Oyster Sauce Beef and Onion Stir-Fry | How to Make Tender and Juicy Beef

Hi everyone, it's Sam here. Today we're whipping up a quick and flavorful stir-fry, Beef in Oyster Sauce. This dish is a staple in Chinese cooking, known for its savory sauce and tender beef slices. Let's dive in and start cooking. When it comes to macking beef in oyster sauce, selecting the right cut is crucial. You'll want to go for beef with minimal connective tissue for the best tenderness. Today, I've chosen tenderloin. Known for its fine texture and flavor, this cut is perfect for stir-frying. Take a close look at the grain of the beef, which are the muscle fibers running through the meat, will cut against the grain. This means slicing the beef perpendicular to the fibers, like this. The thickness of the slices is also key. Aim for the thickness of a coin, about this much. And here's the deal. Cutting it against the grain and keeping it as thick as a coin is all about making those beef fibers shorter. Makes it way easier to chew. Alright, let's dive into marinating our beef. We're gonna add salt, sugar, white pepper to kick up that base flavor. Next, add baking soda to get our beef nice and tender. Now mix it all up with your hands until it starts feeling sticky. Now we're going to add about 3 tablespoons of water in two goes. This is crucial, folks. We want the beef to absorb this water, making sure it stays juicy and doesn't dry out in the heat of the pan. And look at that, in just a moment. The beef's already soaked up all the water. Next up, we're gonna dress our beef in three layers, starting with half an egg white. That's layer number one. It forms a thin film over the beef, helping to lock in that moisture. Plus, it sets the stage for the cornstarch to stick better in just a bit. Next, add cornstarch. That's our second layer. When this stuff hits the heat, it's gonna thicken up and create a protective coating around the beef, keeping all those good juices locked in. And for the final touch, we're drizzling in some cooking oil. That's our third and last layer. This oil's gonna create a slick coating on the outside, keeping that moisture right where we want it. Plus, it'll stop the beef slices from sticking to each other when they hit the pan. Now, we're just gonna set it aside and let it sit for 15 minutes. Okay, let's start with something called velveting the beef. It's a bit like searing, but we do it Chinese style. First thing, we need enough oil in the pan to cover the bottom. Turn the heat to medium-high. Here's a neat trick. Pop a chopstick into the oil, and if you see lots of little bubbles, we're ready to rock. Carefully place the beef in the pan, spreading it out to avoid clumping. Once the beef's in, just let it sit for a moment. Stirring too soon might cool the oil down too quick and mess up that light coating we got on it. Wait for about 10 seconds, then give it a quick stir just till the beef changes color. Should take less than a minute. Then get it out of there and let the excess oil drip off. That outside heat will finish cooking the inside just right. To avoid any hiccups later on, let's get our sauce ready in advance. We'll mix in half a tablespoon of cooking wine, one and a half tablespoons of oyster sauce, a teaspoon of dark soy sauce, a quarter teaspoon of sugar, two tablespoons of water, and a teaspoon of cornstarch. Stir everything together until it's nice and smooth. Next up, I've prepped the veggies. We've got half an onion, three cloves of garlic chopped up, and two slices of ginger. Turn the heat to medium, heat up the pan, and add a little cooking oil. Put in the garlic and ginger slices, fry them until you can smell the fragrance. Add the onions next and cook them until they're soft and clear. Then turn the heat up a bit, add the beef we prepared before, and pour in the sauce we made earlier. Stir everything quickly so the beef gets nicely coated with the sauce. Turn off the heat and it's ready to serve. And there you have it, a scrumptious beef and oyster sauce all done. Just follow these steps and you too can easily whip up this Chinese flavored delicacy right at home. If you enjoyed this video, don't forget to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to my channel. Happy cooking and I'll see you next time.