1. What is the difference between Chinese kitchen knives
and Western kitchen knives
Chinese kitchen knives
There are many categories of Chinese kitchen knives: Sliced knives, mulberry knives, civil and military knives, machetes, skin knives, sliced knives, bone cutting knives, deboning knives, pork knives, roasted meat knives, all types, no less than western kitchen knives. However, they are similar in appearance, and it is normal for many people to be indistinguishable.
The advantages of Chinese kitchen knives are obvious. As the name suggests, the chopping knife can be used for both cutting and cutting. If you can only have one knife, it must be this knife.
At the same time, there are quite a few shortcomings. Chinese kitchen knives are heavier than Western kitchen knives, and it is very difficult for girls to use them. The blade is wide, you can’t see the ingredients to be cut, and it is easy to scratch your hands.
If it is a dual-purpose knife, the cutting edge is larger and the sharpness is reduced.
Western-style kitchen knives
Western-style knives are widely classified: slicing knives, chef knives, beef knives, Santoku knives, boning knives, Paring knives, bread knives…
The concept of special knives has been spread in the West and Japan for a long time, so their knives are various.
For beginners, it is easier to use a Western-style knife. The blade is narrow, so you can see the ingredients, and it is not easy to cut. The weight of the knife is also suitable for slicing vegetables. Especially the tips of chef’s knives and slicing knives are a hundred times more flexible than kitchen knives for handling small and delicate ingredients.
However, for Chinese cuisines that require the use of Chinese knife skills, Western-style knives may not be able to complete them. For example, Chaozhou beef balls, which are made by grinding meat with a kitchen machine, are not the same as Chaoshan hand-made beef balls.
2. Which is better, Chinese kitchen knife or Western kitchen knife
Traditional Chinese kitchen knife tends to go all over the world with one knife. However, the requirements for knife skills are relatively high. Like young people entering the kitchen for the first time, Chinese kitchen knives are not very friendly to them. Of course, if you have been cooking for many years and your knife skills are so good, it will not be difficult to use any kind of knife.
Now many young families choose the following; a bone machete, a Santoku knife, a paring knife.
A machete, for rough work, handling fish heads, chickens, ducks, geese, spare ribs; a Santoku knife, for slicing meat and vegetables; a boning knife, for removing meat ; a paring knife, specially for fruit.
Both slicing and bone cutting are available, the division of labor is also clear, and the elderly are also comfortable to use.
3. Why is there a big difference between Chinese kitchen knives and Western kitchen knives
The demand for knives in China and the West is different, which leads to such a big difference in kitchen knives.
Chinese food has a basic chef skill, called cutting dunks, also known as knives. The square knife is easy to force downwards. Western food is to cut everything casually and then paint it, or fry it.
The advantage of Chinese kitchen knives is that the larger blade makes it easier to use the knuckles to hold the blade a little bit backwards when cutting vegetables, used to cut out fine and well-proportioned vegetables or other food.
The sharp-tipped kitchen knife commonly used in the West is more handy when dealing with meat. You might as well experience the feeling of using a sharp-pointed kitchen knife to cut shredded potatoes and cabbage and use a large kitchen knife to handle elbows???? It’s not very comfortable, but it works.
So it is customary to choose the appropriate form.