THICKENING SAUCES

It is a complete misconception that Chinese sauces are by nature thick and gloopy they only turn out that way when the chef has been heavy-handed with the thickening In the Chinese kitchen，we commonly use either a cornflour or potato starch and water mixture to thicken sauces to a coating consistency as shown below

INGREDIENTS

1 tablespoon cornflour or potato starch

3 tablespoons cold water

1.Mix the ingredients together until smooth，then slowly pour into the liquid that you want to thicken while it is boiling.Cook，stirring，until thickened

CHEF’S TIP

In the restaurant i choose not to thicken sauces with starches but instead to reduce them down to a honey-like consistency so that they cling to the meat，fish or vegetables.While this approach takes a lot longer，and using cornflour is certainly better if you have velveted your meat it does contribute a real concentration of flavour to the main ingredients.Try both methods when cooking the recipes and reach your own conclusion as to which you prefer

hancheng

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