Cornflour

Used in 11 recipes on RecipeWiki.

Cornflour is the fine, white starch extracted from maize, with almost no flavour of its own, and it is used for texture rather than taste. Mixed first with cold water into a smooth slurry, as several recipes here specify, it thickens sauces to a clear gloss, which is how it sets the sauce of Mapo Tofu and the body of Hot and Sour Soup; added straight to hot liquid, it forms lumps. In baking it softens the crumb and steadies the meringue of Pavlova, helping give it a marshmallow centre. Once thickened, a cornflour sauce should be brought just to the boil, then not cooked long or stirred too hard, or it can thin again.

What else can I make with it?

Most often cooked with

Recipes with cornflour

Apple and Blackberry Crumble — shot from directly overhead: tart Bramley apples and blackberries under a rubbed-in oat crumble

Apple and Blackberry Crumble

Tart Bramley apples and blackberries under a rubbed-in oat crumble, mixed by hand in one bowl with no mixer needed.

1 hr 25 minServes 6

BakingBritishDesserts

by zestykestrel

Baked Vanilla Cheesecake — shot from directly overhead: a dense baked cheesecake on a biscuit base

Baked Vanilla Cheesecake

A dense baked cheesecake on a biscuit base, cooled slowly in the switched-off oven and chilled overnight so the top does not crack.

7 hr 55 minServes 12

AmericanCheeseDesserts

Beef Chow Mein — shot from directly overhead: beef coated in cornflour and seared in batches in a pan hot enough to smoke

Beef Chow Mein

Beef coated in cornflour and seared in batches in a pan hot enough to smoke, with the sauce going in only at the very end.

BeefChineseLeafy greens

Borodinsky Rye Bread — shot from directly overhead: dark sourdough rye scalded with red rye malt

Borodinsky Rye Bread

Dark sourdough rye scalded with red rye malt, sweetened with molasses and finished with a crust of coriander seed.

15 hr 15 minServes 12

BreadRussianVegan

Cherries Jubilee — shot from directly overhead: cherries in a light syrup flamed with kirsch and spooned burning over vanilla ice cream

Cherries Jubilee

Cherries in a light syrup flamed with kirsch and spooned burning over vanilla ice cream, which is a dish and a performance at once.

15 minutesCitrusDesserts

Double-Crust Apple Pie — shot from directly overhead: two kinds of apple under a vented pastry lid

Double-Crust Apple Pie

Two kinds of apple under a vented pastry lid, thickened with cornflour so the filling holds together when the pie is cut.

3 hr 5 minServes 8

AmericanDessertsVegetarian

Hot and Sour Soup — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Hot and Sour Soup

A brothy Sichuan-style soup thickened with a cornflour slurry and finished with vinegar and beaten egg off the heat, so both stay sharp.

1 hr 10 minServes 4

Kung Pao Chicken — shot from directly overhead: diced chicken stir-fried fast with dried chillies and peanuts in a sauce that is sour

Kung Pao Chicken

Diced chicken stir-fried fast with dried chillies and peanuts in a sauce that is sour, sweet and salty in that order.

30 minutesChickenChinese

Malai Kofta — shot from directly overhead: potato and paneer dumplings fried until crisp

Malai Kofta

Potato and paneer dumplings fried until crisp, sitting in a mild cashew and tomato sauce enriched with cream.

1 hr 20 minServes 4

CurriesIndianPotatoes

Mapo Tofu — shot from directly overhead: silken tofu in a fierce red sauce of fermented bean paste and Sichuan pepper

Mapo Tofu

Silken tofu in a fierce red sauce of fermented bean paste and Sichuan pepper, with just enough pork to season it.

30 minutesChinesePork

Pavlova — shot from directly overhead, the table surface filling the frame

Pavlova

A meringue dried for two hours in a cool oven so the shell stays crisp and the centre collapses to marshmallow under the cream.

6 hr 25 minServes 8

AustralianDessertsVegetarian