1. Kou Sansi
Kou Sansi is one of the representative dishes of Shanghai local cuisine. It has a fresh and salty taste and is neatly arranged. It is loved by many patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. vegetable. The main ingredients of Kousansi are chicken breast, ham, winter bamboo shoots and dried shiitake mushrooms. Steam the chicken breast in a pot, remove the white meridians, and cut into thin strips about 5 cm long.
Steam the ham over water, slice it first and then cut it into shreds. Blanch winter bamboo shoots in water, slice and cut into thin strips. Take a clean tea bowl, soak the dried shiitake mushrooms and remove the stems, place them upside down in the bowl, divide them evenly into three equal parts around the bowl, and place chicken breast, ham and winter bamboo shoots respectively.
Add extra ham and chicken breast to the empty space in the middle. Steam the tea bowl, place it upside down in a basin, remove the bowl, put the prepared soup into the basin, and add a few green vegetables. The most important thing about making Sansi is to cut the three ingredients in the same length and thickness. It is a dish that takes knife skills very seriously.
2. Squirrel Mandarin Fish
Squirrel Mandarin Fish is also a traditional dish in Jiangsu. Judging from its appearance, it is a test of knife skills. After cleaning the mandarin fish, remove the bones. Cut the fish in two different directions, just to the depth of the fish skin, without breaking the skin.
Each knife pattern is diamond-shaped. Coat it with flour and fry it in oil until golden brown. During the frying process, the fish tail is lifted up, which resembles the shape of a squirrel, hence the name squirrel mandarin fish. The standard squirrel mandarin fish should have 108 knife patterns.
3. Wensi Tofu
Wensi Tofu is a traditional dish in Jiangsu. In our impression, tofu is easy to break. Yes, Mapo tofu is also cut into cubes. Wensi Tofu is not just an ordinary piece of boiled tofu, but the tofu needs to be cut into hair-thin pieces, which a chef without three to five years of experience cannot do.
First remove the old skin of the tofu, and cut the tofu vertically as thin as paper. After cutting, use a knife to place the tofu into a ladder shape, and then cut the tofu into thin strips. A piece of tofu usually costs 188 knives to cut vertically and at least 88 knives to cut crosswise. After putting the cut tofu into the water, the roots will be clear and the thickness will be even. What's more, it can even be passed through the middle of an embroidery needle.
Chefs test not only cooking skills but also knife skills
When it comes to cooking skills, many people will think of chefs. After receiving professional training, chefs are very proficient in the preparation of various dishes. In addition to the taste of the food, knife skills are also the basic test of the chef's skill. For a good chef, the dishes he cooks should not only taste delicious, but also look good.
Among the eight traditional Chinese cuisines, there are many dishes that test the chef's knife skills, such as deboning, slicing, and carving, which require very high skills from the chef. We also often see chefs playing with ingredients in various ways online. These three Chinese dishes that test knife skills, foreign chefs want to eat but can't make them, but Chinese chefs find them very simple.