the function of thickening
(1) increase the viscosity and concentration of the soup. When cooking dishes, add some soup or liquid seasoning (such as soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, cooking wine and other seasonings), and at the same time, some water overflows from the raw materials after heating, which becomes the soup of the dishes. These soups are too thin to adhere to the raw materials, which affects the "taste". After thickening, the viscosity and concentration of the soup are increased, which makes the soup blend and delicious.
(2) It keeps the dishes crisp, smooth and tender, which is the most obvious effect in vegetable slip. For example, the characteristics of pickled vegetables are crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. If the sauce is not thickened, it will directly penetrate into the surface of raw materials, which will soften the fried raw materials and destroy the effect of crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside. After the sauce is thickened, the thickening juice wrapped on the surface of raw materials is not easy to penetrate because of the gelatinization of starch, and the flavor characteristics of dishes are maintained.
(3) Make the soup and vegetables blend together. The main ingredients are prominent for some dishes made by cooking methods such as stewing, stewing and grilling. There are more soup, and the umami flavor of the raw materials and the flavors of various seasonings should be dissolved in the soup, which is particularly delicious. The raw materials and the soup can't be blended together. Only after thickening, due to the gelatinization of starch, the concentration of the soup is increased, so that the soup and the vegetables are blended together, which not only increases the taste of the vegetables, but also produces a soft, smooth and tender special flavor. After thickening, the soup became thicker, the buoyancy increased, and the main ingredients floated and stood out, which changed the phenomenon that you can't see the dishes when you see the soup.
(4) make dishes beautiful in shape and bright in color. Because starch becomes sticky when heated, it produces a unique luster, which can reflect the color of dishes and condiments more vividly.
(5) It can keep the dishes warm. Because the sauce is sticky after heating, it wraps the appearance of raw materials, reduces the heat dissipation inside the dishes, and can keep the heat of the dishes for a long time.
although thickening is an important means to improve the taste, color and shape of dishes, it is by no means that every dish must be thickened. The timing of thickening and whether it is necessary to thicken should be decided according to the characteristics and requirements of the dishes. Some special dishes should be thickened before serving the main ingredients. For example, "hot and sour soup" and "emerald shrimp soup". The egg liquid and shrimp are put into the pot after thickening, so as to shorten the heating time, highlight the main ingredients and increase the smoothness of the dishes. Generally speaking, the following types of dishes need not be thickened:
(1) Dishes with refreshing taste need not be thickened, especially fried vegetables.
(2) The raw materials are crisp and tender, and the dishes in which the sauce easily penetrates need not be thickened. For example, Sichuan cuisine is dry-roasted and dry-fried.
(3) There is no need to thicken dishes with thick soup or sticky condiments. For example, dishes such as "braised trotters" and "braised fish" have a lot of gum, and the soup will naturally be thick. Another example is Sichuan cuisine's "Chongqing pork" and Beijing cuisine's "Fried Chicken with Sauce", which have been seasoned with sticky condiments such as bean paste and sweet noodle sauce, so there is no need to thicken them.
(4) There is no need to thicken all kinds of cold dishes. Because the characteristics of cold dishes are refreshing, crisp and tender, dry and fragrant, but not greasy, if thickened, it will affect the quality of dishes.