Thanks for your reply Steve
From what I have read, it's the corn starch that absorbs oil more than the
flour. I have also found that the flour seems to hold together and not fall
off and dirty the oil like the cornstarch. They also say that cornstarch
makes a crispier batter than flour.
Nevertheless, many recipes just call for the corn starch. I am trying one
with corn starch and egg white tonight in a practice session for a big
dinner planned for the end of Oct. It calls for 1 egg white and 1 cup flour
to be mixed with 1/2 lb beef. I plan to mix the beef with the egg white
first and then mix in the corn starch because the one egg white and 1 cup
corn starch sure won't make a batter.
I find I have to try and alter most recipes before I feel confident to serve
to guests. I have added the recipe to this post.
Wayne


Crispy Orange Beef
Yield: 4-6 Servings

Ingredients:

8 ounces flank steak, cut into slivers 1-inch long by ½ inch wide by ¼-inch
thin.

½ Tablespoon baking soda

3 Tablespoons water

1/3 cup fresh orange rind, julienned into 1-inch lengths

2 cups vegetable oil

1 egg white

1 cup corn starch

2 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 Tablespoon sherry

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon corn starch

½ cup scallions, sliced diagonally into ½ inch pieces, white part only

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 Tablespoon Grand Marnier

¼ teaspoon Szechwan chili paste

Method:
In a bowl, mix the steak, baking soda and water, and marinade in the
refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight. The baking soda will tenderize the
meat.

Slice and discard the ends of the orange. Slice the orange into 8 wedges,
cut the fruit from the rind, and save the fruit for other purposes. Cut away
the pith or white part of the rind, and discard. Julienne the rind.

In a wok, heat salad oil until smoking

To the steak, add the egg white and corn starch, and mix thoroughly.

In a bowl, mix sugar, vinegar, sherry, soy sauce, and 1 teaspoon of corn
starch.

Fry the beef in the hot wok for 20 seconds, remove, and drain. Clean the oil
with a slotted spoon. Return the beef to the wok, and fry again for another
30 seconds, remove, and drain.

Discard the oil, and to what remains in the wok, add scallions, beef, sesame
oil, sherry-soy sauce, orange rind, Grand Marnier and chili paste. Stir-fry
for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and serve immediately.



"Steve Wertz" > wrote in message
...
> On Fri, 6 Oct 2006 11:37:14 -0400, Wayne wrote:
>
>> I have tried Chinese deep fry batter recipes that use corn starch and
>> have
>> always had problems. (just corn starch or corn starch and egg white)
>> The batter is very thin or just washes off in the oil and it dirties up
>> the
>> oil which I would like to save in the fridge for future use.
>> I am looking for a crispy coating such as orange crispy beef or general
>> Tsao's chicken
>> Could someone explain to me the proper method for using corn starch in
>> deep
>> frying and what I should expect.
>> I couldn't find anything satisfactory in google.
>> thanks
>
> I use a mixture of regular white flour (2 parts) and corn or
> potato starch (1 part).
>
> Usually if a recipe calls for just corn starch, it usually has
> some egg or egg white in it (along with water). That doesn't
> produce a crispy batter for me - the egg always retains or sucks
> up moisture. Which doesn't matter if you're cover it with a
> gloopy sauce.
>
> -sw