Using The Chinese Cleaver (part 2)

INGREDIENTS

INSTRUCTIONS

Diagonal slicing is usually performed on cylindrical or
semi-cylindrical vegetables such as celery, bok choy, beans, carrots,
etc. It can also be performed on other vegetables or meats to give a
more attractive effect to the finished cooked dish.  Diagonal sliced
vegetables have a larger cut surface area to be  exposed for rapid
cooking in the wok. By having this advantage,  vegetables can be
thoroughly cooked in a minimum of time and yet  retain its bright
natural colouration. Vegetables are also more  nutritious cooked this
way as a minimum of vitamins and minerals are  lost in the cooking
process.  The only difference between diagonal cutting and straight
cutting is  that the knife is held in the hand so that it can cut the
food at a  45' angle. The same motion as in straight cutting is
employed. Most  beginning wok cooks do not hold their foods so that the
knife can cut  it at a 45' angle. They have a tendency to hold it as
for straight  cutting because they are afraid of the knife. Again it
must be  emphasized that one should practice this cutting technique
slowly at  first. Speed will come as one gains experience.  Dicing food
means that it must be cut into cubes of uniform size.  Decide on what
size you wish your cubes to be. If you are stir-frying  food in a wok,
the maximum suggested size that a cube should be is  about 3/4". This
is so that the cubes can be cooked through without  prolonged heating.
In dicing foods, it is best to cut strips or slices, depending upon
the shape of the food, the desired width of the cube. Slice these
strips or slices into square strips. Lastly cut these strips or  slices
into cubes.  Shredded food means that it has been cut into the shape of
sticks.  Depending upon the food, one may shred it into very fine
sticks or  coarse sticks. If a food requires lengthy cooking time, it
is well to  shred it finely. The less cooking time required for the
food, the  coarser the sticks may be.  In shredding foods, one first
straight slices the food. Stack several  of the slices on top of one
another. Straight slight through the  stack in the same width as the
slice.  Mincing foods is a requirement that all Chinese cooks must know
since  so many native Chinese dishes require mincing. Raw meat is
perhaps  the most difficult food to mince finely.  Before mincing meat,
remove and discard all tough connective tissues  from it. Coarsely dice
the meat into 3/4" cubes. Add cubes of onions  or whatever that is to
be minced with it. Take your 4" Chinese  cleaver or your heavy duty
Chinese mincing cleaver and chop the cubes  with a straight rhythmic up
and down motion. Use the blade of the  cleaver from time to time to
consolidate the mass of meat together as  you are mincing it. When the
meat forms a mass, it is minced. Examine  it to see if it is as finely
minced as desired. If not, continue  chopping until it meets your
requirements.  There are some other practical uses for you Chinese
cleaver. The  blade of it can be used for transporting cut foods either
into a  plate or directly into the wok from the cutting board. The
Chinese  cleaver can be turned sideways so that the blade can act as a
mallet  for pounding meats flat or for crushing cloves of garlic or
ginger.  The handle of it can be used for grinding or pulverizing
salted beans  or peppercorns. Like the wok, the Chinese cleaver is a
multi-use  implement.  File
ftp://ftp.idiscover.co.uk/pub/food/mealmaster/recipes/cc-wok.zip

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