Marinate

To marinate means to soak meat, fish, tofu or vegetables in a flavored liquid, the marinade, before cooking. A typical marinade has an acid or enzyme, oil, salt and aromatics such as garlic, herbs and spices. Marinating flavors the surface, and salty marinades help meat stay juicy.

How to do it

1. Mix the marinade. A simple base is 3 parts oil to 1 part acid, plus salt, garlic and herbs. Soy sauce, yogurt and buttermilk also work well.
2. Put the food and marinade in a zip-top bag or a non-metal dish, and turn to coat.
3. Refrigerate the whole time. Turn the food now and then.
4. Marinate for the times below.
5. Lift the food out, let the extra drip off and pat it dry before searing or grilling.

Food	Time
Fish and shrimp	15 to 30 minutes
Chicken pieces	2 to 12 hours
Pork and beef	2 to 24 hours
Firm tofu and vegetables	30 minutes to 4 hours

Why it works

Most marinades only reach a few millimeters into meat. Salt goes deeper over time and works like a brine, so salty marinades such as soy or seasoned yogurt help most. Acid and enzymes from pineapple, papaya or kiwi break down the surface. A little of that softens it, but too much turns it mushy. Oil carries flavors from garlic, herbs and spices.

Common mistakes

• Marinating fish in citrus for hours. Its surface turns chalky.
• Leaving meat in pineapple or papaya for long, which makes it mealy.
• Marinating at room temperature. Keep it at 5°C (41°F) or below.
• Reusing marinade that touched raw meat as a sauce without boiling it first. This risks cross-contamination. Boil it for at least 1 minute, or set some aside before adding the meat.
• Putting wet marinated meat into a hot pan, so it steams instead of browning.

In recipes

"Marinate overnight" usually means 8 to 12 hours in the fridge. For fruit, the word is macerate. Chinese velveting uses a short marinade of egg white and cornstarch.