Cutting techniques in chinese cooking.

Straight-cutting: Holding the knife perpendicularly over the chopping board to cut, chop and heavy-cut the main ingredient. Cutting is applied to boneless meat ingredients, chopping is done turn boneless ingredients into pulp or paste and heavy-cutting is used when preparing meat wiht bones or other hard ingredients.

Horizontal-cutting: Holding the knife flat against the chopping board to push it or pull it through the ingredients. Pushing means to push the knife through the ingredients from the knife's tip through to its end while pulling ivolves going through hte ingredients from the end to the tip of the knife.

Slashing: To cut by hoding the knife in an angle smaller than 90 degrees from the surface of the chopping board.

Mixed cutting: To cut straight and then cross with sideways cuts to produce varied patterns. When heated, the ingredients cut in this way will roll up into different forms such as chrysanthemums, wheat ears and scales, according to the ways they are cut.