There are not only many kinds of starch, but also the use of each starch is different. Some are suitable for hanging and frying, some are suitable for curing meat, some are suitable for cooking and thickening, and some are used for making soup. Ordinary people may not know when to use which one.
In fact, most people don't need to know all the functions of starch, only need to know the three most common starches, such as corn starch, potato starch and sweet potato starch, which is basically very powerful, because other starches will not be used in general life.
Next, Bian Xiao will introduce the characteristics, uses and usage of the above three starches to you, hoping to help you.
The first type: potato starch. It is characterized by high viscosity. Potato starch has fine texture, good viscosity, white color and good transparency. Mainly used for frying pot-wrapped meat and making sauces. First, make sauce: potato starch is a good thickener. When it is used to make sauces, its transparency is high, and the color of sauces is transparent, which makes people drool. Second, if you want to make pot-stewed meat, you'd better choose potato starch, because it is swollen and sticky, and it is not easy to fall off when hung up, so the pot-stewed meat is called Xiang; Third, it is used for curing all kinds of meat, such as shredded pork, sliced meat and beef. The main purpose of curing meat with it is to lock the moisture in the meat and make it smooth, tender and refreshing, which is similar to the function of corn starch.
The second type: corn starch. The biggest feature of corn starch is its strong hygroscopicity, and it is also the most widely used starch in cooking. Mainly used for thickening, curing meat and hanging paste. First of all, it is used. For example, when cooking some stir-fry and soup, corn starch is often used to thicken the soup to make it thicker, thus improving the taste; The second is hanging paste: because of its strong hygroscopicity, a layer of corn starch is wrapped on the surface of food, and the taste will be crisp after frying; The third kind is bacon: when curing raw meat such as pork and beef, some corn starch will be added, so that the fried meat tastes more tender and smooth. The main ingredient of tender meat powder sold in the market is corn starch, but Bian Xiao feels more comfortable with starch.
The third type: sweet potato starch. It is the largest, especially its strong water absorption capacity. Sweet potato starch is generally granular and dull, and its viscosity is difficult to control after gelatinization, so it is generally not used for thickening. Mainly used for frying Chinese dim sum, vermicelli and vermicelli. Because sweet potato starch has strong water absorption, fried food is drier, has no extra moist feeling, and the skin is more brittle, for example, it is used to make pineapple meat. Sweet potato starch can also be used for cooking, for example, it can be used to make radish balls, oysters and so on.