thats a mistranslation. its corn starch. you could also gou qian with tapioca starch.

corn flour might make people think of something closer to corn meal which is not accurate.

yeah, I was wondering about exactly that

There are a few things to keep in mind when using a corn starch slurry as a thickener.

First when do you want to use corn starch. You want to use corn starch when you want to thicken without changing the volume. otherwise its better to do a reduction. You could also use a roux but the corn starch slurry does not add an additional oil/fat component. A third alternative to corn starch, tapioca starch, would be arrowroot powder.

After you have made your slurry (the starch and water mixture), you want to add it to your sauce/dish while the dish is still on the stove and hot, preferably bubbling. You also want to add it a little at a time. add a little, wait for it to thicken and see if its the right consistency, then add more if you really need. Do not add too much as you will end up with gelatin and it will be fairly difficult to save your dish.

There is another use of corn starch not mentioned in the above article. That is as a dry coating for proteins before you stir fry them. The cornstarch coating will protect the meat slightly from overcooking and give a very very light coating on the outside. This technique is called 'velveting'.


Final thing is, not every Chinese dish needs corn starch so don't get in to a habit of using it in every dish.

Ah yes, it was late, I really should of realised that. Embarrassingly I'm studying Food Technology and have literally just finished doing a couple of weeks worth of lectures/practicals on starches

Great post amoeba. I've been meaning to try velveting but keep forgetting until it's too late.

dinner tonight

Chicken souvlaki pita with greek potatoes and homemade tzatziki

Chicken was marinated in olive oil, lemon, oregano, tyme, salt, pepper, mint, and garlic

Tzatziki was greek yogurt, cucumbers, a little garlic, oregano, s/p

Potatoes were just roasted with olive oil, s/p, and a little oregano

Niiice charder. Potatoes look great - did you parboil them or anything first?

Cooked breakfast for the mrs today- Eggs Royale




Hollandaise was suprisingly easy to make, I used a ramsay recipe. Will definitely be cooking this more often. I had benedict as opposed to royale, for I am not a big raw salmon fan (await flaming). Plus I got some really good ham which was on offer in waitrose.

Bump this back to the front page.

Looking around the specialist food shop today I decided to experiment with making the traditional Jamaican dish Ackee and saltfish.
Really easy to make.
-Soaked the fish in water to remove the salt.
-Fried 1 onion, 1 bell pepper, 1 Scotch Bonnet, 2 tomatoes, garlic and thyme.
-Removed any bones or skin then flaked in the fish.
-Added a drained tin of ackee and a finely sliced spring onion.
-Carefully stirred it or it'd turn to mush then seasoned with S+P.

I thought it was really nice, the rest of my family less so. The ackee has a creamy texture and is very similar to scrabbled egg.

Keeping with the Caribbean theme I also had to buy this.

Flecks of balsamic I hope?

outside of a salad i had once with mandarin oranges, i've never been able to enjoy a green salad with fruit in it. Maybe i need to try one out again.

Just make sure theres some good balance/contrast and it's great, imho. For this one I used my more grassy olive oil instead of a fruitier one, and hit it with a lot of salt to balance out the sweetness. Also I generally always use arugula which is a fairly peppery green on its own.

And yes Steven, that's balsamic.

Strawberries and Balsamic is such a good combo it's unreal. Can't wait for the summer!

Picked up a couple pounds of "boneless country style pork loin ribs". No idea what they are, other than from a pig. Suggestions for making them tasty?

One easy way: cover them with a spice rub, throw them in a slow cooker for 6-8 hrs on low, pull out the meat, add bbq sauce and enjoy.

They say "loin"? They are probably either the last cut off of the small end of the loin (my very favorite cut and usually mismarked/mislabled) or sirloin. They might be mislabled as loin and are actually shoulder butt or picnic cushion.

Wookie's advice is fine for butt or cushion meat, suboptimal for sirloin and criminal for small end of the loin.

Can you snap a pic?