# Help! My Chinese dishes are lacking

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-chinese-dishes-are-lacking/467585>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 12, 2008, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-chinese-dishes-are-lacking/467585 "2008-10-12T15:17:01Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-chinese-dishes-are-lacking/467585/21 "2008-10-13T16:40:41Z")

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> [@redtail23](#):
>
> Multi-quote is THE DOPE!

Isn’t it, though? I’m seriously lovin’ it.

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**Author:** ![Ice\_Cream\_Conquest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e480ec/32.png) [@Ice\_Cream\_Conquest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Cream_Conquest)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-chinese-dishes-are-lacking/467585/22 "2008-10-13T21:41:29Z")

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I don’t know if you’re missing what I was missing, but for me the answer was sherry. Suddenly everything was tasting like it was supposed to.

Of course I definitely have to recommend the fresh ginger and garlic as well, and for some dishes, sesame oil.

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**Author:** ![BrianJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/54ee81/32.png) [@BrianJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrianJ)\
**Post date:** [October 13, 2008, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-chinese-dishes-are-lacking/467585/23 "2008-10-13T21:47:36Z")

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> [@Drain\_Bead](#):
>
> Another piggybacking question. I’ve never been able to figure out how to get the meat I make for stir-fry to be the same texture as I get in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant meat is much softer, to the point where you can’t really determine a grain to it or really much texture at all. No matter how much I pound the chicken or pork or beef, it still has the texture of small, pounded-out pieces of chicken or pork or beef.

My wife coats the thin sliced or shredded meat with corn starch adn water to make it soft when cooking. Also probably don’t cook it too long.

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**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\
**Post date:** [October 14, 2008, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-my-chinese-dishes-are-lacking/467585/24 "2008-10-14T04:36:50Z")

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> [@BrianJ4](#):
>
> My wife coats the thin sliced or shredded meat with corn starch adn water to make it soft when cooking. Also probably don’t cook it too long.

This is similar to a process called “velveting,” in which the meat is marinated for a few hours in a mixture of cornstarch, egg white and oil before cooking. This gives the food a smooth texture and helps keep it from drying out during cooking. Many web sites have directions on this technique - just search for “Chinese velveting.”

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