The basic skill of a chef - knife skills

Knife skills are the various methods used to cut the cooking ingredients into various shapes with a knife during the cooking process. Generally speaking, there are six major knife techniques: cutting, slicing, chopping, chopping

, patting, and slashing

1. Cutting

Cutting is the most fundamental knife technique in cutting dishes. Cutting is some method in which the blade of the knife is perpendicular to the raw material and the knife is fed rhythmically to make the raw material evenly cut.

In the cutting of dishes, according to the nature of the raw materials and cooking requirements, it can be divided into straight cutting, push cutting, pull cutting, sawing, guillotine cutting, rolling cutting, etc.

Six methods.

(l) Straight cutting: Generally, the left hand holds the raw material firmly and the right hand operates. When cutting, the knife hangs downward, neither pushing outward nor pulling inward, and cuts straight down with one knife at a time.

Requirements for straight cutting: first, the left and right hands must cooperate rhythmically; second, the middle finger joint of the left hand should move backward against the blade of the knife. When moving, keep the same distance, and do not move faster or slower, or wider or wider. Narrow, so that the shape of the cut raw materials is uniform and neat; third, use wrist strength when operating the knife with the right hand,

The falling knife should be vertical, not leaning in or out; fourth, when operating the knife with the right hand, the left hand should be pressed firmly raw material.

Using a straight knife cutting method, generally dry and crisp raw materials are used, such as: green bamboo shoots, fresh lotus roots, radish, cucumber, cabbage, potatoes, etc.

(2) Push cutting The knife method of push cutting is that the knife is perpendicular to the raw material. When cutting, push the knife from back to front. The focus is on the rear of the knife. Push everything to the bottom and no longer

Pull back. Push cutting is mainly used for raw materials with loose texture and easy to break or fall apart when cut with a straight knife, such as barbecued pork, cooked eggs, etc.

(3) Pull-cut The knife method of pull-cut is also when applying the knife, the knife is perpendicular to the raw material, and the knife is pulled from front to back when cutting. In fact, it is a virtual push and a real pull.

The main focus should be on pulling, with the focus on the front of the knife. Pulling and cutting is suitable for raw materials with strong toughness, such as Qianzhang, kelp, fresh meat, etc.

Pushing and pulling both use wrist strength, and the movements are roughly the same. The difference is that pushing cuts from back to front, and pulling cuts from front to back. When you first learn,

only after you have mastered the straight-knife cutting method can you use the two knife methods of push cutting and pull cutting. It is best to learn from the push cut first and then practice the pull cut.

(4) Sawing is also called push-pull cutting. The sawing knife method is a combination of push cutting and pull cutting knife methods. Sawing is a knife method that is more difficult to master. Sawing knife

The method is that the knife is perpendicular to the raw material. When cutting, push the knife forward first, and then pull it back. In this way, pushing and pulling cuts the raw material downward like a saw. Saw

Requirements when cutting raw materials: first, the knife must run slowly, with small and even force; second, the knife surface must be straight when pushing and pulling back and forth, and cannot be tilted inward or outward;

Third, hold the raw material firmly with your left hand when cutting and cannot move it, otherwise the size and thickness will be uneven; fourth, use your wrist strength and the middle finger of your left hand to control the shape and thickness of the raw material

The sawing knife method is generally used to cut thicker boneless and tough raw materials or soft textured raw materials into thinner slices, such as mutton shabu-shabu slices.

.

(5) There are two methods of guillotine cutting: one is to hold the handle of the knife with the right hand and the front end of the back of the knife with the left hand, and press and cut with balance and force with both hands; the other is to hold the knife handle with the right hand and the front end of the knife back with the left hand; The first method is to hold the handle of the knife with your right hand, press the front end of the back of the knife with your left hand, and shake the left and right hands alternately. The requirements of the guillotine cutting method are: first, the knife must be aimed at the part to be cut, and the raw material cannot move, and the knife must be accurate; second, whether it is pressure cutting or rocking cutting, it must be quick and agile. Use even pressure.

The guillotine cutting method is generally used to process raw materials and clinkers with cartilage, small bones or small, round and smooth shapes, such as chicken, duck, fish, crab, flowers

Uncooked rice, etc.

(6) Rolling cutting: The rolling cutting method is to hold the raw material firmly with your left hand, hold the knife in your right hand and cut continuously, and roll the raw material once with each cut. Cut into slices or blocks according to the rolling posture and speed of the raw materials. Generally speaking, if you roll it fast and cut it slowly, you will get chunks; if you roll it slowly and cut it fast, you will get slices. This rolling cutting method can cut out various blocks and pieces, such as hob blocks, water chestnut blocks, comb blocks, etc. The requirements of the hob cutting method are: the left hand should roll the raw material at a moderate slope, and the right hand should follow the rolling of the raw material to control a certain slope and cut it to keep the size, thickness, etc. uniform.

The hob cutting method is mostly used for round or oval brittle vegetable raw materials, such as radish, green bamboo shoots, cucumber, wild rice, etc.

(7) Things that should be paid attention to when cutting dishes

First, the raw materials should be cut into uniform thickness and length. Otherwise, the raw and cooked raw materials will be inconsistent.

Second, all raw materials that have been processed by knife work, whether silk, strips, cubes, blocks, slices, or sections, must not be connected to the knife.

Thirdly, different cutting methods are used according to the texture of raw materials, horizontal and vertical lines, and different cooking requirements, such as meat raw materials with few tendons, tenderness

and fragile ones. Meat should be cut along the grain, meat with many tendons and old texture should be cut against the grain, and meat with average texture should be cut diagonally.

Fourth, pay attention to the coordination of the shape of the main and auxiliary materials and the rational use of raw materials. Generally, the auxiliary material follows the main material, that is: silk to silk, sheet to sheet, and the shape of the auxiliary material is slightly smaller than the main material. When using materials, you need to plan carefully, use them according to the amount, and try to use large materials in a big way, small materials in a small way, fine materials in a detailed manner, and coarse materials in a clever way.

2. Pian

Pian is also called split. The knife skills of the slices are also used to handle boneless tough raw materials, soft raw materials, or animal and plant raw materials that have been cooked until soft.

Just use a knife to slice the raw materials into thin slices. When applying a knife, you generally lay the blade flat and work upright (or diagonally). Due to the different properties of the raw materials, the methods are also different. There are generally push blades, pull blades, and inclined blades. Six techniques including reverse blade, saw blade and shake blade.

(1) Pushing the blade To push the blade, hold the raw material firmly with your left hand, hold the knife in your right hand, and keep the blade flat so that the blade and the surface of the dish are approximately parallel, and the knife moves from the edge of the raw material

Insert the slice on the right side and push it steadily to the left. The front end of the knife is close to the surface of the pier, and the back of the knife is slightly raised. Use the height of the knife to control the required thickness.

Press the raw material firmly with your left hand, but do not press too hard. When cutting the raw material, make sure it does not move. As the knife slices in, lift your left fingers slightly and hold the raw material with your palm. The push blade is mostly used for cooking soft or brittle raw materials, such as cooked bamboo shoots, magnolia slices, dried tofu, aspic, etc.

(2) Pulling the blade When pulling the blade, the blade should also be placed flat. First, insert the rear part of the knife into the raw material, then pull the knife back and lower the blade. The requirements for pulling the blade are basically the same as those for pushing the blade, except that the blade moves in the opposite direction after entering the raw material. The razor blade is mostly used for tough raw materials, such as chicken fillets, fish fillets, shrimp fillets, meat fillets, etc.

(3) Inclined blade, also known as slope blade and trowel blade. Bevel blades are often used for ingredients with a crispy texture. The knife technique is to hold the left end of the raw material firmly with your left hand,

hold the knife in your right hand, tilt the back of the knife, and turn the blade to the left at a slightly inclined angle. Cut into the raw material, and move the surface of the raw material close to your left hand to the lower left. Due to the oblique angle of the blade, the area of ??the pieces and pieces is larger than the cross-section of the raw material and is oblique. Such as sea cucumber slices, chicken slices, fish fillets, cooked tripe slices, kidney slices, etc., this knife method can be used. The requirements for the oblique blade are: place the raw material firmly on the pier so that it will not move.

Press the pressed part firmly with your left hand, coordinate rhythmically with the movement of your right hand, and slice it one by one.

To control the thickness, size and slope of the blade,

mainly rely on eyesight to observe the movements of both hands and the position of the knife. At the same time, the right hand must firmly control the movement direction of the knife.

(4) The reverse blade method is roughly the same as the oblique blade. The difference is that the back of the reverse blade is facing inward (toward the body) and the blade is facing outward

Use the blade Work on the front half of the knife so that the blade and the vegetable mound are in an oblique shape. After the blade enters the raw material, it moves from the inside out. The reverse blade is generally suitable for brittle and slippery raw materials. The left hand is required to hold down the raw materials steadily, and the upper joint of the left middle finger is pressed against the knife blade. The knife of the right hand is close to the joint of the left middle finger

Input the raw materials. Every movement of the left hand backward must be at the same distance to make its shape consistent in thickness.

(5) Saw blade The saw blade is a comprehensive push-pull knife skill. When applying the knife, push the blade first and then pull the blade so that the knife is working every time it goes back and forth. It is a knife technique that specializes in cutting lean meat (no or few tendons) and spine-like ingredients. For example, chicken shreds and pork shreds are cut into large thin slices using a saw blade and then cut into shreds.

(6) Shake the blade. The technique of shaking the blade is to lay the blade flat, hold the raw material firmly with your left hand, hold the knife in your right hand, and move from right to left after inserting the raw material.

The blade should vibrate up and down during exercise, and it should vibrate evenly. The blade shaker generally beautifies the shape of the raw materials by hand and is suitable for soft raw materials. This kind of knife skill

slices the raw materials into water-wave-like sheets, and then cuts them straight to form beautiful saw teeth, such as preserved egg slices, dried tofu shreds, etc.

3. Chop

Chop, also known as chopping, is generally used for boneless raw materials. This method is a method of chopping the raw materials into velvet, puree or mince. Depending on the quantity of raw materials

Decide whether to chop with double knives or with a single knife. For large quantities, use double knives, also called Pai Cho (cutting); for small quantities, use a single knife. The requirements for chopping (cutting) are: Hold the knife with both hands and keep a certain distance, not too close or too far. The distance between the front ends of the two knives can be slightly closer, and the distance between the roots of the two knives can be slightly further.

Chopping involves using the power of the wrist to chop (chop) repeatedly from left to right, and then from right to left again. Use both hands alternately during operation, and perform the ups and downs in a rhythmic manner. At the same time, the ingredients should be constantly turned. Secondly, when chopping (cutting), do not lift the knife too high. Dip the knife in water before chopping to prevent the minced meat from sticking to the knife or splashing. When chopping antler, in order to achieve a delicate effect, you can use the back of a knife to smash it. Single-knife chop is used to chop bone-in chicken, duck, fish, rabbit, ribs, pig's trotters and other raw materials. Although the method is simple, the knife must be dropped accurately and strive to be even. As for the size of the shape, "

domino blocks" are generally more suitable.

4. Split

Split can be divided into two types: straight knife split and follow-knife split. (1) Straight knife chop: Hold the handle of the knife firmly with your right hand, raise the knife high, aim at the part of the raw material to be chopped, and use the strength of your arm to chop straight down.

When chopping, the force of the arms, elbows, and wrists must be coordinated and powerful, and it is required to chop with one knife. For example, the second knife often cannot hit the original edge.

This will cause the wrong knife to appear, making the raw materials uneven, and it is easy to produce some broken meat and broken bones.

The straight knife splitting method is often used for bone-in or hard-textured raw materials, such as ham, salted pork, pig head, fish head, pork ribs, etc. The pier or cutting board used to chop these raw materials must be firmly placed. When chopping raw materials, you should put the skin of the meat down and cut the knife on the meat surface; when chopping pig heads, ham, fish heads and other raw materials

, use your left hand to hold the raw materials firmly, and use your left hand when chopping with the knife. Leave quickly to avoid injuring your hands. When you first learn, you can use your left hand to hold a wooden stick and press the raw materials; one end of the wooden stick should be farther away from the cutting edge to prevent the knife from slipping on the wooden stick. Use the middle of the blade to chop raw materials.

(2) When splitting with a knife, the blade is first embedded in the part of the raw material to be split. For example, when splitting a pig's trotters, stand the pig's trotters up, with the toes facing upward, and embed the blade into the toes

In the middle, the right hand holds the handle of the knife firmly, the left hand holds the pig's trotter and the knife at the same time, and chops down with force. When the knife is chopped down, the left hand leaves. When chopping with a knife, the left and right hands should be closely coordinated

with the left hand holding the raw material and the right hand holding the knife. Both hands should rise and fall at the same time, and the blade should be tightly embedded in the raw material and firmly embedded, so that

When the raw materials are split hard, the knife and the raw materials will not fall off easily, and the split raw materials will meet the specifications.

5． Slapping

Slapping the knife is to flatten the knife and tap the raw materials hard to break them into pieces and smooth them. For example, you can beat the garlic cloves and fresh ginger until they are minced. You can also use the beating method to make the meat non-slip and loose.

6. Ji

Ji Dao means carving, so it is also called Ji Huadao. Ji Dao uses several cutting and slicing techniques to mark the surface of raw materials with deep and impermeable horizontal and vertical

Various knife patterns. After cooking, the raw materials can be curled into various shapes, such as: wheat ears, chrysanthemums, magnolia flowers, lychees, walnuts, fish gills, coir raincoats, wooden comb backs, etc. Make the raw materials easy to cook, keep the dishes fresh, tender and crispy, and make the condiment juice easy to hang around the raw materials. There are certain requirements for the depth of the knife edge, which is generally about two-thirds or four-fifths of the raw material. The operation methods are divided into push knife, broach and straight knife.

(1) The technique of pushing the knife is similar to that of the reverse blade. Hold the raw material with your left fingers, hold the knife in your right hand, with the blade facing outward and the back of the knife facing in.

The body is close to the upper joint of the middle finger of the left hand, and the raw material of the piece is about two-thirds. The depths should be equal and the distances should be even.

(2) Broaching the knife. The broaching knife is similar to the inclined blade. Hold the raw material with your left hand and hold the knife in your right hand. With the blade facing outward and the blade facing inward, insert the knife into the raw material.

Material, pull about two-thirds from the upper left to the lower right.

(3) Straight knife cutting The straight knife cutting method is similar to the push knife cutting method, except that the raw materials cannot be cut.

The application of knife technique can be divided into two types: general knife knife and flower knife knife. Generally, it is just a row of knife lines on the raw materials. For example, when cooking a whole fish, the broaching method can be used. Huadao Ji is the most common type of Ji Dao technique. The so-called flower knife is to crisscross various flower knife patterns on the raw materials

so that the raw materials will appear in various shapes after cooking. However, when using this type of raw material, it must be tough, crisp and gluten-free raw materials, such as: pig,

sheep, cow kidneys, as well as pig belly, chicken gizzards, duck gizzards, squid, etc.