook with that infused oil.

Basic Marinade for Stir-Fried Meats Recipe (3)

DON'T drown your protein in your marinade. Remember, you're marinating for a stir-fry. Too much liquid as you stir-fry your protein results in steaming, and nobody likes steamed meat, right?

DO make sure to give your protein enough time to marinate. For this marinade, it only takes 30 minutes. Each ingredient in the marinade needs to have enough time to do what it has to do. This window gives you plenty of time to get your other ingredients ready.

Of course, the idea is that once you have a good basic marinade, it becomes a building block for constructing stir fries on your own, but check out the additional recipes at the bottom of the page if you want some more ideas.

April 2014

Recipe Details

Basic Marinade for Stir-Fried Meats

Prep5 mins

Active1 min

Total5 mins

Serves2 servings

Makes1/2 pound sliced beef, pork, or chicken

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound sliced or diced chicken, pork, or beef

  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar

  • 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper (white or black)

  • 1/2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine

  • 1/2 teaspoon soy sauce

  • 1 teaspoon vegetable, peanut, or canola oil

  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix with hands to coat thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before cooking.

Read More

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Basic Marinade for Stir-Fried Meats Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What are the basics of meat marinade? ›

A typical marinade is made up of three essential components: an acid (such as vinegar, wine, or citrus), an oil (such as olive oil or sesame oil), and a flavouring agent (such as herbs and spices). These elements work together to transform the taste and texture of your dish in different ways.

Do you marinate meat for stir-fry? ›

DO marinate your meat in a bowl that's big enough for mixing. You don't want a bowl that just perfectly holds your sliced protein. You'll be mixing ingredients around, so make sure you have room for the meat to move. DON'T add minced aromatics to your marinade, like garlic, ginger, or scallions.

What is the basic mixture of ingredients you will use for marinating the meat? ›

Plenty of herbs and spices

The higher the concentration of salt in the marinade, the more herbs and spices you need for the meat to absorb their taste. One of Otto's favorite herb mix marinades is an abundance of garlic, herbs, and spices: at least 3-4 cloves of garlic and at least one big tablespoon of chopped herbs.

What do the Chinese use to marinate meat? ›

Usually we'll try to marinate the chicken with some soy sauce, cooking wine, salt, white pepper powder for flavor, starch to lock the water in the meat, egg white to make it taste tender. And don't forget ginger, the enzyme in ginger can make the meat taster tender too.

What are the 3 main ingredients when marinating? ›

Marinades vary from recipe to recipe but they generally contain three basic components – oils, acids and seasonings.
  • Oils. The oil content in a marinade locks in the natural flavour of the food and prevents it drying out. ...
  • Acids. ...
  • Seasonings.

What are the 3 basic components of marinating? ›

A typical marinade is made up of three essential components: an acid (such as vinegar, wine, or citrus), an oil (such as olive oil or sesame oil), and a flavouring agent (such as herbs and spices).

What tenderizes meat for stir-fry? ›

While there are several ways to velvet, a pound of meat needs about two teaspoons of cornstarch and two teaspoons of oil, says Leung. You may also include two to three tablespoons of water. For beef, add a 1/4-teaspoon of baking soda for tenderizing. Additional seasonings are optional and vary from recipe to recipe.

How to make tender stir-fry meat? ›

There are a few methods, but this is the easiest way:
  1. Sprinkle 3/4 tsp baking soda (bi-carbonate soda) on 250g / 8oz sliced economical beef cuts.
  2. Toss with fingers, leave for 30 minutes.
  3. Rinse, pat off excess water.
  4. Proceed with stir fry recipe. It can be marinated with wet or dry seasonings, or cooked plain.
Feb 23, 2019

What is a good marinade base? ›

Marinades typically feature an oil and an acid — but the sky's the limit for creativity: For your oil base, try olive, peanut, truffle, sesame, walnut, or chile oil. You can also use milk, coconut milk, buttermilk, or yogurt. For acids, experiment with different types of vinegar, wines, beers, lemon, or lime juice.

What liquid is best for marinade? ›

"Acid tenderizes and allows for the flavorings to absorb," explains Killeen. Most marinade recipes will call for acid in the form of citrus juice (commonly lemon), vinegar or wine.

What do Chinese put on meat to make it tender? ›

There are two popular velveting techniques in Chinese cooking: the baking soda method and the cornstarch method. Before making your favorite Chinese stir-fry, learn how to velvet thinly sliced beef with baking soda to ensure tender, juicy meat. 1.

How do restaurants get their meat so tender? ›

Baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate). If you find the meat has a spongy texture aside from being very tender, then very likely the restaurant put baking soda (Sodium bicarbonate) in the marinade. The sodium in baking soda chemically reacts with the meat and make the meat very tender and soft.

How do you tenderize and marinate beef for stir fry? ›

Tenderize: In a bowl, sprinkle a small amount of baking soda over the beef and coat evenly with soy sauce, salt, starch, and oil (and optional ingredients, if using). Marinate: After sitting in the mixture for 15 to 30 minutes in the fridge, your beef is ready for stir-frying!

What are the 4 elements of a marinade? ›

Ingredients that are frequently combined in marinades include:
  • - Acid: Wine, yogurt, citrus juices, vinegar, or vinegar.
  • - Oil: Vegetable oil, olive oil, or any other flavored oils.
  • - Aromatics: For flavor, use garlic, onions, herbs, and spices.
  • - For sweetness, use honey, sugar, or maple syrup.
Oct 17, 2023

How do you marinate step by step? ›

Place the food to be marinated in a resealable plastic bag. Set the bag in a bowl or shallow dish in case the bag leaks. Pour the marinade over the food, seal the bag, and place it in the refrigerator. Turn the bag occasionally, so the marinade is distributed evenly over all sides of the food.

What are the four parts of a marinade? ›

Marinade Rules
  • Salt is absolutely essential. ...
  • Sugar used in moderation helps to brown the meat and create caramelized flavors. ...
  • Aromatics mainly cling to the surface, but can add strong complementary flavors. ...
  • Oil is often included in marinades. ...
  • Acid balances other flavors, but should be used sparingly.
Jun 22, 2015

What is the principle of marinating? ›

How do marinades work? Marinating meat works by adding flavour to meat and also aiding the texture to become more tender. Marinades often have some acidity added to them, whether this is from types of vinegar or from citrus like lemon juice, or enzymes that are commonly found in fruits like mangoes.

References

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