Curing (Meat)

Note

The curing described here refers to a pre-cooking preparation step for ingredients, not to the production of finished products such as salted pork or cured sausages.

Pickling

Marinating meat before cooking is a common method to infuse it with flavor in advance. Typically, the meat used for marinating is raw. The size of the cuts can be determined based on the requirements of the specific dish.

For example, when making fried chicken nuggets, the chicken breast is cut into small dice-sized pieces before being placed in a bowl for marinating.

For example, when roasting a whole lamb, lamb legs, half racks, or whole racks do not need to be cut; instead, a generous amount of seasonings is applied to the surface to marinate and infuse the meat with flavor.

Depending on the dish, the seasonings and auxiliary ingredients chosen for marinating can be of any type. Sometimes, to achieve different flavors, the auxiliary ingredients may also require preliminary preparation.

Basic Pickling Concepts

This section describes the standard marination process.

• Generally, the larger the amount of meat (e.g., marinating 5kg of chicken wings at once) or the larger the volume (e.g., a whole leg of lamb), the stronger the desired flavor, the more seasonings and auxiliary ingredients are required.
• Generally, the longer the planned marination time, the fewer seasonings and auxiliary ingredients are needed.
• When marinating, ensure the marinade is evenly distributed over all surfaces. For sliced meat or shredded meat, mix thoroughly by hand. For a whole leg of lamb, use your hands or a brush to spread the marinade evenly over the surface.
• Generally, stir-frying or deep-frying meat requires prior marination. Stir-fried meat should retain a tender and fresh texture; cooking typically involves high heat for a short duration. When short cooking times make it difficult for the meat to absorb enough flavor, pre-marinating helps compensate for the lack of taste.

Pickling Techniques

• Shredded meat, thin meat slices: Because the meat is delicate, handle it as gently as possible. Shape your fingers like a claw machine’s claw and lightly toss the marinade to coat evenly. Then, stir gently in one direction only.
• Meat strips, meat slices, meat chunks: Use the same technique, but you can apply slightly more force.
• Chicken legs, chicken wings, and similar sizes: First, make a few decorative cuts (score) into the meat. For chicken drumsticks and whole chicken legs, you can poke holes through them with a knife. Then, mix the marinade in a bowl first, and place the meat in the bowl to coat it evenly.
• Lamb legs and similar sizes: Generally, poke holes through the thicker parts of the meat. After mixing the marinade, apply it evenly to the surface of the meat.

Pickling Containers and Time

• Any container that can hold the ingredients and marinade will do, such as bowls, plates, or trays. This is open marinating, which typically takes a shorter time, commonly ranging from 0.5 to 2 hours. (Roasted) lamb legs can also be marinated this way, though it requires a longer duration.
• You can choose a large enough food-grade resealable bag for marinating. This is closed marinating, which generally takes a much longer time, such as marinating overnight or marinating ribs that are difficult to flavor. A common duration is 4 hours to overnight. In this case, slightly reduce the amount of seasoning to prevent the final dish from having an overly heavy or salty taste.

Common Pickling Ingredients

• Light soy sauce: Provides a savory base flavor with a salty taste. Can be used with almost all types of meat.
• Dark soy sauce: Not strongly salty, but effective for coloring. Used to add color and enhance aroma. Generally should not be used in large quantities to prevent a strong fermented bean taste. Can be used with almost all red meats (less commonly), and can be used in larger amounts for liver (such as pork liver).
• Table salt: Salty, but does not impart a soy sauce aroma after stir-frying. Can be used with all types of meat.
• White (sand) sugar: Adds sweetness (in large amounts) and can also enhance the tenderness of meat (in small amounts). Can be used with all poultry and livestock meats, but is not commonly used for fish and seafood.
• Brown sugar: Adds sweetness and the unique texture of brown sugar. The flavor is slightly heavier than white sugar. Can be used with almost all meats (generally those with darker meat color or dishes with darker final color).
• Oyster sauce: Enhances umami, saltiness, and sweetness. Generally used with red meat.
• White vinegar / Rice vinegar: Adds sourness. Used less frequently.
• Aged vinegar / Fragrant vinegar: Not only adds sourness but also enhances the aroma and color of the dish. Fragrant vinegar is particularly suitable for dark-colored fish (especially grilled fish).
• Cooking wine: Removes fishy odor and enhances aroma. Can be used with almost all meats. However, usage requires attention:
  • Cooking wine has a strong flavor and easily masks the natural aroma of the ingredients. For ingredients with mild fishy odors, consider not using cooking wine to remove the odor. Examples: beef, fish, and chicken.
  • For chicken, you can use baijiu (Chinese white spirit) instead of cooking wine.
  • For beef, you can use ginger and scallion water instead of cooking wine.
  • For white-fleshed fish, simply washing away the blood vessels and mucus is sufficient to eliminate the fishy odor; it is recommended not to add cooking wine.
• Yellow wine (Shaoxing wine): Removes fishy odor and enhances aroma. The effect is better than cooking wine, and the aroma is more complex. Generally used with white meats. Can also be used with red meat, but the effect is comparable to cooking wine.
• Five-spice powder / Thirteen-spice powder: Adds aroma to meat, the simplest compound spice. Five-spice powder only adds aroma, while thirteen-spice powder has a unique and distinctive aroma. When marinating with these spices, usage should be controlled. Can be used with almost all meats, but is not commonly used for fish and seafood.
• Chili powder: Chili powder comes in many varieties. Regardless of the chili variety, it can be categorized by grinding fineness into chili powder/flakes, chili flakes, etc. Besides adding spiciness to meat, it can also add color to the dish. Dishes marinated with chili should avoid excessive chili. Can be used with almost all meats requiring a spicy base flavor, but cooking time should be slightly controlled to prevent the chili from becoming bitter or the color from darkening.
• Cumin powder, fennel powder: Generally used as powder for marinating, not in granule form, to help meat absorb flavors more easily. Can be used with almost all red meats and chicken.
• X pepper powder: Adds pungent, spicy, aromatic, and numbing flavors to meat. Usage should be moderate to avoid overpowering other flavors.
  • Black pepper powder: Pungent and spicy. Can be used with almost all red meats.
  • White pepper powder: Pungent and aromatic. Slightly milder than black pepper, highlighting the aroma. Can be used with almost all meats.
  • Sichuan peppercorn powder: Pungent and numbing. Has the distinctive aroma of Sichuan peppercorn, quite recognizable. Can be used with almost all meats.
• Doubanjiang (broad bean paste): Adds the fermented bean aroma, saltiness, and spiciness to meat. Can be used with almost all red meats.
• Scallions, ginger, and garlic: Scallions and ginger remove fishy or gamey odors and enhance aroma; garlic adds a pungent flavor. Scallions can be cut into segments or slices as needed; ginger is typically sliced, and peeled in some cases; garlic can be sliced or minced. If you prefer scallions and ginger not to be visible in the final dish, or if a lighter flavor profile is desired, place chunks of scallions and ginger in a bowl with a minimal amount of water, squeeze to extract the juice, and use this scallion-ginger water to marinate the meat. Garlic is generally not added directly. Suitable for all types of meat.
• Seafood sauces, shrimp paste, etc.: Add umami and saltiness to meat. Seafood sauce has a sweeter profile, while shrimp paste has a stronger, more intense flavor. Suitable for almost all types of meat, though usage is not very common.
• Fermented black beans (Douchi): Add fermented bean aroma and saltiness to meat. Suitable for almost all red meats, though usage is not very common.
• Raw starch: Refers to starch. Raw starch is a key ingredient in coating meat (mian jiang). The thicker the coating or the more tender and silky the desired texture, the more raw starch is required. Suitable for almost all types of meat. Raw starch can be used as a simple frying batter (usually combined with flour or other ingredients as needed); in this case, it is generally not added during marination
  • Cornstarch, potato starch: Generally have the highest viscosity
  • Sweet potato starch: Slightly lower viscosity
• Oil: Adding an appropriate amount of oil during marination creates an oil seal, which locks in moisture and flavor. If marinating in an open container for an extended period (e.g., in a bowl), the oil seal significantly helps prevent the meat from becoming dry or tough. Suitable for almost all types of meat. After oil sealing, slightly reduce the base oil when stir-frying; no adjustment is needed for deep frying.

Some General-Purpose Pickling Formulas

• Beef: Marinate with an appropriate amount of light soy sauce, a small amount of cooking wine, and a small amount of white granulated sugar. Add salt (to supplement saltiness) as needed based on taste. Use oyster sauce and a very small amount of seafood sauce (for oyster sauce beef), or five-spice powder/thirteen-spice blend (for onion stir-fried beef). Use scallions and ginger with caution.
• Chicken (including chicken breast and chicken wings): Marinate with an appropriate amount of light soy sauce, a relatively small amount of white granulated sugar, and a small amount of cooking wine. Add salt (to supplement saltiness) as needed based on taste. Use five-spice powder/thirteen-spice blend (for fried chicken popcorn), or a very small amount of dark soy sauce (for pan-fried chicken wing middles).
• White-fleshed fish: Marinate with an appropriate amount of salt and a small amount of cooking wine/yellow wine. Add seafood sauce/seafood soy sauce/steamed fish soy sauce (for pan-fried hairtail) or scallion and ginger (water) (for roasted skin-on fish) as needed based on taste.
• Red-fleshed fish: Marinate with an appropriate amount of light soy sauce and a small amount of cooking wine. Add seafood soy sauce/a small amount of steamed fish soy sauce (for pan-fried salmon) or brown sugar (for Nordic-style roasted salmon) as needed based on taste.
• Pork liver: Marinate with an appropriate amount of light soy sauce and an appropriate amount of cooking wine. Add starch and an appropriate amount of dark soy sauce (for stir-fried tender liver) or a small amount of sugar, etc., as needed based on taste.

Practical Dish Examples

• Beef Stir-Fried with Onions: Based on a serving of 150g of beef. The beef should be sliced, and the final dish should have a tender and smooth texture. It must be stir-fried.

  • Light soy sauce 10ml (approx. 2 tablespoons)
  • Cooking wine 5ml (approx. 1 tablespoon)
  • White granulated sugar 2.5-10g (approx. 1-4 teaspoons, choose based on desired sweetness)
  • Cumin powder 5g (approx. 2 teaspoons)
  • Cornstarch 10-15g (approx. 1 small handful)
  • Oil 10ml (approx. 2 tablespoons)
  • (Optional) Thirteen Spice 1g (approx. 0.5 teaspoon)
  • (Optional) Black pepper powder 1g (approx. 0.5 teaspoon)

• Oyster Sauce Beef: Based on a serving of 150g of beef. The beef should be sliced, and the final dish should have a tender and smooth texture with a strong starch coating. This dish has a sweetish taste profile. It must be stir-fried.

  • Light soy sauce 5ml (approx. 1 tablespoon)
  • Cooking wine 5ml (approx. 1 tablespoon)
  • Oyster sauce 10-20ml (approx. 2-4 tablespoons, choose based on desired saltiness; oyster sauce is quite salty)
  • White granulated sugar 5-15g (approx. 2-6 teaspoons, choose based on desired sweetness)
  • Cornstarch 25-35g (approx. 1 large handful)
  • Oil 10ml (approx. 2 tablespoons)

• Five-Spice Crispy Chicken: Based on a serving of 150g of chicken breast. The chicken should be cut into dice shapes. It must be deep-fried.

  • Light soy sauce 10ml (approx. 2 tablespoons)
  • Cooking wine 2.5ml (approx. 0.5 tablespoon)
  • Five-spice powder 5g (approx. 2 teaspoons) OR Thirteen Spice 2.5-5g (approx. 1-2 teaspoons)
  • (Optional) Cumin powder 1g (approx. 0.5 teaspoon)
  • (Optional) White pepper powder 1g (approx. 0.5 teaspoon)

• Honey-Glazed Roasted Chicken Wings: Based on a serving of 250g of bone-in chicken wing middles. Make several decorative cuts on the wings. The final dish should be salty and sweet, with a prominent sweet flavor. It must be roasted.

  • Light soy sauce 10ml (approx. 2 tablespoons)
  • Cooking wine 2.5ml (approx. 0.5 tablespoon)
  • White granulated sugar 5-15g (approx. 2-6 teaspoons, choose based on desired sweetness)
  • Honey/Syrup 10-20ml (approx. 2-4 tablespoons, choose based on desired sweetness. If white granulated sugar is 10g or more, it is recommended to add only 10ml)
  • (Optional) Five-spice powder 2.5g (approx. 1 teaspoon. Do not use Thirteen Spice)

• Roasted Salmon: Based on a serving of 200g of boneless salmon fillet. Do not make any cuts on the fish. It must be roasted in an oven.

  • Light soy sauce 10ml (approx. 2 tablespoons)
  • Cooking wine 2.5ml (approx. 0.5 tablespoon)
  • Brown sugar 10-20g (approx. 4-8 teaspoons, choose based on desired sweetness)
  • Italian black vinegar/Zhenjiang fragrant vinegar 2.5-5ml (approx. 0.5-1 tablespoon, choose based on desired acidity)
  • Nutmeg powder 2.5g (approx. 1 teaspoon)
  • Thyme powder 1g (approx. 0.5 teaspoon)
  • Ginger powder 1g (approx. 0.5 teaspoon)
  • Rosemary powder 1-2g (approx. 0.5-1 teaspoon)
  • (Optional) White pepper powder 1g (approx. 0.5 teaspoon)
  • (Optional) Dried chili flakes 2.5-10g (approx. 1-4 teaspoons, adjust based on preferred heat level)