Starch used for thickening, also known as dough powder, is a polysaccharide polymer condensed from multiple glucose molecules. Cooking starch mainly includes mung bean starch, potato starch, wheat starch, water chestnut starch, lotus root starch and corn starch. Starch is insoluble in water, and when heated to 60℃ with water, it is gelatinized into a colloidal solution. Thickening is the use of this characteristic of starch to indirectly heat vegetables, protect the nutritional components of food and improve the taste, so that the lost nutrients can be eaten together with thick soup.
Raw flour is a term that often appears in recipes, and it is mostly used for thickening, hanging pulp and making. Raw flour used in Chinese mainland and Taiwan Province, China is potato flour, while raw flour used in China and Hongkong generally refers to windmill super raw flour (potato starch) and chestnut flour (corn starch) imported from Europe. In Chinese cooking, raw flour is often used as one of the cured meat materials to soften the meat quality, in addition to thickening the food to produce a smooth taste. Raw flour has a wide range of uses, which can be used as seasoning in cooking, as well as bean jelly, and can also be used to spread pancakes. It is mainly used for sizing and thickening meat raw materials during processing.