They are all starches. Let’s introduce them in detail:

Types of starch

The starch used to thicken gravy, also called dough, is made from the condensation of multiple glucose molecules. polysaccharide polymer. Starches used for cooking mainly include mung bean starch, potato starch, wheat starch, water chestnut starch, lotus root starch, corn starch, etc. Starch is insoluble in water and gelatinizes into a colloidal solution when heated to 60°C. Thickening takes advantage of this property of starch.

Mung bean starch

Mung bean starch is the best starch and is rarely used. It is made from mung beans soaked in water, ground and then precipitated. Characteristics are: sufficient viscosity, low water absorption, white and shiny color.

Potato starch (potato flour)

Potato starch is a starch commonly used in households today. It is made by grinding potatoes, washing them, and precipitating them. Its characteristics are: sufficient viscosity, fine texture, white color, and gloss better than mung bean starch, but poor water absorption.

Wheat starch

Wheat starch is precipitated from wheat bran after washing the gluten or made from flour. Its characteristics are: white in color, but with poor luster, not as good as potato flour in quality, and easy to precipitate after thickening.

Sweet potato starch (sweet potato powder)

Sweet potato powder is a powder made from sweet potato starch. Generally, sweet potato powder is granular, with coarse and fine grains. It is usually better to buy coarse-grained sweet potato powder at home. Sweet potato powder will become viscous when heated when melted in water, and the viscosity of sweet potato powder is relatively high. Therefore, sweet potato powder is less used when thickening Chinese dishes because the viscosity is more controllable.

Sweet potato powder is often used in making Chinese snacks. Sweet potato powder can also be used for frying. After the marinated ribs are dipped in coarse-grained sweet potato powder and fried, the sweet potato powder can present a crispy texture, and the granular skin can also bring visual effects.

In addition, there are corn starch, water chestnut starch, lotus root starch, water chestnut starch, etc.