How to learn to cut vegetables beautifully. General shredding principles
We learned exactly what knives are and what they are intended for. And now, before you start mercilessly chopping onions (remember Julia Child from the movie "Julie and Julia"?), We will learn how to properly hold the tools. Do not worry, we will also reach the bulbs very soon, you will still be crying.
Well, we take all the chef's knives together and look at the pictures! This is just an option from a series when it is easier to show than to describe. If suddenly you don’t understand something, I’ll give a video at the bottom of the post.
1. Correct knife grip ("Chef's grip")
Squeeze the blade as in the picture with your thumb and bent index finger. The thumb lies on the side, along the handle of the knife, and the index finger, as it were, wraps around the handle from above.
Grasp the handle of the knife with the remaining three fingers.
Do not grip the blade and handle too hard, otherwise you will not be able to use the knife for a long time. Hold it not relaxed, but firmly enough - confidently.
This grip is correct for most knives (see vegetable knife grip option below).
2. Incorrect knife grip
The most common mistakes to avoid:
Do not put your thumb or index finger on the butt of the knife!!!
Don't hold the knife like a sword!!!
3. Option to capture a vegetable knife (Paring knife)
For some types of cutting, we need to use a short-bladed fruit and vegetable knife, which should be held as follows:
4. How to hold your fingers correctly
So, one hand is occupied with a knife, now let's deal with the second hand, which holds our products.
Fingertips should always be bent inward.
The second phalanges of the index and middle fingers are almost perpendicular. The blade of the knife is pressed against the folds of the fingers and slides along them when cutting.
The thumb should be laid back, otherwise you will get carried away and cut off your nail for one or two. He, as it were, grabs a vegetable or fruit and pushes it towards the knife.
In no case do we stick out the little finger!
5. What part of the knife should be cut?
When cutting food, we can use different parts of the knife blade. From left to right:
1. Part of the blade at the point. This is the sharpest and narrowest part of the knife. Used for delicate slicing or cutting into small pieces.
2. The central part is used in most cases.
3. The heel is used for laborious cutting when more force needs to be applied.
6. Basic cutting methods
1. Cutting. The easiest way is when the blade moves from top to bottom. This is exactly the way Julia Child uses when cutting onions, which I will now show you in a video from her show "The French Chef". I cut out an excerpt from the "Your Own French Onion Soup" series. As a bonus, I left the part where Julia shows how to edit a knife with the help of a musat. Who does not know English - do not despair, just watch the video carefully, everything is shown very clearly!
2. Slicing, the first way
Hold the knife at an acute angle. The tip of the knife does not come off the board.
Move the knife down and forward a little, cutting through the carrot (or any other vegetable)
We finish the movement when the cutting edge falls on the board.
For the next movement, raise the heel and pull back (toward yourself), while the tip of the knife again rests on the board.
3. Slicing, the second way
Hold the knife at a 45 degree angle. Part of the knife at the point is located on the cucumber. And in this place the side surface of the blade rests against our bent fingers (see paragraph 4). The tip of the knife does NOT rest against the board.
Cut the product in a downward and forward motion.
Here in this video you can clearly see the cutting into slices according to the First and Second methods
Information taken from books:
- Knife Skills Illustrated: A User's Manual by Peter Hertzmann. Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.; illustrated edition edition (7 Sep 2007)
- Essentials of professional cooking/Wayne Gisslen. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey
- Video Julia Child show"The French Chef"
It happens that the dish does not turn out the way it should, although you did everything according to the recipe. Of course, the products come across different and ovens too ... But more often than not, the problem is different. You need to learn how to properly cut the ingredients.
slicing carrots
1. For soup: Cut a peeled medium carrot in half lengthwise. Lay cut side down on a board and cut in half lengthwise again. Then cut across the slices with a thickness of no more than 2.5 mm. If the carrot is large, each half can be cut not in half, but into three parts - also along.
2. For pilaf: cut the peeled carrot crosswise into pieces 5-6 cm long, then along the plates 3-4 mm thick and then again along the strips 2-3 mm wide.
3. For vegetable stew: cut the peeled carrots across into pieces about 3 cm long. Then cut each piece in half lengthwise. Put the resulting halves on the priest and cut, as if following the arrow on the dial, measuring the sectors at an angle of "5 minutes".
4. For filling: cut longitudinal triangular indentations in the peeled carrot along the entire length, making two cuts at an angle to each other. There should be at least 5 such recesses, preferably 7. Then cut the carrot across into circles - or rather, flowers, no more than 3 mm thick.
slicing potatoes
1."Rustic": cut the new potatoes in half lengthwise. Cut the halves lengthwise into 3-4 parts to make slices. If the potatoes are large, cut the potato in half crosswise at the very beginning.
2. French fries: cut off the “buttocks” of the peeled potato so that you get a barrel 6-7 cm high. Cut this barrel lengthwise into plates 1.2-1.5 cm thick. Then cut each plate also lengthwise into cubes 1.2-1.5 wide see "Buttocks" can be fried separately, cut in half or into 4 parts.
3. For soup: cut the peeled potato in half, place cut side down on a board and, holding the knife horizontally, cut into slices about 1.5 cm thick. Cut vertically into 1-1.5 cm thick bars, then perpendicularly into cubes with a side of 1.5 cm.
4. For potato casserole
: small potatoes or medium-sized potatoes, peel and cut crosswise into as thin circles as possible - a maximum of 3-3.5 mm. This is best done with a knife, on the blade of which there are small indentations so that the knife does not “stick”. Alternatively, dip the knife frequently in warm water.
onion slicing
1. For salad: cut the “stalk” from the peeled onion - it is too hard and tasteless. Cut the onion in half crosswise, lay on the slice and cut each half lengthwise in half. Then put the knife to the middle of the vertical cut and cut, as if following the arrow on the dial, thin (2-3 mm) feathers.
2. For soup: peeled onion, without cutting off the base, so that the half does not fall apart, cut in half lengthwise. holding
at the base and holding the knife parallel to the board, cut the half into 2-3 parts, not reaching the base by 3-4 mm. Then, holding the knife perpendicular to the board, cut the onion into 8-10 pieces, not reaching the base. Rotate 90° and cut into 3 mm pieces. Discard the uncut base.
3. For the stew: peeled onion, cutting off the “tail”, but without cutting off the base so that the half does not fall apart, cut in half lengthwise, lay on the board with the cut down. Holding the base, cut it into half rings about 3 mm thick. If the onion is very large, cut into quarters of rings - to do this, first cut the prepared half lengthwise exactly in the center, not reaching the base by 3-4 mm. Discard the uncut base of the bulb.
4. For baking: at the peeled bulb, cut off the base plus another 4 mm - so that the bulb is a "cup". Lower the bulb for 5 minutes. into boiling water, pat dry. With a thin knife or skewer, pull out the narrow, dense center from the onion (it is not needed). A space is formed in the center, which will allow, by slightly squeezing the bulb, to carefully, without breaks, remove the “cups”.
Sliced cabbage
1.For the pie: chop the cabbage in the same way as for sauerkraut, leaving it to lie on the board. When the board is full (or all the cabbage is cut), turn the board 90° and chop the cabbage across the strips into small pieces, no longer than 6-7 mm. This can be done with a large chef's knife, as well as a cleaver or a special cut for cabbage.
2. For cabbage soup and fermentation: cut the head of cabbage in half lengthwise ( large head of cabbage- into 4 parts). Lay cut side down and, holding the stalk, chop the cabbage into strips 3 mm thick for cabbage soup and 5-7 mm for sauerkraut. Bypass the stump, slightly turning the head of cabbage. If the strips are too long, cut them in half. All this is conveniently done with a large chef's knife, a chopping knife or a saw-knife with a vertical handle.
3. For deep frying: cut a small head of cabbage lengthwise so that the stalk is cut exactly in the middle. Now cut the halves of the head of cabbage into sectors, holding the knife at an angle of about 30 ° - and be sure to keep part of the stalk in each sector - so that the sectors further preparation didn't break up.
When cutting vegetables, the blade of the knife should be directed away from you, towards the work surface. You need to hold the knife like this: thumb on the side, along or under the handle of the knife, and the index finger, together with the rest of the fingers, wraps around the handle from above (and does not lie on top of the edge of the blade). When cutting, the tip of the knife should not come off the board, moving back and forth. In this case, the "heel" of the knife will describe a circular motion in a vertical plane. The fingers of the second hand holding the product should be tucked in.
IN recipes the term "shredder" is often used, and many novice cooks confuse it with the usual cutting of vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, herbs and roots. However, chopping, that is, cutting food into small cubes with straws and chips, is a real art that you can learn if you wish. Over time, you will be able to shred quickly, masterfully and beautifully, if you use our recommendations.
What determines the quality of shredding
Knowledge, experience and inspiration are the basis of culinary excellence, but to achieve excellent result sometimes you have to take care of additional conditions. If you want to learn how to shred, choose a sharp knife with the correct blade geometry, not disturbed by non-professional sharpening. It is good if the tip of the knife is sharp enough, the blade is wide, and there is a special ledge under the handle, which the chefs call the “heel”.
For shredding, you will need a large and even cutting board (preferably wooden), a little effort and patience, and most importantly, a desire to master this simple wisdom. It is best to chop while standing, because in a seated position, the range of motion decreases and the quality of the cut deteriorates.
Secrets of a virtuoso shredder
Secret 1. The product should be held not with the fingertips, but with the whole hand - while the first phalanges of the fingers should be bent. This position of the hand provides comfortable cutting and protects against injury.
Secret 2. It is recommended to hold the knife in the following way: place your thumb along the handle, and wrap your index finger around the handle of the knife from above. It will be inconvenient only at the very beginning, and when the hand gets used to such a position, you will cut any food at different angles without much effort.
Secret 3. The knife does not come off the board. This is the main subtlety of the correct shredding. You should raise and lower the handle of the knife, leaving its tip on the surface of the board, and move the blade imperceptibly along the product. In this case, the knife should slowly slide along the second phalanx of the hand, becoming, as it were, an extension of the hand, and over time this feeling will become familiar. Two methods of shredding are usually used: from oneself or towards oneself, it all depends on which direction the cutting edge of the blade is turned. At the same time, the "heel" of the knife makes a barely noticeable vertical circular motion.
Secret 4. The hand should be relaxed. You should not strain your muscles so as not to cut yourself - it is better to focus on the speed of movements.
Shredding technique for different products
When slicing onions, you should not bring the cuts to the end - leave at least 1 mm in reserve so that the round onion does not move around the board.
If you want to make the cabbage shredding process as easy as possible, cut the head of cabbage not along the stalk, but across it, using the upper part of the head with the most thin leaves. The best way to shred cabbage narrow stripes not more than 3 mm wide.
Before shredding carrots, cut them lengthwise into thin plates, and then, folding the plates together, chop them into thin straws. For processing greens, you can use knives with round blades - in this case, you can chop directly in the bowl.
Manufacturers kitchen utensils produce many useful devices for shredding products - special hatchets for cabbage, electric vegetable cutters, food processors, electric graters, vegetable choppers, mechanical and electric shredders. Despite the diversity household appliances, manual shredding is valued more, like any author's work.
At a good cook everything is important, including the size and shape of the cut products. It depends on how easy it is to mix. different ingredients and soaked in flavor each other how quickly they soften when cooked or stewed, whether they “drain” prematurely in a salad, and a number of other little things that can both emphasize and spoil the taste of a dish. At professional cutting there are other advantages: it saves time and makes our food beautiful.
| We cut vegetables |
Sweet couple: knife and board
We discussed the principles of choosing a knife in another article. In short: for traditional cutting of vegetables and fruits, a large or medium-sized kitchen knife with a wide, even blade without bends and a sharp end, well honed, is suitable. The cutting board should be wood or plastic, never glass. Working on a hard surface will ruin any knife, even the highest quality and most expensive.
General shredding principles
Not everyone knows that shredding and cutting are not the same thing. Even a beginner who only recently took a knife in his hand will be able to somehow shred food and lower them into a boiling broth. But shredding needs to be learned: to master the technique of the process and, gradually increasing the speed, to achieve real mastery.
- Rule 1 Take the knife in your working hand as follows: the thumb is located on the side along the handle, and the index finger is on it, so that its first or second phalanges are on the top of the blade. This position gives full control over the movements of the instrument.
- Rule 2 Do not lift the tip of the blade off the cutting board. While raising and lowering the handle evenly, make a movement along the cut product. When moving the knife, try to achieve the same pitch: it can be 5 mm (potato slices for soup), and the thickness of the sheet of paper (as when cutting carpaccio) - it all depends on the product and subsequent processing.
- Rule 3 Don't stress! Keep your hand relaxed, otherwise it will get tired very quickly. At the training stage, control the correct position of the hand and fingers, gradually they will become familiar. Start by cutting at a slow pace, and when you master the technique, pick up speed.
Each vegetable has its own way of slicing
In fact, there are not so many simple ways to cut, much less than products. Here are the main ones.
Straw. Used for slicing potatoes, carrots, beets and other raw vegetables before boiling or frying. Cut the potato into plates about 2-3 mm thick, put them on top of each other and chop them across with the same knife shift step - about 3 mm. Large root vegetables, cabbage and peppers are cut into strips about 5 cm long. For carrots, this can be 1.5 - 3 cm, depending on its size.
Blocks. In terms of shape and cutting technique, this is the same straw, but thicker. The length of the bars is up to 4 cm, the thickness is from 7 to 10 mm. Used for cooking first courses (cooking) and stewing.
Cubes. Cubes are obtained by cross-cutting straws or sticks. Large and medium are suitable for subsequent heat treatment. Cut into small cubes boiled vegetables for salads.
Circles and slices. These methods are good for cutting small, rounded root crops. If necessary, they are additionally “turned” (this can be done even when cleaning, using a special vegetable knife), giving them a cylindrical shape. The circles are cut quite thinly (within 2 mm) and used for frying, the slices can be thicker, especially if they are intended for soup.
Rings, half rings, cubes. Well, of course, we are talking about the bow. It is not so easy to chop this capricious product.
The onion layers tend to slip out of the hands, the eyes water, so that the fingers continually fall under the knife.
The most common way to cut onions is half rings. With proper shredding, this is done completely safely. Cut the onion in half with a sharp knife. Holding the half with the bent fingers of the second hand, make the first cut. Change the position of the palm. Grab half of the bulb from above, so that the thumb holds it on one side and the rest on the other. The knife moves inside this “arch” and sequentially cuts half-rings up to 2 mm thick.
To get cubes, cut 3 mm half rings, and then chop them across.
Very rarely, real onion rings are used - mainly for barbecue. Exists simple trick, which greatly simplifies such work - to deprive the bow of its spherical shape. To do this, cut a thin plate on the side. Put the onion on the resulting “bottom” and do whatever you want with it, that is, cut into layers of 1-2 mm, which you then disassemble into rings.
slicing tomatoes
The most popular cutting methods fruit vegetables- circles and slices for salads, cubes and straws for soups. However, tomatoes, with their juicy pulp and dense skin, require special treatment. Even with the most sharpened blade, with a conventional shredder, you run the risk of crushing the fruit and squeezing all the juice out of them, so take a special serrated knife. This tool is also recommended for slicing some fruits: lemons, oranges, peaches.
Japanese cutting
Japanese food pays great attention to the grinding of products. True, the main methods of cutting are the same: large cubes (Sainomegiri), and small ones (Mijingiri), straws (Sengiri). There are also techniques that are unusual for us.
Sasagaki - planing. Hold a carrot or burdock root in your non-working hand, slicing them like a pencil. This method is applicable to other roots, for example, horseradish, parsley, parsnips.
Katsura-muki - circular cutting. Used for daikon, carrots and other similarly shaped root crops. Take the knife in your working hand, clasping the upper part of the blade with your palm, with the blade along the side of the vegetable. Turn the daikon in a twisting motion, cutting thinly from the top. This is similar to how you would unwind a roll of paper, separating each next layer with a knife.
The circular cutting technique well demonstrates the need
How easy it is to cut food! We take a knife, chop ... But is it right? Cubes, sticks, plastics, straws, slices… how many ways you can cut almost any product. But for different dishes needed and different ways cuts!
Let's try to decide how to cut and why.
Slicing products and methods of their heat treatment are two main processes that are closely related. Products unevenly cut in thickness and length during heat treatment in parts will either overcook or undercook.
Carpaccio are thin slices of raw beef seasoned with olive oil with vinegar and/or lemon juice. The meat is roasted, then seasoned and cut across the grain into paper-thin slices. Carpaccio is served on a green salad with Parmesan cheese. The dish was invented in Venice in 1961 and named after the Renaissance painter Vittore Carpaccio, whose paintings abounded in all sorts of shades of red. Currently, carpaccio is prepared not only from meat, but also from fish and even from vegetables and fruits, and the word "carpaccio" began to be called not only ready meal, but also just a way to cut products. There is another version. In the 60s of the last century, Giuseppe Cipriani, the owner of the famous Italian institution Harry`s Bar (Venice), came up with this dish especially for Countess Nani Mocenigo. The lady was ill with anemia, and the doctor ordered her to eat a lot raw meat. Therefore, Senor Giuseppe sliced thinly raw beef, seasoned it with olive oil and lemon juice, laid out transparent plates on lettuce leaves, sprinkled grated parmesan on top - and served it to the countess. The dish became popular with other visitors of the institution, and later it went far beyond its limits. Today, the term "carpaccio" has come to be used to refer to a way of cutting products (very thinly), so do not be surprised to see in restaurant menu fish or fruit carpaccio.
As well as Julien. Julienne is a way of cutting food into small strips. But we began to call julienne mushrooms with bechamel sauce (a sauce made from flour, butter, broth, cream). But the classic julienne (from the French julienne - July, that is, summer) - ... means cutting young vegetables or their shoots for soups, sauces, which gives the most delicate texture or speeds up the readiness of the dish. In practice, julienne most often means cutting into strips (1-2 mm thick, 2.5 cm long) root crops and thin rings of onions and tomatoes. Therefore, salads and soups made from such thinly sliced vegetables are called juliennes. Sometimes in restaurants they call it so incorrectly and do not vegetable dishes, for example, mushrooms (cut into strips) baked in sour cream. IN modern culinary in our country, the term has completely lost its meaning, because. neither mushrooms nor chicken are cut like that anymore, limited to simpler slicing.
Blanket- a method of cutting the product into even, straight, identical pieces (bars) - for frying - potatoes, soup.
Brenoise- a method of cutting food into medium-sized cubes. For meat stew For example. For vegetable stew - uniform cubes, everything will be stewed evenly and will not disperse.
Concase- this is also not a dish, initially it is just a form of cutting vegetables, "small cube" in French. In this case, it is customary to clean the vegetables from the skin and seeds. The most common option is from tomatoes and sweet peppers. Concasse is served as a side dish with cold meat or fish snacks, as well as a second side dish for hot dishes. Here
the simplest concase: wash the tomatoes, make a cross-shaped incision on top. Pour boiling water over and remove the skin. Cut each fruit into 4 pieces and remove the seeds. Cut the pulp into small cubes. Wash the celery and cut into the same cubes. Peel and mince the garlic. Mix tomatoes, celery and garlic in a bowl with 1 tbsp. l. vegetable oil. Salt, pepper to taste.
Krudite- a method of cutting raw vegetables into small identical pieces. Now Krudite
- This raw vegetables with spicy sauces, which are usually served as a first course. It is especially popular in France. Or just a cut served on a plate as an appetizer - Fish krudite (for example, from lightly salted salmon and hot sturgeon
smoking), meat - several varieties meat delicacies. So if on your holiday table there is such a cut - know you have prepared Krudite
.
Tartarus- also a cutting method, which became the name. "Tartar" is a method of cutting and serving food - everything that is finely chopped and seasoned spicy sauce. There is such a sauce - based on mayonnaise, add chopped pickled cucumbers, a little greens and onions. And there is a dish. Made from raw minced meat with addition raw egg and spices. How the Tatars ate it before.
When cutting fresh fish , cutting should be the thinnest. There are different knives for each fish, as each varying degrees density, for example maritime very loose soft flesh, for cutting it you need thin light knife. Use a thin, sharp knife to avoid damaging the delicate fibers of the fish.
Jamon- Spanish cured meat. As you know, the taste of Spanish jerky A lot depends on the cutting method. The cutting process itself is a whole art, requiring from the master not only skills, but also a vocation for a delicate process. The profession of a cortador is very prestigious and in demand in Spain, where professional jamon cutters work in expensive shops and restaurants. To feel the aroma and taste of jamon, it must be cut into thin, almost transparent slices. They do it on a special wooden stand - hamoner, and serve it with dry red wine. By the way, in Spain itself, jamon is considered a symbol of abundance and the best gift.
For lettuce type Olivie, vinaigrette we cut the products into cubes, observing the principle - all products should be cut evenly - that is, we focus on the smallest - the size of green peas, well, a little larger.
For chops only cut meat across fibers. Meat cut lengthwise will be tough and difficult to cut and chew.
For salad Caesar and other vegetables we cut the vegetables large - tomatoes, for example, into 6-8 parts, slices, right before serving, otherwise the vegetables may leak. Lettuce is generally better not to cut, but to tear with your hands into uneven parts.
Applying cutting rules
The taste of the salad largely depends on the method of chopping vegetables and fruits prepared for salads: from the same products, using various ways chopping, you can prepare salads of various tastes.
- It is generally accepted that almost all vegetables for salads should be cut the smaller, the denser their tissues (this primarily applies to beets, turnips, celery, carrots).
- spicy foods they are cut smaller so that their taste is felt in the entire mass of the salad, or vice versa, larger than other products to emphasize the sharpness of the taste.
- Basically, all salad products, especially vegetables and fruits, are chopped just before cooking.
salads, as when stored in a crushed form, they lose their nutritional value. - Do not store chopped vegetables in bright light or in water. Quickly darkening vegetables and fruits (celery, apples, pears, quinces, plums) are lightly sprinkled with lemon juice or salted water immediately after chopping.
- For chopping vegetables, knives, graters, shredders and various devices of modern kitchen equipment made of stainless metal or plastic are used.
- Most delicious salads are obtained when the components of the salad are cut in accordance with the shape and size indicated in the recipe, sharp knife. And, although the time spent on such cutting is large, it pays off with the unusual taste of the prepared salad.
- It is recommended to cut salad products and season them with sauce immediately before serving the dish to the table.
Cutting vegetables for salad
Sliced and thin slices cut tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, carrots, beets and other vegetables, first cut in half.
To cut vegetables into strips, they must first be cut into thin slices, and then into strips of the desired thickness. The length of the straw is usually 4-5 cm, and the thickness is 2-3 mm.
To obtain cubes and sticks, vegetables are first cut into 1 cm thick plates, which are then cut into cubes. From the same blanks, you can also cut sticks, the length of which for a salad is 2-3 cm. The size of cubes and sticks depends on the type of salad: for hot salads they are larger, and for salads served on sandwiches or as a filling - smaller.
Small round vegetables are cut into slices: tomatoes, radishes, turnips, small cucumbers and other similar vegetables.
Vegetables are cut into sticks with one rounded end, which are difficult to give a strict geometric shape, since when cutting the roundness, a lot of waste will be obtained.
Onions are chopped in different ways: to obtain cubes or sticks, they are first cut into thin rings or half rings, which are then given the desired shape. If you are preparing a salad with a predominant taste of onion, it is better to grate it or chop it very finely. It is not recommended to cut the onion for salad into strips - in this form it is harder. If pickled onions are used for salad, then it is better to cut them into rings or half rings.
Cauliflower for salad should be disassembled into inflorescences, which are cut off from the stem without chopping. Remove the hard skin from the remaining stem and then grate or finely chop it.
Rhubarb stalks are cut into transverse circles 2-3 mm thick - so it will be softer and tastier, rhubarb stalks are not cut lengthwise. If the rhubarb stalks are very thick, they are first cut in half or into 4 pieces. leafy vegetables(lettuce, spinach, sorrel) can be left whole, and also chopped with your hands or with a very sharp knife, not very finely so as not to squeeze the juice from the leaves.
Spicy dill, parsley, onion or garlic can be used whole sprigs if the leaves are young and small. More large leaves chop with a knife or better with scissors. When cutting greens with a knife, greens with leaves are first cut in half, then folded and cut again. Only when there are more of them, the greens are finely chopped. Spicy greens can not be cut, but finely chopped with a large sharp knife or secateurs.
If asparagus is used for salad, then its heads are mainly used, because they are more delicate in taste.
IN Chinese cuisine
chefs have perfected the art of slicing for centuries. For example, 1 cm3 cubes cut products for
dishes "Chicken fillet fried with red pepper" or "Pork fried according to Gongbao", etc. And with rhombuses 1 cm thick, 2 cm high and 6-7 cm long, cut products for the dishes "Cutting fries into slices", "Loin of pork fries pieces "and others. Speed and strong fire - the necessary conditions in the preparation of Chinese food.
IN Japanese cuisine Lots of cutting options.
Sainomegiri
(dicing)
Blocks of 1.5 x 1.5 are taken, obtained by cutting heshigiri. and cut them 1.5 cm long to get cubes.
Application: Used for cutting carrots, bamboo shoots, potatoes and some other vegetables. Cubes are used in salads, side dishes and boiled dishes.
Mijingiri
(fine cutting)
Let's take onions as an example. Usually, to obtain fine cuts, vegetables are first cut into strips (sengiri). As for the onion, cut it in half and place cut side down on the kitchen board.
Make cuts at a distance of about 5 mm from one another. Turn the knife so that the blade takes a horizontal position, and make the same cuts. Holding the cut onion head and begin to cut it from the edge. The distance between the cuts is approximately 5 mm. If you want the cutting to be even finer, you need to press the end of the blade with your hand and, moving the knife handle up and down, as if chopping the vegetable. When finely slicing a long onion, you need to make several cuts along the fiber and start cutting from the root.
Application: Onion used in the preparation of curry sauce, rice with chicken and spaghetti, carrots - for decoration, long onions, ginger and garlic - for Chinese and Italian dishes.
Sengiri
(cutting into strips)
If you take daikon or carrots, then first divide them into pieces 4-5 cm long, which are then cut into thin pieces. The plates are stacked one on top of the other and cut into strips. From a long onion, only the white part is taken, which is cut into pieces 4-5 cm long, which are cut into thin strips (straws) and soaked.
Usage: Chopped vegetables are used in almost all dishes. Mostly, they go for decoration.
Koguchigiri
(thin end cutting)
A method of thinly slicing a long onion from the end of the feathers perpendicular to the fibers. Onions cut in this way are served as a seasoning for soba noodles. The same thin slice in relation to cucumbers is called Usugiri, and
in relation to carrots - Wagiri.
Usage: Thinly sliced long onions are mainly placed over noodles.
Sasagaki
(planing bamboo)
This cutting method is used for carrots and burdock. Burdock, peeled from the skin, is taken in the left hand and with a knife in the right hand they begin to plan it. At the same time, the burdock is turned all the time like a pencil when cleaning. Planed bamboo falls into a bowl of water.
Application: for burdock dishes and soups.
Man-tori
(corner smoothing)
Thickly sliced daikon and carrots may break off sharp corners during cooking. To prevent this from happening, such corners are cut off from sliced \u200b\u200bpieces of vegetables. But since the corners of boiled chopped vegetables lose their shape only with a very long boil, do not resort to this method. Attention required festive dishes, which should be especially beautiful.
Application: for a dish of boiled daikon and carrot glace.
Kakushibocho
(hidden knife)
In thickly sliced \u200b\u200bcircles, cross-shaped incisions are made on one side so that the vegetables cook better. When serving, place cut side down on the table.
Application: for a dish of boiled daikon and stewed meat with vegetables.
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