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So far I've received three great responses to my question about water
chestnut flour.  Jamie (Germany) and  Kate (Boston, USA) noted its use in
Chinese cooking as a thickener and binder, but most commonly as a coating
for deep-fried foods (e.g. chicken cubes, shrimp/prawns, etc.).  As a
coating for deep frying it is said to produce an excellent texture while
retaining a white color even when fully cooked.  Jamie noted some recipes in
_China Moon Cookbook_ by Barbara Tropp.

Ann (Maryland, USA) says, "it makes a delicious confectionary-like cookie,
excellent for holiday rolled cut-out cookies--it has a sweetish taste and
that old confectionery crisp.  I use 1/2 cup water chestnut flour, 1/2 cup
potato starch, 1/2 cup tapioca (if a recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups flour, for
example) with the weight of the mixture toward the water chestnut flour."

Ann notes that, "A cookbook with an Australian/American focus, _Naturally
Sweet Desserts_ by Marcea Webber (Avery), has dried water chestnuts in a
recipe for mock whipping cream. Since they have a high fat content, they can
be whipped, unlike most dairy substitutes."   She says she used whipped
canned water chestnuts to make mock Twinkies (for readers outside the USA:
Twinkies are a popular American packaged snack food made of sponge cake
filled with whipped cream--definitely not GF).

Ann goes on to note that "a company in Springfield, VA, 'Special Foods,'
sells water chestnut flour for about $10-12 a pound."  That's a whole lot
more than my local Asian food market charges (US $1.40 for 8 ounces), but on
the other hand their product doesn't look very fresh.  As soon as I find a
source that's both inexpensive and fresh I'll give it a try and post any
interesting results to the list.

John Shaw <[log in to unmask]> Milwaukee Wisconsin USA