Take you to understand the role of cornstarch and starch, and the correct use method

What is the relationship between cornstarch and starch? And the most commonly used corn starch, how to use potato starch and sweet potato starch correctly? I believe most people don't know why your meat is not tender enough? Why are you always not getting enough glutinous rice? Why is the paste you hang easily loose and not crispy enough when fried? If these basic ingredients are not clearly distinguished and used correctly, you will never be able to cook well. Let's take a look at the specific use of these types of starch.

Let's first talk about what is cornstarch and what is the relationship between cornstarch and starch. We often see that the ingredients of a certain dish will be marked with the word raw flour and the word starch, which causes many people to be unclear. In fact, cornstarch is a type of starch, but starch is not necessarily cornstarch. Remember this, cornstarch only represents two types of starch, corn starch and potato starch. Other starches cannot be called cornstarch.

There are two main purposes of cornstarch in cooking. First, it is added when the meat is marinated, commonly known as sizing. The purpose is to lock the moisture of the meat slices and keep the fried meat tender and smooth.

Second, the cornstarch has the characteristics of water absorption, adhesion and smoothness. After being diluted with water, it becomes the water starch we often say. Adding it before the pot can increase the concentration of the soup, thereby improving the color and taste of the dish. This step is commonly known as thickening and sizing.

Next, let's focus on thickening. There are generally two types of thickening. One is the sauce with starch added, commonly known as the sauce, which is generally used for quick-fried and stir-fried dishes. The other is pure starch juice, commonly known as water starch, which is mainly used for general cooking.

In addition, there are four kinds of usages of goreng juice. One, Bao goreng, which is mainly used in stir-fried dishes. The powder juice is thick. Yes, there is basically no soup left after eating the dish.

Second, the paste is mainly used in slipping, slipping, stewing and stewing. The powder sauce is a little thinner than the bao, the purpose is to turn the soup into a paste, to achieve the fusion of soup and vegetables, and the taste is smooth and soft, such as sweet and sour pork loin.

Third, Liu Qiang is generally used in the overall dishes. The powder juice is relatively thin. Generally, after the ingredients are placed on a plate, the soup in the pot is heated and thickened and then poured on it, such as pickled pepper fish, watercress fish, etc.

Fourth, milk soup, commonly known as thin glutinous rice, is generally used in stewed and roasted dishes. The powder juice is the thinnest, mainly to thicken the soup a little bit to meet the requirements of delicious and fresh color, such as garlic broccoli Wait.

In general, corn starch is less stable and viscous than potato starch, and the thickening soup is thinner, so it is not suitable for thickening. While tender and smooth, it has little effect on the original taste of the meat, so it is the first choice for sizing. Potato starch has strong viscosity and water absorption, so it is not suitable for sizing, but it can exert strong characteristics and stability when used for thickening, so it is most suitable for thickening.

Let’s talk about sweet potato starch. Sweet potato starch can’t be called cornstarch. Generally, sweet potato flour made by traditional technology is granular, and modern technology is powder. Sweet potato starch is highly viscous and absorbent, and at the same time, its gelatinization temperature is the highest, and the viscosity after gelatinization is also difficult to control, so sweet potato starch is not suitable for sizing and thickening at all.

However, a unique characteristic of sweet potato starch is also not possessed by other starches. It is especially suitable for hanging paste. Using sweet potato starch to hang paste is not easy to desizing, and the appearance and taste are also the best, such as making crispy meat, smooth meat, lotus root box, eggplant box and so on.

But it should be noted that if it is used for dry-frying food, it is often fried with a thin starch after marinating, such as dry-fried octopus, dry-fried chicken wings, etc., and cornstarch is used for this starch. . Well, the explanation about starch knowledge is shared here. If you like it and really learn it, just collect it and pay attention. See you in the next issue!

Tips:

Among the three most commonly used starches in home cooking, corn starch has the lowest price and is most suitable for sizing meat after marinating. It can also be used for thickening, but the effect is not good. The price of potato starch is in the middle, which is most suitable for thickening, and the price of sweet potato starch is the highest, which is most suitable for hanging paste.