Thickening sauces with starch is a cooking method recommended by nutrition experts. It not only "locks in" the nutrients in the dishes but also protects the gastric mucosa. Nowadays, there are not only corn starch and potato starch, but also mung bean starch, leaving consumers spoilt for choice. The following will introduce the differences between them.
These starches are all extracted and processed from food crops. In different starches, the ratio of amylopectin to amylose structures varies, affecting the viscosity and glossiness of the sauce. Among them, corn starch is the most widely used and has strong moisture absorption. It is mainly used in cooking methods such as stir-frying, quick-frying with vinegar, blanching, and flash-frying to make the food texture softer and smoother. It is particularly effective for tender parts of poultry (chicken, duck, goose), livestock (pork, beef, mutton), as well as seafood and freshwater ingredients like fish, shrimp, and crab. Potato starch has strong viscosity, a fine texture, and a pure white color, with excellent transparency. It is commonly used for thickening soups. Therefore, having these two types of starch at home is sufficient for most cooking needs.
In addition, mung bean starch has better transparency than corn starch and better stability than potato starch, but its viscosity is very high, and it tends to form clumps easily. It is generally used to make jelly noodles and vermicelli. Tapioca starch has a very chewy texture and is often used in delicately flavored foods, such as cakes and puddings. Sago in sago pudding is also made from processed tapioca starch. Wheat starch is made from washing the gluten out of wheat bran. It tends to settle when used as a thickener and is generally used for making crystal-clear Chinese-style pastries, such as crystal snow skin mooncakes.