MARINADES: A "loo solution" is a traditional Chinese marinade and/or cooking solution. A well-prepared and well-kept "loo solution" comes in handy as a good way to cook meat and poultry.

SOY SAUCE MARINADE—LOO SOLUTION鹵水 FOR BEEF:

 

 

 

ingredients making up the “loo solution”:

    1 star anise + 1 small piece of dried tangerine peel, soaked            

    3-4 oz. cane sugar bricks

    ½ cup dark soy sauce                                                         

    ¼ cup light soy sauce

    1 tbsp. Chinese Rose wine                                      

    4 cups water

    ¼ tsp. salt

    ½ a pkg. of store-bought Chinese "Loo mixture", available at Chinese supermarket

4 lb. shin of beef                                                                    

1 thick slice ginger, crushed

 

 

 

Put store-bought "loo-mixture" in a cloth-bag or wrap it in a double thickness of cheese cloth and tied up securely. Bring rest of ingredients of “loo solution” to a boil in a large saucepan or wok, stirring to dissolve sugar bricks thoroughly. Adjust for saltiness, adding more sugar bricks , and/or more water if too salty. Add loo-mixture bag.  Boil for 5 minutes.

 

Add beef and ginger into soaking mixture. Bring back to boil; cover pot; reduce heat to medium-low to give bare simmering heat to cook beef for 1 ½ hours or until tender. Be sure to remove and discard loo-mixture bag after 15-20 minutes.

 

Remove beef, cool until able to handle; then slice meat to serve.

 

Re-boil the "loo solution". Strain it into a large glass container with lid. Cool completely and store in freezer until the next time it is used. Treated in this way "loo solution" can be reused over and over again.  

 

Before using "loo solution" the next time, care should be taken to adjust the colour and taste--as in preferred saltiness and sweetness--of the solution. Add more dark soy sauce for colour if needed, and more sugar and or water if too salty. Then bring solution to a boil before adding meat, poultry or hard-boiled eggs to be cooked in it. After using, follow steps to re-boil, strain, cool and freeze to preserve it.