Cleaning chicken with corn starch?
YouTube recently started recommending Chinese cooking videos. This particular cook has a curious habit of rubbing cornstarch all over the chicken breasts before washing them off. Is there an advantage to cleaning chicken with cornstarch? Or perhaps an alternate explanation? Some people have suggested it's for tenderizing or velveting but those aren't particularly satisfying answers.
Best Answer
Some asian cultures clean meats with flour and/or cornstarch to remove the game-y smell from it. Since it's being washed off, I don't think it for the velveting.
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What does cornstarch do to chicken?
The cornstarch helps the chicken brown easily on the outside and stay juicy inside, plus it helps thicken the stir-fry sauce.Is corn starch good for cleaning?
Cornstarch granules are very fine, making it naturally abrasive as an atomic level. Shake up a tablespoon into your window and glass cleaner (water and vinegar) to tackle any bits of grime and make cleaning a breeze. It'll leave a streak-free shine which is EXACTLY what you want!Does corn starch tenderize chicken?
There are actually a few different ways to tenderise chicken the Chinese restaurant way: marinating in a cornstarch/cornflour sludge then deep frying or blanching in water before proceeding to cook in the stir fry. egg whites \u2013 sometimes the above method is also done using egg whites. chemical tenderiser.Can I use cornstarch instead of flour to coat chicken?
You easily can use cornstarch instead of flour as a coating for fried chicken, fried fish, or other fried dishes. Cornstarch will create a crisper coating that will hold up to sauces better and will absorb less of the frying oil (leading to a lower-fat meal).More answers regarding cleaning chicken with corn starch?
Answer 2
The closed captioning on the video stated that the chicken in the recipe has to be 'kneaded' for two minutes. This does suggest that this step is meant to tenderize the chicken. Cornstarch in principle does nothing to aid that process. However, cornstarch is excellent at absorbing liquid, which leads me to believe it's there to catch any liquids coming out of the chicken due to the tenderizing.
This is little more than a hunch, though, and does not really explain why the chicken could not be washed after tenderizing without using cornstarch.
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