Generally, these knives are classified into two types. But with practice, I learned that gravity is on my side, as the force and momentum can help produce clean cuts with less effort. To the uninitiated, the shape and heft can be intimidating-my father once accidentally dropped our cleaver on the kitchen floor, and it was the tile, not the knife, that fractured into pieces.
Whereas the weight of a Western chef’s knife is distributed evenly between the blade and the handle, a Chinese cleaver’s weight is concentrated in the blade, making it front-heavy. Mine weighs a little over 10 ounces (by comparison, Wirecutter’s top pick for a Western chef’s knife weighs 6.6 ounces). A Chinese cleaver is also significantly heavier. For one, it lacks a pointed tip and instead has a squared-off blade with a broad surface area. It differs from a Western-style chef’s knife in a number of ways. “Not only did it get me through college, that exact knife fed a lot of would-be engineers, doctors, and lawyers in our generation.” What is a Chinese cleaver?Ī typical Chinese cleaver has a large, rectangular blade bound by a wooden handle. (It’s also recommended by Serious Eats and Bon Appétit.) “ was the standard for Chinatown chefs,” said Lau. For a razor-sharp carbon-steel cleaver that requires a bit more maintenance, Randy Lau, the creator of Made With Lau, recommends the Dexter Russell Traditional 8″x 3 1/4″ Chinese Chefs Knife. “Basically every single Chinese restaurant I’ve ever worked in or ever stepped foot in has a Chan Chi Kee knife,” says Sin.
CLEVER CHOPPER KNIFE PROFESSIONAL
Lucas Sin, chef-owner of Junzi Kitchen and Nice Day, recommends the Shi Ba Zi Zuo Professional Chef Knife, with a durable carbon-stainless blade, and the versatile stainless steel Chan Chi Kee Small Stainless Cleaver. Or, for a sure bet, you could try one of the following expert-recommended options that are ubiquitous in Chinese kitchens:
If you’re seeking to invest in a cleaver of your own, you can probably find a good one at a restaurant-supply store or Chinese grocer (if you have one in your area), as long as you know what to look for. I’ve found it tough to track down my cleaver’s exact origins, but it’s still in great shape, which shows that when treated with care, these tools can become family heirlooms.
My own cleaver is a brandless model that my father picked up in a small shop in New York City’s Chinatown 40 years ago (somewhat similar to this one). We reach for it for every task from crushing aromatics to filleting fish-it’s the ultimate do-it-all tool. Also known as a Chinese chef’s knife, the cleaver is a staple of the cuisine, rivaled in utility only by the wok and chopsticks. Quickly, what started as a chore grew into a precious part of our days.įrom those decades’ worth of meals, one knife, shuffled from hand to hand, emerged as everyone’s preferred cooking tool: the Chinese cleaver. Our nightly food-prep routine-smashing knobs of ginger, slicing slivers of beef for stir fry, chopping veggies-doubled as nonnegotiable bonding time. As a daughter of immigrants from Hong Kong, I spent every night of my childhood cooking and eating traditional Chinese dinners with my family.
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