Chinese Velveting Marinade for Stir-Fry Beef
The restaurant trick for silky, tender beef at home. Thin flank steak slices are tossed with cornstarch, a pinch of baking soda, soy sauce and Shaoxing wine, then rested for 30 minutes. The beef sears up juicy and tender, ready for any stir-fry.
- Prep
- 16 min
- Cook
- 8 min
- Wait
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 hr 9 min
- Makes
- 1 lb (450 g) velveted beef, enough for a stir-fry serving 4
Steps
Before you start
- Make room in your freezer for a plate. Partly frozen beef is much easier to slice thinly.
- Measure the baking soda with a proper ¼ teaspoon. More than this makes the beef mushy and gives it a soapy taste.
- Do not marinate longer than 30 minutes at room temperature or 1 hour in the fridge. The baking soda keeps working and the texture turns soft.
- Have your stir-fry vegetables and sauce ready before you cook the beef, because this step moves fast.
Firm up the beef
- Pat the flank steak dry with paper towels and trim off any thick surface fat or silverskin.
- Set it on a plate and place it in the freezer for 15 minutes, until the outside feels stiff but the center still gives slightly when pressed.
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Ready when: Firm to the touch outside, not frozen solid in the center
Tip: Do not freeze it solid. Fully frozen beef is hard to cut and thaws unevenly.
Slice against the grain
- Look for the long lines of muscle fiber running down the steak.
- Cut the steak in half lengthwise if it is very wide.
- Hold the knife at a slight angle and slice across the grain into strips ⅛ inch (3 mm) thick and about 2 inches (5 cm) wide.
- Separate the slices so they do not stick together.
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Ready when: Slices are thin and uniform and the grain runs across the short width of each piece
Tip: Slicing with the grain gives chewy, stringy beef even after velveting.
Mix the liquid seasonings
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, water, baking soda, sugar and white pepper until the baking soda and sugar dissolve and no grains remain, about 30 seconds.
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Ready when: Liquid looks uniform with no visible grains of baking soda
Tip: Dissolving the baking soda first keeps it from clumping on the meat and leaving harsh spots.
Massage in the liquid
- Add the sliced beef to the bowl.
- Use your hands to toss and squeeze the slices for 1 to 2 minutes, until the beef has absorbed nearly all the liquid and feels slightly sticky and tacky rather than wet.
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Ready when: Almost no liquid pools at the bottom of the bowl and the beef looks glossy and tacky
Tip: Absorbing the water first lets the beef hold extra moisture for juicy results.
Coat with cornstarch
- Sprinkle the cornstarch evenly over the beef.
- Toss with your hands or chopsticks for about 1 minute, until no dry white patches remain and every slice has a thin, even coating.
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Ready when: No dry cornstarch is visible and the coating looks like a thin paste on the slices
Tip: Add cornstarch after the liquid. Adding it earlier makes lumps that will not coat the beef evenly.
Seal in with oil
- Drizzle the marinade oil and the sesame oil, if using, over the beef and toss to coat.
- The oil forms a thin seal that keeps the slices from sticking together in the pan.
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Ready when: Slices look lightly glossy and separate easily
Rest 30 minutes
- Cover the bowl and let the beef rest for 30 minutes at cool room temperature, or in the fridge for up to 1 hour.
- Do not go beyond this time, because the baking soda will make the beef mushy.
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Ready when: Beef feels soft and silky and slightly slippery
Tip: Set a timer. Over-marinating is the most common velveting mistake.
Heat the wok
- Set a 14-inch (35 cm) wok or 12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet over high heat for about 2 minutes.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the searing oil and swirl to coat the surface.
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Ready when: Oil shimmers and a single beef slice sizzles immediately on contact
Tip: A hot pan is key. A cool pan steams the beef and makes the coating gummy.
Sear in two batches
- Spread half the beef in a single layer in the pan.
- Let it sear untouched for 45 seconds, then flip and stir for another 30 to 45 seconds, until the outside is browned and only a little pink remains inside.
- Transfer to a clean plate.
- Wipe the pan if needed, add the second tablespoon of oil, reheat for 20 seconds and repeat with the remaining beef.
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Ready when: Slices are browned outside with a trace of pink in the center, about 130°F (54°C) at this stage
Tip: The beef finishes cooking when returned to the stir-fry, so do not cook it through now.
Finish your stir-fry
- Cook your vegetables and sauce in the same pan.
- Return the seared beef during the last 1 minute of cooking and toss until the slices are hot and the sauce clings, with an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C).
- Serve right away.
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Ready when: Beef is fully hot, evenly browned and the sauce coats each slice
Tip: Add the beef at the end. Cooking it too long toughens it even after velveting.
Good to know
Tips
- Always slice across the grain. Velveting improves tenderness, but it cannot fix stringy cuts.
- Measure baking soda accurately: ¼ teaspoon per pound is enough. More gives a soapy taste and mushy texture.
- Sear in two batches. Crowding the pan drops the heat and steams the beef.
- Pat any excess liquid off the beef with a paper towel if the marinade seems wet before searing, so the slices brown instead of steam.
Make ahead
The beef can be sliced up to 1 day ahead and refrigerated, covered. Marinate only on the day you cook, and not more than 30 minutes before searing (up to 1 hour in the fridge).
Storage & reheating
Raw marinated beef: refrigerate up to 1 hour before cooking. Seared beef or finished stir-fry: refrigerate in an airtight container up to 3 days. Freeze seared beef up to 2 months and thaw overnight in the fridge. Reheat quickly in a hot wok for 1 minute, or microwave in 20-second bursts at 50% power to avoid toughening.
Substitutions
- Shaoxing wine → dry sherry. Closest widely available substitute. Use the same amount. For an alcohol-free option, use low-sodium chicken broth.
- flank steak → sirloin, flat iron or skirt steak. Slice thinly against the grain. Skirt steak is a bit chewier and benefits from the full 30 minutes.
- cornstarch → potato starch. Use the same amount. It gives a slightly silkier coating.
- light soy sauce → tamari. Use the same amount for a gluten-free version. Check that your Shaoxing wine or substitute is gluten-free too.
