Recently, researchers from Chinese Food Processing and Equipment Research Team of Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (IFST-CAAS) investigated the aroma formation pathways of meat slices during stir-frying based on the “Huohou”-moisture relationship model, and the related research results have been published in the international authoritative journal of meat, Meat Science (JCR Q1, IF = 6.1). Ying Xu, a PhD student, was the first author, Prof. Chunhui Zhang and Associate Prof. Wensong Wei serving as co-corresponding authors. The study was carried out with the support of Integrated Laboratory of Processing Technology for Chinese Meat and Dish Products of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the Key Laboratory of Processing and Quality Control of Agricultural Products of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and was funded by the National Key R&D Program of China (2023YFD2100700), and the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program of Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-ASTIPG2024-IFST-05).

Stir-frying is one of the traditional oil-saving cooking methods in China, however, rapid heat transfer and complex thermal reactions make the quality of stir-fried dishes dependent on the professional chef's mastery of “Huohou”, which hinders the industrialization of stir-fried dishes. Previous studies have confirmed that stir-frying with high-level fire improves the tenderness of meat slices, which is mainly attributed to the high-temperature short-term treatment limiting the thermal denaturation of proteins. However, the limited thermal response of the substrate may be detrimental to the formation of volatile flavor compounds. This is contrary to the traditional notion that "stir-frying with high-level fire is more fragrant". Clarifying the effects of fire on matrix composition and heat-induced chemical reactions is key to unraveling the pathways of flavor formation in stir-fried meat products.

Moisture diffusion is an important mass transfer behavior in the stir-frying process. The researchers constructed a mapping model of “Huohou”-moisture correlation in traditional stir-frying, analyzed the dynamics of water diffusion in the process of stir-frying, and clarified the reaction paths of volatile compounds in stir-frying slices of meat from the perspective of water diffusion dynamics. The results showed that the moisture diffusion was not continuous during the stir-frying and would go through an equilibrium stage. The diffusion of moisture during stir-frying over high-level fire increased the thermal reaction rate of the substrate by decreasing the water activity and specific heat capacity, and promoted the generation of compounds such as3-methylbutanal,4-methylthiazole, dihydro-2-methyl-3 (2H)-furanone, and methylpyrazine. These volatile compounds are mainly derived from the Maillard reaction, Strecker degradation, and lipid-Maillard interactions, which enhance the coordination and richness of the flavors.

Understanding the development path of inherent volatile compounds in stir-fried meat slices can provide theoretical guidance for the selection of ingredients for whole stir-fried dishes, and the next step in exploring the composition of “Guo Qi”.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2025.109770

Schematic illustration of the effect of moisture diffusion-mediated heat transfer alteration on volatile compounds in stir-fried meat