Pressure cooker 电压力锅

[imron]

23 minutes ago, Balthazar said:

My body reaction to the food told me that was wrong

I've had a similar experience the first few times I used alcohol with a pressure cooker, and the alcohol taste was also much stronger than expected.

 

Now I either use less alcohol, or cook off some of it first before adding it to the pressure cooker.

[DavyJonesLocker]

21 hours ago, abcdefg said:

Davy, and @Balthazar -- I always have to struggle with beef here in China to get it tender, even when I use my pressure cooker. Did you do anything else to it besides just putting it in and selecting the program?

 

For example, did you marinate it before cooking, or pound it with a meat mallet? Did you blanch it with ginger and toss out that water before starting the actual pressure cycle? Did you brown it first before adding liquids and fastening down the lid? I've tried all those tricks at various times. 

  

I guess it could just be that I'm buying the wrong cut of beef. I usually go for 牛腩。(Not shoulder, rump or leg.) Costs between 40 and 50 Yuan per kilogram. The butcher usually tosses in a piece of marrow bone. (That's what's in the top of the frame, below left.) I trim away thick pieces of scrap fat (below right.) 

 

 

Actually it's something I didn't check before is what cut I am buying, mainly because I don't understand the chinese. I usually stick to places that I know do good meat.

I bought this yesterday which is quite tender 新西兰 牛腩 (brisket?) which is 43元 / 斤 so twice what you mention.  The other picture shows 牛霖  (no idea what that's means) but it's more tender, However at 51.9元/斤 I'll pass. The 7Fresh store is JingDong's own supermarket and your really can't go wrong with them. However while its very well priced, bang for buck wise its aimed at the more affluent consumer and all food quality is high grade. 

 

I want to pay more attention to the cut as  the prices can vary a lot  hence no point paying more for a cut if a cheaper piece will suffice for that particular cooking method (pressure cooker v steak) . The problem for me with the average supermarket is that its too hit or miss, and the overly pushy counter staff start to irritate me as little shoving bits of meat in your face or deliberately giving you a lot more that what you ask for. My partner is going at demanding what she wanted but for me it's just tiresome  . I like to browse in my time 

 

17 hours ago, Balthazar said:

That's probably correct. I would have thought it was just patiently waiting beneath the pressure cooker's lid, and that it would immediately escape once the lid was opened. My body reaction to the food told me that was wrong . Or at least that much less of it escaped than I had guessed.

 

 

 

sounds like an added bonus to me haha

 

[abcdefg]

Thanks very much, that helps explain the difference between your experience and mine. Your meat is "fresh frozen" 冰鲜 imported from New Zealand. One piece is "Chinese brisket" cut and it looks to have considerably more fat "marbling" than what I buy. Marbling makes meat tender when it's cooked. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The second piece you showed is 牛霖, a very tender cut. It's marked "select" or "specially chosen" 精选。No English translation for this cut so far as I'm aware. (Meat cuts are not international, they follow different conventions in different parts of the world.) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Last night I went to dinner at the home of friends. They made beef hot pot since it was the guy's birthday. They use the same inexpensive cut of domestic beef that I usually buy -- 牛腩。I asked about technique. They cook it in a pressure cooker for about 70 minutes before putting it into the hot pot. The lady told me anything less would not make it tender. It was in chunks, not thin slivers. And in the hot pot, where it picked up flavor, it was quite tender. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I've been bugging all my Chinese friends about this "tough beef" issue. Someone else who is a good cook told me that if it's a tender cut of meat to start with, slice it very thin and cook it only for a few seconds. If in a wok,  just give it a fast sear. If boiling it in  a hot pot, just dunk it for a few seconds without letting it "go swimming." Keep a grip on it with your chopsticks. 

 

So, the mystery is solved. The beef I buy is tough, inexpensive 老百姓 Chinese beef. It requires heroic measures to come out  tender.  Greatly appreciate the help in figuring this out. 

[DavyJonesLocker]

Good to know. I am pretty clueless about cuts of meat .I  niavely went with "you get went you pay for" as certainly that supermarket does excellent pork ribs

 

I like the idea of giving tougher cuts a good bashing with the pressure cooker before cooking it with the rest of the dish  as I am under the impression that often these tough cuts can be quite flavoursome. 

 

I wonder if  a pressure cooker would be useful with lamb, duck etc as any time I cook duck it's a lot tougher than what a decent restaurant would serve up

 

[abcdefg]

7 minutes ago, DavyJonesLocker said:

I wonder if  a pressure cooker would be useful with lamb, duck etc as any time I cook duck it's a lot tougher than what a decent restaurant would serve up

 

Probably, but I cannot swear to it. I haven't made lamb at home, and I always buy roast duck in the outdoor market because it's so inexpensive and delicious.