Thursday, October 7, 2010

Ordinary Stuff - Big Knives

Big Ol' Cleavers

Complete in every Chinese kitchen I've seen - a big heavy duty cutting board, and a couple of big honkin' cleavers. Are the Chinese serious about cutting things? Yes, indeed. Every morning at around 11:15, the space between buildings echos with the rhythmic chopping sound of a hundred knives in a hundred kitchens, all dicing and slicing food for lunch.

As you can see from the pictures below, our household is not immune. Can you guess that red chilis were ripe a couple of weeks back? Jane decided to give a go at making Pixian Dobar, a paste made from chilis and fermented broad beans that's at the heart of many Sichuan dishes. Here she is with Jiang Ayi, chopping a half bushel or so. My forehead is sweating just thinking about it...

forehead sweat in the making J & JA, choppin up chilis

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