So I bought it for nothing? I thought she specified potato flour.
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I don’t know if you missed my initial reply to you about this upthread, but Dunlop is UK-based and so some terminology differs. Just as they call cornstarch “cornflour” there, potato starch is called “potato flour”.
Or also how “tomato purée” is what they call tomato paste there.
Both corn flour and potato flour are different things in the US, and potato flour in particular is a very American product, whereas potato starch is employed in Chinese (and other Asian) cooking pretty regularly. That’s why you didn’t find any at Ranch 99 but found plenty of potato starch.
While on this side of the world you can get potato starch, cornstarch is used a lot more. UK-based authors tend to call for potato starch while American ones tend to call for cornstarch in Chinese recipes.
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Oh, that stuff! I’ve used that in meatloaf. I can see how it might thicken soup nicely. But I have something labeled potato flour that is just the same texture as corn starch. I’m getting a bit confused. Sorry!
Potato flour is creamy lightly yellow/off-white in color and tastes like potatoes. It has the feel of a flour. Potato starch is bright white and feels like cornstarch.
Huh, the potato flour I got was bright white and felt like cornstarch.
That’s because it’s starch in spite of being labeled flour. It’s just most of the world doesn’t differentiate between the two because potato flour is very much a North American product.
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OK, so they mislabel it in the US to differentiate it from the flour that doesn’t exist in the rest of the world. Got it!
Some potato starch sold in the USA is imported or sold in places like European or Asian markets where “potato flour” is commonly used.
For myself I always found it as potato starch either from Manischewitz, Streit’s, or Bob’s Red Mill. The only brand of potato flour I’ve ever encountered is from Bob’s Red Mill, though these days you can buy other brands on Amazon.
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Iirc I used this recipe and serious eats for reference — that one has more of everything.
They also have a few king pao recipes on the blog which vary in spicing (like 5 chillies insteas of 2) but I agree the go or profile of this as written is off.
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Mine too, but I thought that was because I left it in the cupboard and not the fridge! Still tastes fine, though (no reason it wouldn’t).
My favorite kung pao chicken is the Serious Eats takeout style, which is an Americanized Chinese version rather than Sichuan style. It’s pretty mild and has a great vinegary sauce. I enjoy the more authentic style, but I find that particular rendition irresistible.
For the Sichuan versions on Serious Eats, I tend to think Kenji goes too hard on Sichuan peppercorns in a lot of the Sichuan dishes, so I always cut his amounts. The 1-2 tbsp he calls for in his “real deal king pao chicken” is a lot. Fuchsia’s recipe is just right on this ingredient for me.
I think the store might let me return the potato flour. Should I do this and then buy potato starch? Or is cornstarch just as good?
I’d get the starch but you can definitely use cornstarch.
I just like potato starch because it’s really good for things like karaage, Taiwanese popcorn chicken, and other types of fried chicken, and making certain chewy noodles. So whether having the potato starch is worth it for you depends.
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I keep potato starch around also - it’s key to latkes and kugel for a crispy crust.
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SHRIMP AND BROCCOLI IN BROWN SAUCE
This is definitely a takeout style copy cat recipe. It is very easy to put together on a week night (if you have all the ingredients) and even easier if you have leftover already cooked broccoli, as I did. One thing the recipe itself does not direct you to do, although it is strongly suggested in the write-up preceding the recipe, is prepping the shrimp with some baking soda, salt, and sugar before blanching. I skipped this (and actually ended up doing a quick, off recipe marinade of sherry, soy sauce, and cornstarch, so I could just proceed to stir frying - I gave it a partial cook and removed it from my wok and proceeded with the recipe as written).
With the simplicity of this recipe in terms of ingredients, everything really does benefit from taking the time to:
- clean and blanch (or pass through oil) the shrimp
- blanch the broccoli
- have all ingredients, including sauce and cornstarch slurry ready to go
- have your rice ready
If you used leftover broccoli like I did, the texture will suffer, but you pick your battles (and how many pans you want to deal with) on a weeknight.
Use a light hand with the cornstarch slurry. I added a touch too much and needed to thin the sauce with a little water and add a little salt to even out my seasonings.
Consider increasing the white pepper a touch and adding some fresh ginger slivers to the garlic in the recipe. It takes it away from the full on “takeout” flavor, but gives the overall profile some oomph (IMHO). The Chinese Cooking Demystified Substack (and video) include ginger in their version (and it is a great explainer about qian, the technique of thickening a sauce with a starch slurry).
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Thank you for posting. That site linked to I have saved in my favorites. It is so informative and I appreciate it so much.
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CHILI GARLIC SHRIMP
This is another one that is pretty easy to knock out on a busy night. You partially cook some shrimp, fry up aromatics, add a sauce that is based on chilli-garlic sauce and ketchup, add the shrimp back until cooked though, and you’re done. This is a good recipe to consider if you have cilantro languishing in your crisper that needs to be used. If you aren’t keen on chilli-garlic sauce, you can swap in whatever hot sauce/condiment appeals to you. I think chilli bean paste would be good here.
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I made the Asian Garlic Noodles … instead of a 12 oz package of noodles, I used a 1 lb box of thin spaghetti and upped all the other ingredients. I still think it could have used more green onions (especially on top for visual appeal) and parm. I didn’t have a skillet big enough for a lb of spaghetti so used my wok.
When I was sauteing those garlic slices in butter, used the very lowest flame, didn’t want to burn it. The package said to cook for 7-9 minutes, I did 7 and it finished cooking in the wok with a little pasta water and soy sauce, etc.
I can’t put my finger on why this is not a repeat for me.
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