Home Food & Receipts “The Secret Ingredient to Tender and Tasty Meat: Elevate Your Grilling Game”

Food & Receipts

“The Secret Ingredient to Tender and Tasty Meat: Elevate Your Grilling Game”

16 November, 2024

“Fish Sauce: Enhancing the Vietnamese Culinary Experience”

Fish sauce is integral to Vietnamese cuisine, adding depth and richness to the flavor of dishes. Whether used as a dipping sauce, seasoning, or marinade, fish sauce elevates the culinary experience. However, culinary experts advise against using fish sauce to marinate raw meat as it may dry out and toughen the meat during cooking.

Applying fish sauce to meat marinades can cause proteins to contract, resulting in a less tender texture. Instead, chefs recommend alternative options such as salt, sugar, seasoning powder, or monosodium glutamate for marinating meat to achieve a softer and more flavorful result. Additionally, it is best to add fish sauce towards the final stages of cooking to preserve its unique flavor without compromising meat quality.

An effective alternative to tenderize meat is to use lemon juice in the marinating process. The acid in lemon juice breaks down proteins, making the meat more tender. Simply soak the meat in lemon juice for about 30 minutes before cooking, and you’ll end up with a more delicate and appealing dish.

Lemon Juice Marinade: The Secret to Tender Meat

Here’s a mouthwatering grilled meat dish using a lemon juice marinade that you can prepare for your family.

Ingredients

Gather the following ingredients to create a delicious grilled meat feast:

– 500g pork neck or belly, cleaned and thoroughly dried

– 1 fresh lemongrass stalk, finely chopped

– 4 garlic cloves, minced

– 4 kaffir lime leaves, chopped

– 3 shallots, finely chopped

– A handful of coriander, chopped

– 30ml of good quality soy sauce

– 30ml fragrant rice wine

– 30g soft light brown sugar

– 5ml fresh lemon juice

– A drizzle of pure honey

For the dipping sauce:

– 30ml delicious fish sauce

– 30ml fresh lemon juice

– 1 horn pepper, thinly sliced

– 5g white sugar

– A splash of clean water

Instructions

Marinate the Meat

In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, rice wine, brown sugar, lemon juice, chopped lemongrass, garlic, shallots, kaffir lime leaves, and chopped coriander to create a flavorful marinade.

Using your hands or chopsticks, evenly coat the meat with the marinade.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate the marinated meat for a minimum of one hour.

Grill the Meat

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees C.

Line a baking tray with aluminum foil and place the marinated meat on top.

Grill the meat in the preheated oven at 200 degrees C for about 8 minutes on each side.

During the final 2-3 minutes of grilling, brush a thin layer of honey over the meat for added gloss and aroma.

Adjust the grilling time according to the size and thickness of the meat and the type of oven used.

Prepare the Dipping Sauce

In a small bowl, mix fish sauce, lemon juice, sugar, chopped chili, and a splash of water. Stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. Feel free to adjust the amount of sugar and chili to your taste.