Because potato starch is sticky and has strong water absorption capacity, it is suitable for thickening except for thickening, cooking and soup making. Corn starch is suitable for sizing or frying sliced and shredded meat.
Because of its strong water absorption, corn starch is often used to paste food during cooking, and it can be used for sizing and curing meat, which can keep the meat fresh and tender. Potato starch is characterized by viscosity, delicate texture and white color. When heated by water, it will condense into a transparent and viscous state. Potato starch is often used to thicken, and starch is added before cooking to thicken the soup of dishes.
The purpose of thickening dishes
First, let the soup generate lift.
The most obvious purpose of thickening is to thicken the soup. During the heating process, the starch liquid is gelatinized by heat, and starch molecules are released and dispersed in the juice. These "spirits" combine to absorb a lot of water, expand in volume, and have strong interaction with each other, thus thickening the soup and increasing buoyancy.
The main ingredients of soup can be "held" and floated on the surface, which looks more beautiful. Typical dishes include West Lake beef soup, hot and sour egg soup and so on.
Second, wrap the taste in the raw materials.
Thickening of soup is only the appearance of thickening, and its deeper purpose is to increase the adsorption capacity of flavor juice through this thickening feeling, so that more juice can adhere to the raw materials evenly, thus making the finished dishes more delicious and the soup more mellow.
Third, let the dishes shine.
After gelatinization, the surface of starch liquid is smooth and flat, with certain transparency. Therefore, the thickened dishes are bright and moist in color, and the surface will not collapse and change color due to evaporation or oxidation of water, which can keep beautiful for a long time.