Selecting Ingredients--cornstarch (ck) Recipe
Yield: 1 ServingsRecipe by luhu.jp
Ingredients:
-Area of Influence: N/A Serves: N/A,
Directions:
Small amounts of cornstarch are used to thicken and glaze. The
cornstarch is always first mixed with cold water, broth, or other
liquid until smooth, then it is stirred into the hot food during the
final stage of cooking. If cornstarch is overcooked, it loses its
thickening power. Cornstarch-thickened products do not freeze well,
as the gravy tends to break down and lose its smothness. Therefore,
if you plan to freeze a dish, dont add the cornstarch until the food
is reheated and ready to serve. Arrowroot is an acceptable
substitute for cornstarch as a thickening agent, but flour is not.
Flour will not work in smoothly in a stir-fried dish, it requires
more cooking than cornstarch, and does not make a lovely glaze of a
cornstarch-thickened sauce.
Many Chinese chefs avoid the use of cornstarch or any thickener,
maintaining that well-prepared dishes need no such addition. Others
feel that the thickener enhances the texture and appearance of certain
preparations. Dishes served in Chinese-American restaurants are
likely to be glazed with a cornstarch-thickened sauce: the patrons
expect the glaze.
Cornstarch has other uses in Chinese cooking as well. Diced pieces
of meat are coated with it before stir-frying. It makes a crispy
coating for fish and deep-fried meat and poultry. It is an
ingredient in batters. Flour can also be used for coating and in
batters, but flour and cornstarch are not always interchangeable in
recipes because they react differently with some ingredients.
From: Chinese Kosher Cooking Betty S. Goldberg Jonathan David
Publishers, Inc., 1989
Entered by: Lawrence Kellie
Source from luhu.jp
cornstarch is always first mixed with cold water, broth, or other
liquid until smooth, then it is stirred into the hot food during the
final stage of cooking. If cornstarch is overcooked, it loses its
thickening power. Cornstarch-thickened products do not freeze well,
as the gravy tends to break down and lose its smothness. Therefore,
if you plan to freeze a dish, dont add the cornstarch until the food
is reheated and ready to serve. Arrowroot is an acceptable
substitute for cornstarch as a thickening agent, but flour is not.
Flour will not work in smoothly in a stir-fried dish, it requires
more cooking than cornstarch, and does not make a lovely glaze of a
cornstarch-thickened sauce.
Many Chinese chefs avoid the use of cornstarch or any thickener,
maintaining that well-prepared dishes need no such addition. Others
feel that the thickener enhances the texture and appearance of certain
preparations. Dishes served in Chinese-American restaurants are
likely to be glazed with a cornstarch-thickened sauce: the patrons
expect the glaze.
Cornstarch has other uses in Chinese cooking as well. Diced pieces
of meat are coated with it before stir-frying. It makes a crispy
coating for fish and deep-fried meat and poultry. It is an
ingredient in batters. Flour can also be used for coating and in
batters, but flour and cornstarch are not always interchangeable in
recipes because they react differently with some ingredients.
From: Chinese Kosher Cooking Betty S. Goldberg Jonathan David
Publishers, Inc., 1989
Entered by: Lawrence Kellie
Source from luhu.jp