Never Suffer Tough Beef Stir-Fry Again With Alex Guarnaschelli's Simple Tip

Stir-frying is a meal prep technique many households use on repeat during busy work weeks. This cooking method makes for a quick meal that's easy to customize based on who is sitting around the table. The actual meaning behind stir-fry relates to the constant movement or stirring of bite-size pieces of meats and veggies as they cook in just a little oil in a wok over high heat. The end result is crisp veggies, meats, and seafood that are juicy and succulent — or at least they should be in theory. However, if you are among those who find your protein a little tough, you want to take a page from Alex Guarnaschelli and cook your meat and veggies separately.

In a TikTok video, Guarnaschelli responds to a fan who asks why their beef always ends up "so tough and chewy" by encouraging them to cook their beef quickly at over high heat — separate from the other ingredients. "Cook all the vegetables, everything else, and then stir the beef in last minute. Don't drag the beef along for the ride the whole way," she shares, noting that it will be "overcooked" if mixed in too soon. Guarnaschelli added in the video caption that when she makes a stir-fry, "I use the same pan [and] saute things, one by one, and then combine."

There are a couple of reasons your meat overcooks when you stir-fry it, starting with overcrowding. When you throw all the ingredients you want to cook into your wok all at once, you are creating the perfect storm for steaming. This is because your veggies and meat cook at different rates. But you don't want to steam your meat. You want to sear it. This is why Alex Guarnaschelli's stir-fry technique makes a lot of sense. You want to work in stages and bring all the ingredients back together when you are ready to add your sauce.

However, if you want to take an extra precaution when it comes to the taste and texture of your meat, corn starch is the secret to restaurant-worthy stir-fry as is baking soda. The process is known as "velveting" and as Guarnaschelli's followers point out in their comments of her video, marinating meat and seafood in these powdery ingredients, along with some wine and egg whites, will produce a mouthwatering bite. But even if you velvet your meat, you will want to stir-fry it separately from your veggies to get the best bite. Use Guarnaschelli's tip when you make twice-cooked pork belly stir-fry, soy and citrus chicken stir-fry, or whatever your favorite recipe might be.