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I recently discovered my passion for wok cooking, it's an amazing, healthy and fast served food. You can put in so many creative ideas and experiment with different tastes. This channel is giving me the chance to learn these amazing cultural techniques the right way
This video is so crucial to becoming not only a good cook, but a safe one as well. The only thing I want to emphasize is that anybody who is new to using knives must practice what you're saying and demonstrating S-L-O-W-L-Y! Don't worry about speed. It's like learning to play a musical instrument... learn the techniques first and practice them slowly. Speed automatically comes with practice. Thanks for a great video!
No one will probably see this post anyway, but I'll say it anyway. I love this channel. It's always informative and he is a great presenter. Just getting into cooking Chinese food, because I have always loved it. I have even surprised myself with some of the dishes I have knocked up. The main thing that was a real pain in the butt, at first, was the prep time, but I have worked my way around that.
I got a cleaver knife with bamboo handle at a goodwill shop/store 5 years ago it's like new condition im glade I stumbled upon your video now it's going to be alot more easy to know how to really use my own cleaver knife. Thanks Lee.👍👍🔪
I feel like a Wok and a good knife is all I need. - Endless stir fry recipies - Pretty healthy - Slicing things in thin strips is pretty much the only preperation you need (as a beginner I really enjoy doing that because I can work on my knife skills) - The actual cooking is done in a few minutes
Basically yea, I feel like 95% prep for the Wok Clock and then its OMG LETS GOOOO SO FAST FAST FAST STIR SMOKEY GOODNESS OK DONE. My wife thinks I'm nuts when I'm cooking. Stir fry's are awesome, and can be as healthy as you want them. I use avocado oil for it's super high fry point 500F, perfect for a SMOKING HOT WOK. So sexy that wok is lol.
Using a cleaver as my daily driver has been my number one takeaway from watching your channel. (Slapping garlic and ginger before chopping is number two.) It really does work better than a chef's knife and I've been using it for 90 percent of my own cutting.
Thanks a lot, I was one of many who had requested help about knives previously. You really are excellent and of great help. I appreciate it so much so thanks for amazing tutorials
The carrot slicing is clutch as a demonstration regarding knife sharpness being important. If you try to cut that last little bit of carrot with a dull knife, you'll slip. Sharp knives are very important, it may seem counterintuitive, but if you're struggling, and slip, you will do more damage than you think. Great way to open the video with sharpening technique.
Nice video ! When I was studying in Shanghai I ate a lot of recipes with Eggplant in it and I totally loved it! i think it was called something like 鱼香茄子, would you consider making one of these one day ?
My biggest hangup to high speed food slicing is food that sticks like magnets to the side of the blade. I discovered some steels microscopic surface is more attractive to adhesive forces of food moisture than others. I hear knives with side texture or ceramic coated knives are really good at eliminating this problem. I spill more food bits because of this adhesion problem.
That was very informative - thank you! You're a very good teacher. It's interesting: there are so many ways to describe and show actions, and you've clearly chosen the right ones. I've taken away several things from this that I will use immediately and remember for a long time. Subscribed.
These are really great tips! I had been cutting with a backward motion for... forever. I started cutting in the motion described and I found my cut to be much more definite and effective. It's difficult to explain, but... I didn't have to go back and re-cut something because the blade didn't go all the way through. Also, I went faster than I normally did. Granted, I'm not a chef. But who would have thought that something as simple as shown on this video would make such a difference?
Excellent video as always! :) Months ago already your videos actually inspired me to get one of those knifes with the big blade you are using and I haven't used any other knife since then :) I use it for everything I cut!
interesting to see that V edge alignment on a blade like that. I've always been taught by my family to have something more akin to a chisel grind, with the flat side to your centerline. That way it (should) be easier to sharpen as well as to not have the cut vegetable stick to your blad as much. I've also seen this in other chinese restaurants in my area.
Hi Jeremy, I thought to write a comment under of some of the previous videos to do a video about that cleaver knife. I must say that since I found this channel my cooking skills improved in many ways. I am cook at home, but self-taught so sometimes things are not going as I would imagine. For example, peeling the garlic was what I found of most tedious jobs in the kitchen (often just asking my wife do it), now I am bashing and smashing around and it is even quite fun. I have to buy proper knife and sharpening tools though. I have a massive chef knife so it has a bigger surface area, but it is too long and awkward and not thick enough so it bounces off sometimes. Thanks again, will do some Bulgogi soon :-) Regards from the Cezch Republic. Lukas
I have watched many knife skills videos on here and I have to say this is the best and most comprehensive one I have come across on youtube so far. The tip with using the back 2 fingers to support while slicing is something I have been overlooking. Excellent demonstration take my sub!
Thanks, always impressed with your knife skills...I'll have to get a cleaver and practice those techniques. I appreciate the tutorial videos you all post.
The most important part of sharpening is removing the burr that you get from your stones. Even up to 16000 grit, there is a burr left over. Huge step. I went with diamond lapping plates, which are different from just diamond stones. Trend makes one that is 300 and 1000, but it is not as dead flat as a lapping plate. They do not need any maintaining, which with water stones means you have to flatten them out. Some water for lubricating as you sharpen is good.
My husband adores your videos and is often found in the kitchen putting your videos to great use. He has always commented on your large knife that you use. Iv been on your website but notice you don’t sell them, is there one you can recommend?
Hello you can get it in some local cooking shops but if you can't find it there the name is school of wok slice and dice cleaver, if you look it up you will probably be able to buy it. It should be around 20 quid (at least thats how much it was when I bought one)
We sell them on our website, or you can find links to our Amazon stores in the descriptions of any of our videos :) Glad to hear that your husband is such a fan!
School of Wok Thank you , I managed to get him one from amazon as I didn’t notice it on your website. I did order him one of your woks and your bamboo steamer. I must thank you because since he has found your RU-vid Chanel we have been inundated with amazing Chinese food!
Awesome cutting skills, thanks for sharing! Good tip on the hand crab explained, next time I’ll cut my veggies n meat throughly. Funny how u ate most of the mushrooms at one time.
I love your show! I have a cleaver but I think it's more of a western style with a curved edge. I would like to purchase a cleaver more like what you use. I have small to medium hands. Can you recommend a cleaver that could work for me?
Hello. Thank you very much for your instructions how to use the Chinese cook's knife, they are excellent and absolutely necessary. Very useful video. Just one question: the 30° sharpening angle is just for one side? Or 30° at the apex of the bevel? 30° on one side and 30° on the other, that's too much for a kitchen knife, I think. 30° apex (=15° on the sides) would be more reasonable for my understanding. That's the angle of standard kitchen knives. Thank you very much for your answers. Greetings from the Czech Republic.
Thankyou I’m learning a lot from you , very good videos , I do have a question chill’s always burn my hand so how come yours are ok and how can I avoid this happening to me?
It sounds like you might be slightly allergic to them, that doesn't happen to us so I'd be careful eating them! You can always wear gloves while chopping if you still want to eat them - Chris
I sharpen my knives and cleavers by the simplest of methods- with a good old "mill bastard" file! No stone, no strop or honing rod/ foil. By far, the easiest and fastest method! No fuss, no problems.
Thanks for starting a series on the cleaver. It's hard to find quality information on technique for this style of knife. I've found I'm picking up my $8 cleaver far more often than my $100 chef knife. Not having to be concerned when smacking the blade against the board is awesome... Plus the bench scraper + knife-in-one is bonus. Side note: you can always use a ceramic mug or plate as a hone in a pinch. BA has a video with Andy in a Chinese and the chef demonstrates that.
Have you done a video on seasonings and spices yet? Or have one planned? I looked, didn't see one. If it exists, someone point me to it! I'd love to learn how, when and why to mix different sauces, like the dark soy, soy, oyster and fish sauces for different dishes, the sesame oil and when to add it, etc. I use both fish and oyster sauce, but only for certain dishes that I follow a recipe to cook. I think a video or more explanations within your videos, would be very helpful. Thank you, Jeremy and the whole crew, you are all awesome!
Great vid and it will give me confidence to try my late aunts early 90's and ornate Maomin Town knife/chopper (my aunt loved chinese food) rather than my usual Victorinox kitchen knives - which I love. Fingers crossed, assuming I have fingers afterwards. 😉 Stir fry tomorrow! Thanks again.
No comment about burr removal or prevention (removal of fatigued steel first)? -Burr was the first problem I encountered when learning to sharpen. The angle to sharpen depends on the knife (listening to the sound helps with getting the right angle). Honing causes metal fatigue; I only recommend it for professional kitchens with in-house provided knives, and 2-4 strokes is sufficient. Micro-bevels help increase edge retention (and cover burr removal). That bamboo cutting board is high in silica (glass) and isn't even end grain (very harsh on blade edges and produces hair-like splinters).
