Starch thickening (gou qian)
勾芡gou qian
Thicken sauce so it clings to every piece.
Brief reference for now — not yet in the full step-by-step lesson format.
Before you start
Recipes using this method often take about 2 minutes — treat that as a rough reference; amounts and equipment set the real time.
Signs of success
Sauce coats a spoon lightly; no raw starch taste; not gluey.
Troubleshooting
- adding starch straight to the wok
- thickening twice
- stirring too little