A brief discussion on thickening 淺談勾芡

[Ho Kwok Leung]

Gorgon juice
Gorgon juice and juice are two different juices. Gorgon is a white slurry made by dissolving starch in water, that is, water starch;
Juice generally refers to the soup and water used in cooking dishes. Gorgon juice is the two in one. Thickening is a technique of pouring gravy on dishes according to cooking requirements.
The main function of thickening is to add flavor and color to dishes, and to increase the aesthetic appearance of dishes.

Thick gravy
That is, thicker gravy, which is divided into two types:

One is "stuffed with juice"
The gravy is required to cover the ingredients, and there will be no juice at the bottom of the plate after eating the dish;

The second type is "flowing gordon"
It is slightly thinner than the previous one and requires the concentration of the gravy to be able to blend with the soup and raw materials.

Thin gravy
That is a relatively thin gravy. Also divided into two types:

One is called "flowing gordon"
It is required that the gravy blends well with the main ingredients and is in a fluid state so that it tastes sharp. It is also called glass gravy.

The other one is called "Rice Soup Gorgon"
The powder is very thin. After thickening, the concentration of the soup increases and the taste is slightly thicker. Therefore, rice soup gravy is also called milk gravy.

芡汁
芡和汁是兩種不同的汁液。芡是用水把澱粉溶解開的白色漿汁，即水澱粉；
汁泛指烹調菜肴中的湯和水。芡汁就是二者合一。勾芡即是根據烹調要求，將芡汁澆淋在菜肴上的一種技法。
勾芡的作用主要是能使菜肴入味、增色，並能增加菜肴的形態美感。

濃芡
即較厚的芡汁, 分為兩種：

一種是“包汁芡”
要求芡汁包住原料，吃完菜後盤底無汁液；

第二種是“流芡”
較前一種略稀，要求芡汁濃度能和湯汁、原料融合在一起。

薄芡
即較為稀薄的芡汁。也分為兩種：

一種叫“流芡”
要求芡汁既與主料交融，又呈流態，食之利口, 也叫玻璃芡

另一種叫“米湯芡”
粉質很稀，勾芡後使湯汁濃度增加，口味略濃，故米湯芡又叫奶汁芡。