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 Cutting
and Seeding Dried Chiles |
Dried
chiles are often leathery and can be difficult to cut with a knife. A pair of scissors
does the job with ease. To begin, snip off and discard the stem. Beginning at the stem
end, cut chile lengthwise in half. Use your fingers to brush out seeds from inside chile
halves. Cut seeded halves into thin stripes that can be toasted, stir-fried, or added to
sauces. |
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Chopping
a Small Quantity of Herbs |
To chop a
small quantity of herbs, put the herbs in a small glass, and snip them with scissors until
minced. |
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Chopping
Garlic with Herbs |
When you
are making a recipe that calls for both garlic and herbs, you can combine the tasks and
make both of them easier. When chopping garlic by itself, the garlic often sticks to the
knife, riding up on the sides of the blade. If you chop the garlic and herbs together, the
garlic sticks to the herbs, rather than to the knife. |
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Dicing
Onions |
A large,
well-sharpened chef's knife is the best tool for this task. Cut off the ends of the onion
and then peel it. Be careful not to remove too much of the onion, although you should
remove dried-up center layers. Cut onion in half, pole to pole (from one end to the
other). Make several horizontal cuts from one end of the onion almost to the other, but
don't cut all the way through the root end. The exact number of cuts will depend of the
size of the onion and the desired size of the dice. Now make several vertical cuts, pole
to pole. Cut all the way through the onion. Finally, chop across the lengthwise cuts from
the last step. Use your knuckles as a guide for the knife while holding the onions with
your fingertips. Always pull your fingertips in towards your palm, extending the knuckles
outward when doing this sort of dicing. It provides more control and eliminates the
possibility of an accident. |
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Hand-Pureeing
Garlic |
Peel and
roughly chop as many garlic cloves as you'll need. Sprinkle the chopped garlic with a
generous pinch of salt. Gently lay the flat side of your knife, not quite halfway up the
blade, on the salted garlic and push it away from you while applying light pressure.
Repeat this process seven or eight times (or more) until the garlic is smooth and
partially liquefied. |
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