Technical Abstract: Rice flour was thermo-mechanically modified by steam jet-cooking and the physico-chemical and rheological properties of the resulting product were characterized. Then, its performance in frying batters was evaluated as an oil barrier. Compared to native rice flour, the steam jet-cooked rice flour exhibited significantly increased hydration properties and its pasting properties were characterized by cold initial viscosity, decreased set back, and the lack of peak viscosity. The steam jet-cooked rice flour exhibited shear-thinning behaviors, which were satisfactorily fitted into the Carreau equation. In addition, dynamic viscoelastic measurements showed that the liquid-like nature was more dominant over the solid-like properties, implying the similar viscoelastic response to diluted solutions. When incorporated into frying batter formulations, the steam jet-cooked rice flour increased the batter viscosity and pickup. The use of steam jet-cooked rice flour also enabled the fried batters to control the moisture loss effectively. Furthermore, the wheat flour replacement with 40% steam jet-cooked rice flour in batters led to dramatic reduction of oil uptake by around 40%.