Julian Vrieslander wrote:

> Tonight Cindy and I were wandering in the ID (Seattle's International
> District). We stopped for dinner at Hing Loon Seafood Restaurant. One
> of their specialties is clams in black bean sauce, and after trying it I
> can understand why. Wonderful stuff. Lots of fresh clams (one of the
> benefits of living in Seattle), and the best damn black bean sauce I
> have ever tried.
>
> The sauce had a complex flavor, just the right amount of heat, and an
> unusual consistency. In all of the recipes for black bean sauce that I
> have seen, corn starch is used as the thickener. But Hing Loon's sauce
> was more viscous - it was stickier, stretching into tendrils, more like
> the effect you get with gumbo file or okra. Does anyone know how they
> get this texture?
>
> Maybe I should have asked, but I am always a bit shy about asking a
> restaurant to divulge their secrets (and most of the time they don't).
>

Possibly arrowroot, or maybe a gum like agar. Arrowoot can be used in place
of corn flour.
http://www.culinarycafe.com/Spices_Herbs/Arrowroot.html

I've been cooking asian recipes for decades and replicating restautant
recipes (particularly chinese) is very elusive.

gtoomey