With just two simple ingredients that every household has, you can easily defrost meat in 5 minutes.

These days, many families store frozen meat and fish in the fridge to save time on grocery shopping. When needed, they just take the meat out to defrost and prepare it. However, defrosting a large piece of meat usually takes a long time. If you let the meat thaw slowly in the fridge, it can take an entire day. If you leave it out to defrost naturally, it won't be safe. Soaking the meat in water is also not the fastest method.

To defrost meat quickly while keeping it fresh and delicious, try the following methods.

Defrost with Salt

Prepare a basin of water (enough to submerge the meat). Add 2 tablespoons of salt and stir well. Soak the meat in the salted water. After about 10 minutes, you'll notice that the meat begins to soften.

You don’t need to wait until the meat is completely soft. It's enough if the meat becomes slightly soft but still a little firm. The meat will be easier to slice thinly and neatly.

If you want the meat to soften more, you can cut the piece of meat into smaller sections and soak them for a few more minutes.

Defrost with White Vinegar

To keep the meat fresh and thaw quickly, you can use white vinegar. Mix white vinegar into a basin of water, then soak the meat in it for about 5-10 minutes. White vinegar contains acetic acid, which lowers the freezing point of water and speeds up the defrosting process.

You can also combine both salt and white vinegar to speed up the defrosting.

Defrost with Sugar Water

Add warm water (around 40°C) to a bowl (mix boiling water with cold water in a 1:5 ratio). Add 2 tablespoons of sugar and stir well. Soak the frozen meat in the sugar water. The sugar molecules will help break down the ice crystals in the meat faster. After just 7-10 minutes, the meat will be soft.

Defrost with Ginger

Adding ginger to the water for defrosting will help the meat retain its natural color and improve its flavor.

Prepare a basin of warm water (around 40°C). Crush some ginger and add it to the water. Then, soak the meat in the ginger water. Ginger has warming properties, which will help defrost the meat quickly.

Note: When buying meat, divide the large piece into portions for individual meals. When needed, just take one portion out to defrost. Avoid defrosting the entire large piece of meat and then re-freezing the remaining part.