Hey guys, a few notes: 1. A few people over on the Discord asked for more information as to why we’re not crazy about the ‘passing through water’ technique. I get into it a bit more in the Substack post, and given that it’s a pretty popular technique, I think it’s fair to give you the TL;DR here. But before I do, I want to deeply, deeply emphasize what I said in the video: *if you like the technique, use it!* In the video, I wasn’t just saying that for the sake of saying it. There’s a lot of ways to get tasty end results in the kitchen - culinary disagreements are not ideological battles. 2. It really drills down to the fundamental purpose of passing through oil, I think - oil is a phenomenal medium for retaining heat, and the pass through effectively and evenly expels excess moisture from your meat. Water, meanwhile, quite obviously caps out at 100C. Given enough time, it *will* expel enough moisture, but by that time the protein - texturally - is not where you’d want it to be. That Kenji-Babish video isn’t the most charitable look at the technique (I’ve seen Kenji pull the same move on his channel to more delicious looking end results), but you can definitely see some of the potential pitfalls there. Because too much moisture was brought along for the ride, on Babish’s underpowered stove the stir fry hit what I call “the stir fry death loop” - there was too much water, so Kenji was desperately trying to boil it off… which only led to more water getting leeched out (if you ever find yourself in that situation, it’s better to just stop the stir fry where it is). Again, *please* don’t read this as a critique of Kenji - we’ve ALL been there, and he was in an unfamiliar kitchen. 3. So is there any benefit to passing through water? Yes, else talented recipe writers like Kenji, Shao Z, and Grace Young probably wouldn’t be proponents! What passing through water *can* do is set an egg white-based (or deeply-thick-with-cornstarch) coating without getting egg white in the final stir fry itself. Best practice, then, in my opinion would then be pre-stir-frying in a little extra oil to finish the job… but then we might as well just pass through oil at that point? 4. The other thing that gets a good bit of play online is a ‘baking soda soak’ - i.e. tossing the meat in a baking soda brine for ~30 minutes (or more) before cooking. This is actually a legit restaurant technique - we talk about it more in the linked Substack post - but is virtually unheard of in home kitchens (salt soaks are a *touch* more common among the Chinese equivalent of the ‘heath crowd’). Again, if you like it, do it. But there’s no real imperative. 5. In our ‘velveting guide’, we use a good hunk more cornstarch than we usually use in our ‘standard marinade’. This is largely because of the egg white. To arrive at the technique that I think a lot of people are looking for when they’re looking for ‘velveted meat’, you really want to go hard on the egg white and starch. 6. As an aside, if you’re doing beef (like we did in the video), you’ll also probably want to slap in an extra ~2 tbsp water to the marinade. A bit of oyster sauce is also nice with beef. 7. Got an extra egg yolk from ‘velveting’, and not sure what to do with it? Mix it in with your rice right when it’s hot from the rice cooker (or microwave, if re-heating). That’s all for now, might edit a few more notes in in a bit :)
@violetviolet888
2 сағат бұрын
Great day for Chinese cuisine education for English speakers. A video with chef Lucas Sin dropped earlier today "Lucas Sin Shows You What Ingredients Build A Chinese Pantry | Why It Works | Food52" One of the best I've seen on the topic. Just wasn't long enough.
@ian-duh
2 сағат бұрын
CHRIS! I am so happy for y'all becoming homeowners. Thanks for this channel and all you do.
@abydosianchulac2
2 сағат бұрын
"Beat that meat, into submission." -Chris, 2024 But seriously, these videos are fantastic and very helpful. You both have always been good about making the narration less 'travelogue at the start of an online recipe' and more 'reference at the start of a cookbook chapter,' so these video essays (do we still say vlogs?) are just extra, _extra_ context for your other work and for the cuisine in general. Please don't feel these are less-than publications than your recipe videos.
@jrk1666
2 сағат бұрын
After a particularly big disillusionment with gastronomy I find myself cooking more and more Chinese inspired dishes, they're just so quick for how good they are
@PaulMab9
Сағат бұрын
May I ask what your disillusionment was?
@oldhippy1947
18 сағат бұрын
Chris, I like your chatty videos. They've all been full of interesting information. And, good luck with the move and renovating.
@ChineseCookingDemystified
4 сағат бұрын
Cheers, thanks! We're mulling over Steph also doing a few (much more loosely edited) chatty videos over on the Patreon about what the whole renovation process is like in China - not sure if any of y'all would be interested in that or not.
@matthewmaclellan_
2 сағат бұрын
@@ChineseCookingDemystified yup! :)
@821Farm
Сағат бұрын
Agreed. I like the chatty videos
@dennisjeong6723
41 минут бұрын
My heart dropped at the serious tone of "you may have noticed Steph is not around", but it was happy news in the end!! Congrats
@ros8986
Сағат бұрын
I will now speak for everyone - WE are very grateful for your great videos - and for those of us who know nothing - any info is great.
@Lamefoureyes
19 минут бұрын
I was literally searching for a video on velveting as a technique instead of a recipe, this was perfect timing.
@Phosphophyllite524
2 сағат бұрын
This is really useful context that I was confused on. Every time I saw the term velveting mentioned I was always thinking in the back of my head "Isn't this mostly a marinade with extra mostly optional steps?" while thinking I was missing something important I hadn't been clued in on yet. This explains a lot of my confusion. Keep up the good work and good luck on the move!
@helpimabug
2 сағат бұрын
I'm a home cook who once lived and China and has been watching your videos from the beginning. Velveting (or 'meat softening' or whatever we want to call it) is awesome and should be used more often, especially in non-Chinese cuisines. But I agree, internet commentor types have made this technique far more complicated than it needs to be. For 99% of home cooks, the following is just fine: a) a little salt a) a light dusting of baking soda b) a slightly heavier dusting of corn starch This all you need to get Chinese restaurant-quality texture for meats.
@optionout
Сағат бұрын
And some oil. Done.
@WispNoises
2 сағат бұрын
Very good and informative video, and I especially highly appreciate the clarity of your written descriptions and your follow-up notes! The unhinged rant was informative in its own right and all in good fun. Thank you for presenting not only all of the different techniques that can comprise "velveting" but also for its focus on the variety and combinations of different techniques. Good luck with the move and thank you for the video!
@gabebennett818
2 сағат бұрын
I recently did the “pass through oil” for the first time, after a long time of not wanting to deal with the oil and extra steps. And BOY OH BOY, for all the skeptics out there, it makes a WORLD of difference
@violetviolet888
2 сағат бұрын
Fat carries flavor.
@cordellvos3703
Сағат бұрын
I love this style of video, and I absolutely adore the unhinged rant here. The velveting thing has always perplexed me for exactly the reason you identified: if it’s a single technique, why is it always different?
@Dragonriderperson
Сағат бұрын
Honestly Chris, Steph, I love your chatty videos. While your recipes are great and useful, I keep coming back to them because you guys break down the WHY and HOW of cooking steps. A video like this, breaking marinating techniques and what each one does, is great.
@ciscoortega9789
2 сағат бұрын
The unhinged rant is by far the most informative and valuable part of the videos from your channel! I can get recipes from anywhere, but you two are some of the few on KZitem giving nuanced and insightful takes :)) I'm not experienced or well-read enough to be able to synthesize takes from many different experts + combine it with actual experience
@petevenarie9285
7 сағат бұрын
Always very useful information! Good luck with the move ❤
@ChineseCookingDemystified
3 сағат бұрын
Thanks!
@finchhawthorne1302
2 сағат бұрын
I think part of why recipe writers sometimes recommend passing through water is that enough oil to submerge something is seen as unhealthy or dangerous to cook with in a lot of northern US home kitchens (though it’s very common in the southern US). So not a technique that’s good but because it’s better than nothing.
@ChineseCookingDemystified
2 сағат бұрын
I guess I just fail to see why it's necessarily superior to pre-stir-frying, or (even better) pre-stir-frying in a little extra oil. But again, if people like it, there's nothing wrong with it!
@vlgr8ter
39 минут бұрын
Congratulations on purchasing your home - amazing milestone for both of you! What are the chances you guys will be releasing more Thai Chinese content whilst you're still in Thailand? As much as I love your 'pure' Chinese recipe videos, I've found your recent phase of Thai Chinese videos to be some of your best work! It's refreshing, insightful, thought-provoking and I feel like there's no one else out there covering/exploring this kind of content! Keep up the great work!
@michelhv
2 сағат бұрын
I expect nothing less than a collab with Dianxi Xiaoge once your move to Yunnan is complete.
@martinyang5459
2 сағат бұрын
I'm so excited for videos from Yunnan! They have the best tea and mushrooms in the world.
@JoeAuerbach
Сағат бұрын
These ranty videos don't happen too often (and I'm sure that's by choice and I support it 100%) but I DO love these rants.
@suny217
28 минут бұрын
Congrats on moving to Yun Nan!! I am indeed expecting the cross bridge rice line noodle video asap! full history and recipes!!!!
@zabarai5282
31 минут бұрын
Good luck with your future move! I love all your videos and always learn something new, the chatty ones are just as good as the rest! ❤❤❤
@ssatva
31 минут бұрын
Congrats on the new home! So look forward to what you make of it! I wonder if the one advantage of having a term like velveting is to initiate the conversation; treating the term as a class of thing that we can then specify? "To velvet the X for this dish, we..." Great vid in general!
@SamwiseOutdoors
2 сағат бұрын
I do love these informative chatty videos. Good luck with the move and reno!
@delwynjones6408
Сағат бұрын
If. I remember correctly the term velveting comes from Irene Kuo's 'key to chinese cooking' and to be fair to her she does mention other tenderizing techniques such as "slippery coating". So its just one of many techniques for stir frying
@ChineseCookingDemystified
Сағат бұрын
Will check out her original definition, thanks!
@damianporter942
2 сағат бұрын
i love the chatty videos! then again i love all of the videos you two make. i have a degree in culinary and pastry arts but its Very Western so these videos are a wonderful resource.
@TheAntymoni
Сағат бұрын
Thank you for this! I love the side notes to follow along review after.
@norcalovenworks
56 минут бұрын
I cook Chinese food several times a week. My “velveting” is condensed to seasoning with salt, sugar, and sometimes wine, then I add either egg, egg white, or water, and then I add some potato starch as my son has a corn allergy. I usually just give my meat an initial stir fry before the other ingredients, instead of passing through oil, just to conserve oil. I usually don’t add soy sauce or fish sauce to my marinades, as I do that later. I do not add alkaline to my marinades to tenderize meat because my wife objects to the flavor, and truthfully, we usually buy high choice or prime meat which doesn’t need tenderizing. Still, I like my velveting because the mouthfeel of the dish is improved. Additionally, I have no problem with your ‘chatty” videos, they are informative.
@AntoniusTyas
58 минут бұрын
Heeeey congrats on the new upcoming home, man. Also, got to say your microphone set up is nice, it's clear and crisp. Maybe I'm going to need that for my voiceover stuffs.
@howchildish
2 сағат бұрын
I'm cooked too many ammonia smelling stir fries to know that a little baking soda for the "velveting" goes a long way XD. I'm really looking forward to trying the other stuff you mentioned to soften the proteins in the future.
@brookechang4942
2 сағат бұрын
Thanks for the detailed description, and congratulations on your upcoming move and new home! Any chance of getting a Dianxi Xiaoge collab someday? 👀
@ChineseCookingDemystified
2 сағат бұрын
In our dreams maybe, haha. Dianxi is like a rockstar
@violetviolet888
2 сағат бұрын
Great day for Chinese cuisine education for English speakers. A video with chef Lucas Sin dropped earlier today "Lucas Sin Shows You What Ingredients Build A Chinese Pantry | Why It Works | Food52" One of the best I've seen on the topic. Just wasn't long enough.
@billh230
Сағат бұрын
Seems to me a couple of years back Steph and Chris made s similar video.
@violetviolet888
22 минут бұрын
@@billh230 Yes, but their perspective is one of their primary knowledge is of what they have in China and approximating ingredients not available outside of China. Lucas was born in Hong Kong and has been a professional chef all his life. He knows the science, speaks multiple languages and is an exemplary communicator. Look him up, watch 5 videos, then let me know.
@angelad.8944
2 сағат бұрын
Well, I like all the videos you guys make. Don't worry too much about switching up the style. Gotta keep us on out toes, keep things spicy. 😅
@chrysanthemum8233
3 минут бұрын
I skip a lot of those steps but always marinate the protein, with or without the baking soda. I eat pescatarian/vegetarian a lot, and tofu definitely benefits from soaking up as much flavor as possible & I find that it helps fish fall apart less. Good luck with the move! It's nice to have time and choices.
@fretless05
Сағат бұрын
So, is "velveting" the western way to say "marinading" or "tenderizing" in Chinese cooking? Glad to hear Steph's absence is for a good reason! As for content, I started following your channel because I love traditional Chinese cooking and, without going to great lengths, it's difficult to find in restaurants where I live in the US; most is overly breaded and overly sweet. I enjoy learning about how to cook these dishes for myself as well as the historical and cultural commentary. I guess that's a long way of saying that the "filler" content of you talking to explain techniques is still great for me.
@CookieMonster2901
41 минут бұрын
"Subtle taste" in regards to using baking soda for velveting is an understatement. I just use a tiny bit of it and suddenly everything tastes like soap. And I mean a literal tiny bit, less than 1/8 of a teaspoon.
@julzamidala2865
Сағат бұрын
Congrats on your new apartment! Hope the build-out goes well-
@Moley1Moleo
58 минут бұрын
I like this style of video. I feel like they move maybe 20-30% in the Adam Rageusea direction with the sort of food 'reporting' or 'analysis' angle, which I quite like.
@weiyin8046
2 сағат бұрын
Congratulations on the move!! Good luck to you and Steph :)
@cyanyeti1556
2 сағат бұрын
I love these style of videos. I hadnt heard about passing through oil or water before, always just used a bit more oil or straight in Excited to hear you moving to Yunnan, I love puer and have been wanting to know more about the food
@jimmyyu2184
3 сағат бұрын
I've always wanted to master this technique. (Being Chinese Meself), and I definitely appreciate this vid. =))) [Edit: Good luck to you on your next adventure!!]
@bluz8705
Сағат бұрын
I appreciate this explanation. Now I understand why I wasn't understanding what exactly the term velveting meant, lol. I do like doing a bit of a baking soda brine but I have only done that for chicken since I'll sometimes buy a big pack at Costco for the freezer.
@emmydothething
Сағат бұрын
Chris has an unhinged rant? Automatic ❤
@ericbarnett6771
2 сағат бұрын
My wife is Chinese but I do most of the cooking. Early on I veleveted (?) chicken, beef, etc. all the time. Eventually though, the flavor of the baking soda began permeating the dishes to the point that I have stopped using the technique. I might now try the other techniques listed here. Thanks for the ideas!
@rikimaru6811
2 сағат бұрын
Pickle them in soda, then wash and wring dry (the meat) before applying final marinate. This will get rid of that soda taste while keeping the protein tender.
@angelad.8944
2 сағат бұрын
@@rikimaru6811 I agree. I tend to do this method as well and we never taste the b. soda.
@archiekleung
Сағат бұрын
This time is really demystifying. I know a person built a house. Then about 2 metre away he built a kitchen. All the friends had a good laugh. Come to think of it that makes a lot of sense. It is easy to manage. In your case in particular, the camera and lights are always there. You can also give cooking classes. If all things failed there are mice you can always talk to.
@shigemorif1066
Сағат бұрын
Congratulations on becoming homeowners!🎉
@gunlovingliberal1706
2 сағат бұрын
Good luck with your new home. 👍👍👍👍👍
@SoraiaLMotta
53 минут бұрын
Good luck on the move. And thanks for the tips.
@Magius61
Сағат бұрын
Man where was this a few weeks ago when I went on a deep dive before dusting off my wok. Fortunately I’m a professional (just not with Chinese food) and it looks like I reached similar enough conclusions because the stir fry was great. Regardless, great video as always.
@Poohze01
21 минут бұрын
Best of Luck with the move!!!
@TontoKowalski2
2 сағат бұрын
"Up in your Kung Pao" is now one of my favorite phrases.
@CorwynGC
Сағат бұрын
Very helpful. Thanks.
@archiekleung
2 сағат бұрын
I like the colour. Tks
@PerfectPencil
3 минут бұрын
i like this video format.
@tommiewan8206
57 минут бұрын
The thing about chinese meat prepping is you the cook actually understanding what everything is for. There is no single formula for velveting, there are just components you should choose a la carte. It's something you should learn and adapt for the dish you are making not copy and paste.
@belac48621
2 сағат бұрын
A few months back I made a reddit post about how well velveting worked. Though in my post title, I called it "Silking".... XD
@craig5902
2 сағат бұрын
While I miss Steph there is NEVER too much Chris :)
@stephaniewaldhart6280
2 сағат бұрын
Love the chatty videos and very much enjoy your face!! 😊
@lizziebutdiff698
40 минут бұрын
At first I thought this was one of NileRed's hidden channels because of the voice.
@anthonyalles1833
2 сағат бұрын
Good luck with the move!
@WDShorty
Сағат бұрын
That mac n cheese don't look too bad, should make a second cooking channel called "American cooking mystified"
@garfieldclass10
2 сағат бұрын
I always figured velveting referred only to the marinade and using an alkaline, not slicing and frying.
@MrSandyBruce
Сағат бұрын
She is now my new favorite because she had a Pens cap on 😅 Go Penguins! 🎉
@josiahbills1273
Сағат бұрын
I have tried this a couple times this summer and ran into a problem where the egg started basically scrambling in the oil, which is not what I think is supposed to happen. Any ideas what I could be doing wrong? Is the temp too low? Too little cornstarch?
@appa609
53 минут бұрын
I am Chinese. I never do any of these except cutting against the grain. Good meat doesn't need to be tenderized.
@dhu5813
Сағат бұрын
I’m always baffled why people put wine and baking soda together. Most (cooking) wine is acidic. Wouldn’t it just neutralize baking soda, which I can always tell by watching it immediately bubbling.
@faranji
30 минут бұрын
“Water velveting” sucks. If you’re going to boil a separate pot, you might as well do it with oil because there’s no substitute.
@babbychat
11 сағат бұрын
i’m sorry but the passed through water meat looks profoundly unappetizing
@ChineseCookingDemystified
4 сағат бұрын
In Kenji's defense, he was working in an unfamiliar kitchen on an unfamiliar stove - I think we've all been there. Further, he's doing so while trying to execute a stand-and-stir (which requires high levels of on camera presence *and* sharpness while cooking), all while on a busy book tour. I've seen him do the same move on his channel to tastier looking end results. Still, I do think that the passing through water adds an additional level of difficulty when compared to pre-stir frying, or pre-stir frying in extra oil. Together with having to wait for a pot of water to come to a boil, this is my primary critique of the move - it feels like there's very little margin for error. That said, more talented recipe writers than us - Kenji, Shao Z, Grace Young - use the technique, and I'm not arrogant enough to say that they're all collectively 'wrong'. Only arrogant enough to somewhat disagree ;)
@nikobatallones
2 сағат бұрын
@@ChineseCookingDemystified Ha, yeah -- I tried that and didn't quite like the result, and have ended up with pre-stir-frying everything before the final assembly. I mean, just a home cook living alone, but good to know that that technique is available (especially since I'm not keen on using a lot of oil for just a 30-second shallow fry).
@abydosianchulac2
2 сағат бұрын
I mean, it's just the color of cooked chicken, like in a soup or on a grill before the maillard reactions start taking place. It's basically what you'd see in a chicken juk.
@nikobatallones
Сағат бұрын
@@abydosianchulac2 That's what the sauce is for! :D I remember that video though -- that is pork and cucumber stir-fry.
@DavidPendock
Сағат бұрын
My only criticism of these talky videos is that there's not enough Hayek von Schnauzer.
@allhailtalib9990
Сағат бұрын
Dope
@mithrilld
2 сағат бұрын
American cooks: (Cook a cultural meal differently) American cooks: (Get a different tasting cultural meal) American cooks: Ah, there must be a mystical secret step they use to make this taste like the authentic stuff
@FortunateJuice
2 сағат бұрын
Keep the diatribes coming. I trust you two more than any other Asian cooking channel on here.
@mikestubbs5242
2 сағат бұрын
Keep dropping the science! also DANG hope you know you're not half shabby, which is to say, pretty damned cute.
@guro4679
49 минут бұрын
All the chatty videos, ok 😌👍
@user-dv6dv5kn9l
Сағат бұрын
👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎👎🏼
@kaelhooten8468
2 сағат бұрын
Voice alone: fine Voice plus face: total weirdo
@swin1112
2 сағат бұрын
pretty weird comment to make...
@rasurin
Сағат бұрын
@@swin1112 two comments even, lol
@kaelhooten8468
2 сағат бұрын
Don’t like these face videos at all
@ChineseCookingDemystified
2 сағат бұрын
Fair enough, thanks for the feedback! Just a short term solution is all - if you see something that's a singular "dish" and not a "topic", it'll be a fair guess that it's going to be either VO-only or Steph in front of the camera
@antwango
2 сағат бұрын
HA! We've been using this method at home as well as professionally for decades and it works! We've also used a new method which also works to tenderize / loosens up meat amazingly and its also on youtube somewhere its KIWI FRUIT! I know its mad but it works! And it maybe expensive!!! It loosens up pork very quickly
@bjones9942
Сағат бұрын
You could always do a video unrelated to cooking. I spent 2 months in Istanbul and had to deal with an asian style toilet .... a video on that before I left would have been very helpful! :) LoL.
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