Clean Cuts with a Chinese

Well balanced and razor sharp, this versatile knife can become your most treasured kitchen tool

BY BARBARA TROPP

CleanCutswithaChinese

or the past ﬁfteen years, my every- While stylistic details among good pleasantly in the palm. My favorite Chi- F day companion in the kitchen has cleavers vary, I prefer one with a gently nese cleaver is made in the United States been my svelte, beautifully balanced, rounded knife-edge for rock-mincing, by Dexter (508/765-0201). It has all razor-sharp Chinese cleaver. It’s a tool to with subtle grooves cut in the handle for these features as well as a super-stainless which I’m singularly attached. I take it a better grip, and with a juncture (where blade. Moreover, it outperforms every everywhere: across town when I’m cook- the blade meets the handle) that fits Asian-made cleaver I’ve ever used. ing at a friend’s; across the country when I’m appearing at a beneﬁt; overseas when I’m teaching in Italy or France. What a red Porsche is to some, my Chinese cleaver is to me: an eye-catching bit of precision machinery that’s tremendously fun to use.

ANATOMY OF A CHINESE CLEAVER There are two simple gauges of a cleaver’s quality: the look of its parts and the feel of it in your hand. The basic parts are the blade, the handle, and the juncture be- tween them. A well-made cleaver will have a strikingly tapered blade, a smooth polished handle, and a solid bridge be- tween the two that conceals any edges that might otherwise dig into your palm. The cleaver should feel both heavy and Nothing beats a cleaver for hacking through comfortable; it should be weighted so bones or cutting fish steaks. When using the that when you hold the handle, the tip Two kinds of cleaver meet most needs. For chop- bone-chopping “big knife,” grip the handle with of the knife immediately falls down, indi- ping through bones, grab the “big knife” (left); for all five fingers. In this slamming motion, the

cating a properly heavy blade. everything else, reach for the “vegetable knife.” shoulder is the locus of movement. Photos: Rita Maas

62 FINE COOKING Copyright © 1996 - 2007 The Taunton Press A gentle grip is best for cutting vegetables. Rest Check that your board is at the proper your thumb on one side of the blade, your index height; when you put your hands flat finger on the other side, and curl your three middle on the surface, your elbows should be fingers around the handle. For closer work, move slightly bent. If the cutting surface is too your hand forward on the handle and your middle high, stand on a box. If you’re too tall, put finger onto the blade. the box (or some other sturdy lift) under your cutting board. As silly as this sounds, in China, this cleaver is designed to cut it prevents sore backs and slow cutting. vegetables and boneless meats. Its rectan- Once the positioning is correct, let the gular blade measures about 8 inches long, weight of the cleaver do the work. If you 4 inches wide, and 1⁄8 inch thick on top, keep your fingers relaxed as they grip the tapering to a fine, sharp edge. Besides cut- handle and guide the blade, the knife will ting, this versatile tool is also excellent for do the cutting for you. scooping, smashing, pulverizing (using SHARP CLEAVERS MEAN BETTER— the broad side of the blade), and tenderiz- AND SAFER—RESULTS ing (using the blunt end of the handle as a A dull knife is a sloppy knife. Vegetables mini mallet). get bruised rather than sliced, and pre- The other type of Chinese cleaver is a cious juices are lost. Keeping a knife sharp hefty bone chopper, called the “big knife.” is easy, as long as you attend to it weekly It weighs 11⁄2 pounds and sports a thick (or daily, if you use it hours each day). I blade that cuts through bones like butter. find a sharpening steel the best tool for In most Chinese kitchens, and in my own, this job. I hold the steel, as the Chinese this knife is used less often than the vege- do, point side down and anchored on a table knife but is irreplaceable for cutting wet towel on the counter to prevent slip- up whole birds and big fish steaks and for ping. I pass the knife blade downward, the occasional bit of kitchen theatrics. from back to front, first on one side of the Cleaver The stubbier Western meat cleaver can steel and then the other, holding the blade accomplish some of these tasks, but I find at a consistent 20° angle. This lets the it awkwardly small and lightweight. weight of the knife work for you as the TWO CLEAVERS FOR MOST NEEDS HOW TO PREVENT SORE BACKS blade courses against the steel. It’s really There are two basic types of Chinese AND SLOW CUTTING no more difficult than filing your nails. cleaver. The most common is the every- The way to master the use of a cleaver To care for and store your Chinese day cleaver, which weighs 3⁄4 pound—al- is relaxed practice. Be sure your spine is cleaver, be especially mindful of its most twice the weight of a typical French straight, your shoulder and wrist relaxed, sharp “smile.” I clean my knives immedi- chef’s knife. Called the “vegetable knife” your hips square to your cutting surface. ately after use with hot water and dish soap and then dry them at once. For stor- age, either attach the cleaver to a sturdy, double-bar magnet with the edge facing away from you, or store it sharp side down in a slotted knife drawer. If neither is avail- able, buy an inexpensive 8-inch plastic knife guard. Whatever you do, never stow your cleaver naked in a drawer; the blade can get damaged, and it can too easily cut a curious hand. You can find cleavers, steels, and knife guards at professional knife and kitchen shops and in some Chinatown stores. With practice and patience, I’m sure you’ll come to love your cleaver as I do mine. For a fast route to a fine mince, keep three joined fingers lightly on top of the far end of the blade to Barbara Tropp, author of The Modern Art anchor it, and loosely grip the handle with the For horizontal cuts, be sure all five fingertips of Chinese Cooking (Workman, 1992), other hand. Move the knife back and forth over “fly” above the blade’s edge. Stabilize the food brandishes her cleaver at her restaurant, the ingredient in an arc. A gently rounded knife- on the board with the mid-section of your three China Moon Cafe, in San Francisco. • edge and a light grip cause the knife to rock up middle fingers. The tips of all your fingers should and down almost by itself. arch upwards out of reach.