Can people recommend any videos of good chopping technique? I was cutting up cilantro last night, and while I am fairly adept at it I want to see a more pro technique. Video + explanation would be very helpful.
I am a massage therapist and have studied a few martial arts, so you can assume that I’ll understand fine-tuned body mechanic subleties. If I have trouble understanding it I’ll ask.
Like I said, I can chop stuff, I just feel like I could be better at it. Also, it doesn’t have to be limited to herbs, but herbs are definitely the hardest thing to chop finely IME.
If you have the cash the ceramic knives Ming is using in most of those videos are the best knives you will ever use. I had a Madoline for a while it was a pain to use. I gave it to my sister who also did not find it very useful.
They are really really sharp and they stay really really sharp for years at which point you send them to kyocera for sharpening for about $20. I love mine. Every body I know that has one loves them. They are however somewhat fragile the blade can break. If you are careful with your things you should not have trouble. They are really not much more expensive than nice metal knives.
I don’t know if they would break. The knives are pretty rugged but they can break. I have knocked over wine glasses. Sometimes they break sometimes not.
About twelve years ago, I got one of these. It’s one of the most-used implements in my kitchen, especially good for chopping herbs like cilantro, but also for garlic, nuts, chile peppers - anything that needs to be chopped finely. At $60, it was pricey, but for the use I get out of it, it was money well-spent!
Along those lines (and the previously mentioned ulu) is the Italian mezzaluna (which translates as “half moon”). Tricky to use for an amateur but once you get the hang of it they’re really fun.
