Kitchen Series - Windmill Starch

Starch is widely used in Chinese cooking. In addition to thickening sauces to create a smooth, silky texture, it is commonly used in meat marinades to help tenderize meat. Starch is highly versatile—it can be used as a thickener in stir-fries, for making jelly noodles (liangfen), for preparing Chinese pancakes, and for coating foods before cooking to improve texture and moisture retention.

Kar Wah offers a variety of starches, including Tapioca Starch, Corn Starch, Potato Starch, and Amistarch (Special Starch).

Each type of starch has its own culinary applications:

• Corn Starch is the standard choice for everyday thickening.
• Potato Starch has a higher thickening power than most other starches, producing sauces that are thicker, smoother, and more transparent.
• Amistarch (Special Starch) is typically used for very thick sauces, such as plum sauce and Chinese barbecue (char siu) sauce.

Potato Starch is often referred to as "Windmill Starch" in the Chinese community because the iconic Windmill brand was one of the first imported potato starches available, and the nickname has remained ever since.

In baking, potato starch is commonly used to make potato bread and German-style cookies. In Chinese cooking, it is mixed with cold water to make a slurry for thickening sauces. When heated, it forms a clear, glossy gel. While potato starch can often be substituted with cornstarch or tapioca starch in Chinese cooking, potato starch is still the recommended choice for baking, where its unique properties produce the best results.

Kar Wah is the exclusive distributor and long-term partner of the Windmill brand in Quebec. Customers who know Kar Wah also know the trusted Windmill brand. Many have been using Windmill Potato Starch supplied by Kar Wah for decades—a testament to the quality, reliability, and trust the brand has earned over the years.

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