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Today, Japanese kitchen knives are dominating the kitchen scene, especially in the numerous cooking TV shows in Japan and around the entire world. There are three main types of traditional Japanese kitchen knives: the usuba, the deba, and the yanagiba.

Now due to their popularity, one of the main problems that are being faced by the makers of the Japanese kitchen knives is forgery. As a shopper you need to learn how to distinguish an original from the faked ones so you can avoid becoming a victim of the forgers. Japanese kitchen knives are lightweight and have sharp edges. Their steel blades are hard unlike the fake ones which can be more flexible. The unbending characteristic of Japanese chef knives makes it easier to maintain their sharpness. One important safety tip is that the Japanese chef knives must always be hand washed. This is an essential tip to remember to avoid damaging their blades.

Japan is the only country that has its own technique in designing kitchen knives. Initially, the Japanese knives were created to satisfy the unique cutting needs that the Japanese people had in preparing their own type of food, such as sushi. Slicing raw fish with great precision was a fundamental consideration for the creation of Japanese chef knives. Go to a Japanese restaurant and you will see how particular the chefs are with their preparation of delicate raw fish slices and the quick chopping of raw vegetables. Their finesse is all due to the exacting standards of Japanese kitchen knives.

The sushi knife in particular has been designed to make perfect slices of raw fish with the subtlest cutting motion. Perhaps the most recognizable of the Japanese chef knives is the supremely versatile santoku knife. If differs from all the others with its unique finish and style. Its blade has a flat edge with distinct markings. Due to its unique design and functional style the santoku is among the most celebrated of the Japanese kitchen knives and it even preferred by the celebrity chefs on television.

Japanese kitchen knives have recently been introduced in the other parts of the world. The problem, however, is that not everyone has the skills to use the knives properly, which diminishes their reputation and for some people can be a total waste of money. Certain shoppers just want to be the envy of their friends but in the end they have bought something that they can never utilize to its fullest potential. To this end you should take time to familiarize yourself with your particular culinary needs and desires.

One great source of information is the book entitled Japanese Kitchen Knives which was created by the internationally recognized chef Hiromitsu Nozaki. In this book, he demonstrates the proper usage of Japanese kitchen knives as well the best way to care, store, and sharpen the knives.

It seems that in recent years, everyone is more concerned about their health. As people are becoming more educated about caloric intake, cholesterol, saturated fat, and sugar, they’re beginning to shy away from eating some of their favorite foods like Chinese takeout from their local restaurant. Indeed, eating at an Asian restaurant or getting takeout is like navigating a culinary minefield, where every misstep is like stepping on a calorie and fat laden bomb. There is hope, however, for those of you that enjoy Asian cuisine and still want to include it in your diet. A lot of the unhealthy elements of Asian cuisine come from bad cooking methods. By learning to use low calorie Chinese cooking methods, you can recreate your favorite dishes at home that are healthier and tastier than anything you can get at a restaurant.

The first thing that you can do to make healthy Chinese food at home is to avoid deep frying. How many times have you eaten at your favorite establishment only to find that your meat and even vegetables are swimming in pools of fat? Unfortunately, this is the norm rather than the exception when eating out these days. Oil is bad for you because it is high in calories and is in some cases high in cholesterol and saturated fats, both of which contribute to heart disease. One tablespoon of oil contains approximately 120 calories. Whatever you do, avoid deep frying as a cooking method. When food is deep fried or cooked in copious amounts of fat, the grease can soak up into the food, creating high calorie dishes that are high in cholesterol and fat. You can prevent this by cooking at home. There, you can control how much and what kind of oil you use. You can even get rid almost all of the oil all together if you invest in a non-stick skillet and use vegetable cooking spray.

Instead of deep frying, try other cooking methods to control the fat. For example, say you’re using a Chinese recipe for sweet and sour chicken. The chicken in sweet and sour chicken is traditionally battered and deep fried where it can soak up a lot of grease. Instead, try breading it in bread crumbs, giving it a light spray with cooking spray, and then baking it in the oven. You’ll still get the textural element of crunch that is similar to a deep fried item, but you’ll get none of the extra oil and grease.

Another low calorie cooking method that you can use in your Chinese kitchen is steaming. Steaming relies on the heat of water vapor instead of oil to cook your food. By using this technique, you don’t have to use any oil at all. On top of that, steaming is also a gentle cooking method that enables you to retain a lot more nutrients and vitamins in your foods than with other techniques.

Varieties of Chinese Noodles

The most famous way of making noodles in China is ‘la mian’ (or ‘chen mian). Noodles are made by simply stretching the dough with both hands. This type of noodle dishes are typical from Northwestern and central China. There is another famous way of making Chinese noodles, called ‘dao xiao mian’. In this case, the chef holds a well kneaded dough in one hand, and a knife in another. The desired shape of the noodles is achieved by ‘slicing’ the dough. There is a third variety of Chinese noodles, which is the one that I am going to discuss next in more detail. This third variety is called ‘shou gan mian’, which can be translated as hand-made noodles by using a rolling pin. The reader may have already guessed that ‘mian’ means ‘noodles’ in Chinese (it also means ‘flour’, depending on the context).

Typical Northeast Chinese noodles are really light, even if they are cooked with meat. They are very different from the ones that can be found in restaurants in Western Europe. The concrete recipe I will be describing in detail is called ‘da lu mian’. It is a very suitable dish for spring or summer, and very home-made, almost impossible to find in the restaurants in China.

Making the Noodles

Making good dough is the first step towards making good noodles. Firstly, the dough cannot be too soft, so one should be careful with the amount of water being used. To make the noodles more stretchable, it is a good idea to add salt and eggs to the flour when making the dough. The use of eggs, however, is not a must.

After making the dough, trying to roll it as thin as possible needs patience and determination. A useful device is the ‘pasta maker’ (in China it is obviously called ‘noodle maker’). The noodle maker is very helpful for cutting the noodles into even strips, as well as for saving a lot of energy. The disadvantage is that it is not easy to clean afterward. Here, I will describe how to make the noodles by hand.

To prepare the noodles by hand, follow the steps given next (the ingredients given are for three or four people).

• Mix three cups of plain flour with three quarters of a cup of water, one big egg and one table spoon of salt. Knead the dough well.
• Roll the dough into a thin sheet.
• Fold the dough sheet twice, make sure that you dust plenty of flour on the surface before folding.
• Chop the folded sheet into thin strips.
• Loosen the strips, dust more flour if needed.

Then, boil the prepared noodles in water (you can add salt to avoid the noodles getting stuck together). And, after removing the noodles from the sauce pan, rinse them well in cold water. The noodles are cold now and ready to be served.

The Sauce