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Chinese soup making technique:
Thickening soup
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While most soups are thickened with cream or milk, the chinese likes to thicken their soups using cornstarch or potato starch. There is something about chinese thickened soups that pleases the palate.
Each spoonful contains so many different tastes and textures. Lightly seasoned before thickening because it will be more difficult to season well after thickening. How to thicken soup properly and not create lumps?Mix the cornstarch well. Pour the cornstarch mixture into the soup slowly, stirring to check the consistency. You want to achieve a nice smooth slightly thickened texture, not a sticky gruel or a starchy paste. Stop adding the cornstarch mixture when the texture is achieved, add more if your preferred consistency is not met.If you are new to this, for a start, add the cornstarch mixture in one spoonful at a time. After adding, stir the soup well. Check the consistency, then add another spoonful. When making cornstarch, add water to the cornstarch or potato starch flour instead of adding cornstarch to water. Cornstarch is very light and floats on the water making it difficult to mix. The normal ratio of water to cornstarch is 1:1.5 but I prefer to make thicker cornstarch mixture because it means I need to add less to a pot of soup to thicken things up quickly. Soup recipes using thickeningBeef vegetable soupFirm tofu soup with carrot and bamboo shoot A yummy thickened tofu soup recipe using firm tofu, ground pork, carrot and bamboo shoot. Silken tofu soup with dried scallop A warm smooth silken tofu soup recipe with minced green leafy vegetable and dried scallop. |
