Knife Work

Cutting ingredients precisely is integral to Chinese cuisine. Proper knife work allows the cook to fine-tune how ingredients cook, absorb other flavours, release their own flavour (in the wok and in the mouth), and attain a particular mouthfeel. Cleavers of different sizes and weights are used for different purposes: thin-bladed light cleavers for vegetables and fruit, slightly larger and heavier cleavers for fish and soft meats, hefty thick-spined cleavers for meat butchering and chopping through bones. The first two kinds are typically sufficient for most home cooks. Cleavers should be sharpened regularly on Chinese sharpening stones.