What Is Water chestnut flour and How Can I Use It?
Water chestnut flour rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 8 recipes to cook with it.
Key Points
- Pure gluten-free starch ground from dried water chestnuts, faintly sweet and off-white.
- Prized for shatteringly crisp, glassy deep-fried coatings on meat and seafood.
- Also a clear-sauce thickener; slurry with cold water before adding to hot liquid.
- Cornstarch swaps one for one; potato starch matches the crisp fry best.
- A dry starch, it keeps a year or more sealed in a cool, dry cupboard.
What is water chestnut flour?
Water chestnut flour is the starch milled from dried water chestnuts, the crunchy aquatic corm used across Chinese and Southeast Asian kitchens. It is a fine, off-white powder, naturally gluten-free, and almost pure starch rather than a protein flour.
It has a faint natural sweetness and, unlike the wheat flours on the flour hub, no gluten to develop. Cooks reach for it for one thing above all: an exceptionally light, glassy crunch.
Cooking With It
Its headline job is crispy coatings. Dust meat or seafood with the flour, or whisk it into a thin batter, and deep-fry; it fries up shatteringly crisp and pale gold, the texture behind Cantonese fried dishes like Chicken Wings in Five Spice.
The same starch also thickens sauces. Slurried with cold water and stirred into a hot stir-fry near the end, it gives the clear, glossy finish seen in dishes such as Chinese: Chicken Chunks with Peanuts in Spicy Sauce.
Common Mistakes
Lumps are the big one. Like any pure starch it seizes into clumps if you tip it into hot liquid dry, so always mix it with cold water first, then stir it in.
The second is overcooking a thickened sauce. Long hard boiling breaks the starch down and the sauce thins back out, so add the slurry at the end and cook only until it clears.
And keep the oil hot for frying. Around 350°F (175°C) the coating crisps; cooler than that and it soaks up grease.
Substitutes
Cornstarch is the everyday stand-in for thickening and swaps one for one, though it sets a touch more opaque and a little less crisp when fried.
Potato starch fries up very crisp and works well for coatings, while tapioca starch gives a chewier, glossier finish.
For an authentic glassy crunch on fried food, potato starch is the closest match.
Buying and Storing It
Find it in Chinese grocers, sometimes labeled water chestnut starch or powder, often in a small box. The powder should be bright and dry, not caked.
Being a dry starch, it keeps well. Stored airtight in a cool, dry cupboard it lasts a year or more; just keep moisture out, since damp starch clumps and spoils.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 菱角粉
- British (UK) term
- Water chestnut flour
- en français
- farine de châtaigne d'eau
- en español
- harina de castaña de agua
Recipes using water chestnut flour
There are 8 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Modified General Tso's Chicken
This recipe is a combination of the best parts of many other General Tso's Chicken recipes I have seen.
Chinese: Chicken Chunks with Peanuts in Spicy Sauce
Crispy chicken chunks coated in water chestnut flour, deep-fried golden, then tossed with roasted peanuts in a spicy sauce of chili paste, dark soy, sesame oil, and Chinese red vinegar. Restaurant-quality kung pao at home.
Chicken Chunks with Peanuts in Spicy Sauce
Egg white-battered chicken chunks fried crisp in peanut oil, tossed with roasted peanuts in a spicy sauce of garlic, ginger, dark soy, sesame oil, and red vinegar. Sichuan-inspired heat at home.
Chicken Wings in Five Spice
Chinese five-spice chicken wings marinated in soy, sherry, and ginger, coated in water chestnut flour and deep-fried until golden and crispy. A crunchy, aromatic appetizer or party snack.
Mongolian Beef
Mongolian beef with crispy deep-fried sirloin tossed in a spicy dark soy and chili garlic sauce with ginger and green onions. Authentic wok technique with water chestnut flour coating.
Chicken Chunks with Peanuts in Spicy Sauce (Kung Pao)
A simple and yet succulent chicken dish that is served with a spicy sauce. Tastes great over rice or noodles.
Pressed Duck with Sweet & Sour Sauce
Pressed duck simmered with five spice, coated in water chestnut flour, steamed, then deep-fried until crisp. Served with sweet and sour plum sauce and toasted almonds.
