How To Stop Stir Fry Meat From Being Tough

Whenever I usually make a stir fry if it’s not chicken, I always buy rump steak and slice it thinly as it never goes tough. But as we all know right now walking into a supermarket can be a little underwhelming with the choice of food available. Thanks to the big C, supplies are struggling to reach supermarkets across the country.

I had decided that it was a Beef Stroganoff for dinner the other night as I had an opened carton of sour cream I wanted to use up. Low and behold, there was no rump streak available for purchase and I could not be bothered to think of something else to eat so I had to buy ready cut stir fry meat.

Normally I avoid this like the plague, as it is renowned for ending up tough and chewy but I had to lower my standards and make the most of what I could get.

I remembered a little trick that we used to do in the days of helping my father in his Deli cooking for the crowds and it saved the night!

Placing the meat in a freezer bag and adding some corn flour and making sure all the meat is well covered before you place it into the fry pan or work, works like charm.

I did cut the meat into small pieces as they can be way to long and chunky, turned the pan up nice and hot and added a good splash of olive oil before dropping the meat into the pan.

The coating helps seal the meat and stops the juices from being released and toughening up. It provides a nice coating that gets good colour and it will even help thicken the sauce a little if needed.

Dinner was great and the meat was nice and tender. I would also do this for lamb and pork, but not bother with chicken as it never seems to go tough for me unless I accidentally don’t turn the pan up to a high heat before adding it.

The simply joy of a yummy dinner after a long day rather than trying to chew on tough meat is winner in my books!