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Chinese Cooking Techniques: How to Thicken a Sauce
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Chinese Cooking Techniques: How to Thicken a Sauce

Chinese cooks use a slurry of corn starch and water to thicken sauces, as the last step of cooking. The goal is to thicken the sauce so that it covers the ingredients evenly, showing the texture of the ingredients. Too much starch will ruin the sauce, making it like mucous. Too little starch will make it runny and watery.
By adding a little at a time and stirring briskly, you can see the sauce thicken gradually.
Prep Time1 minute
Active Time3 minutes
Total Time4 minutes
Course: Condiments and sauces
Cuisine: Chinese cuisine, Chinese Home Cooking
Keyword: corn starch, starch water
Yield: 1 sauce
Author: Glenn Emerson
Cost: $.10

Equipment

  • 1 mixing bowl
  • 1 measuring spoon
  • 1 pair of chopsticks (or a wire whisk)

Materials

  • 1 part cornstarch
  • 1 part water

Instructions

  • Add a measure of corn starch to your mixing bowl.
  • Add an equal measure of water and mix thoroughly
  • Bring the broth to a boil.
  • The starch will settle out of the water. Stir quickly to blend the starch and water. Then add a few drops at a time to the boiling sauce.
    Bring broth to a boil. Add thick starch a drop or two at a time, while stirring briskly.
  • Stir the sauce quickly to mix the starch into the broth.
    Stir rapidly while the sauce is boiling to mix the starch.
  • Check the consistency. Add a little more starch and stir, repeating until you have the desired consistency.
    Chinese Cooking Techniques: How to Thicken a Sauce
  • Remove from heat, add any flavoring oils, and add the ingredients, tossing to combine, or pour the sauce over the ingredients.

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