Japanese cuisine is so rich that it even has cutting techniques with their respective names. The cutting techniques can affect even the flavor and texture, in addition to improving the appearance of the food, transforming cooking into art.
The Japanese cutting techniques are called yasai no kiri kata [้่ใฎๅใๆน] which literally means ways of cutting vegetables. Each type of cut has its own specific name, there are dozens that we will briefly mention in the article.
Japanese Cutting Techniques – Video
If you appreciate Japanese cuisine and want to venture into the kitchen, learning some cutting techniques can be quite useful! Take a look at each of them below:
USUGIRI [่ๅใ] – Thin Slices
Usugiri consists of thin slices. Suitable for salads, pickles, frying, stews. Used in vegetables like cucumber, ginger, onion, eggplant, green onion, etc.
NANAMEGIRI [ๆใๅใ] – Diagonal Cut
Nanamegiri involves cutting against the grain diagonally into oval slices. Used in vegetables like green onion, cucumber, carrot, etc.
We also have Naname Usugiri [ๆใ่ๅใ] which are thin diagonal slices. Suitable for salads. Used in vegetables like green onion, celery, etc.
WAGIRI [่ผชๅใ] – Round Cut
Description: round cut, with thickness varying according to the recipe. Suitable for dishes cooked over low heat. Used in vegetables like cucumber, daikon, tomato, eggplant, carrot, lotus root, etc.
RANGIRI [ไนฑๅใ] – Random Cut
Description: cut in a random shape, but of the same size. Helps to cook more quickly and evenly. Suitable for stews. Used in vegetables like carrot, cucumber, daikon, eggplant, lotus root, burdock, etc.
KOGUCHIGIRI [ๅฐๅฃๅใ] – Thin Rounds
Description: cut into thin rounds. The thickness varies according to the recipe, but is around 2 to 3 mm. Used in vegetables like green onion, cucumber, etc.
KUSHIGATAGIRI [ใใๅฝขๅใ] – Comb Cut
Description: cut spherical vegetables into 6 or 8 slices. Used in vegetables like cabbage, onion, tomato, lemon, etc.
MIJINGIRI [ใฟใใๅใ] – Uniform Chopped
Description: chop into small pieces uniformly. Used in vegetables like onion, carrot, ginger, garlic, green onion, etc.
HANGETSUGIRI [ๅๆๅใ] – Half Moon
Description: โhalf moonโ cut โ cut into semi-circles. Suitable for soups and stews. Used in vegetables like cucumber, daikon, tomato, eggplant, carrot, lotus root, etc.
ICHOGIRI [ใใกใใๅใ] – Ginkgo Leaf
Description: โginkgo leafโ cut. Suitable for soups and stews. Used in vegetables like daikon, carrot, etc.
HYOSHIGIRI [ๆๅญๆจๅใ] – Stick Cut
Description: cut into sticks [5 cm x 1 cm x 1 cm]. Suitable for frying and stews. Used in vegetables like daikon, carrot, etc.
SAINOMEGIRI [ใใใฎ็ฎๅใ] – Cube Cut
Description: cut into cubes โ generally, the thickness is 1 cm. Suitable for soups and salads. Used in vegetables like daikon, carrot, cucumber, etc.
HOSOGHIRI [็ดฐๅใ] – Thin Strips
Description: very thin strips [4-5 cm x 3 mm]. Suitable for stews and salads. Used in vegetables like cucumber, burdock, potato, daikon, carrot, green onion, bell pepper, etc.
SENGIRI [ๅๅใ] – Julienne Cut
Description: finely cut, in Julienne style. Used in vegetables like cabbage, ginger, daikon, carrot, etc.
ZAKUGIRI [ใถใฏๅใ] – Coarse Cut
Description: coarse cut, usually 3 to 4 cm wide, and not uniform. Suitable for frying and nabemono style stews. Used in vegetables like cabbage, leafy greens, tomato, green onion, etc.
BUTSUGIRI [ใถใคๅใ] – Rustic Chopped
Description: cut into pieces of approximately 3 cm. Suitable for stews. Used in vegetables like green onion, celery, etc.
TANZAKUGIRI [็ญๅๅใ] – Paper Strips Cut
Description: โpaper stripsโ cut. Suitable for salads and soups. Used in vegetables like daikon, carrot, konnyaku, etc.
SASAGAKI [ใใใใ] – Pencil Sharpener
Description: scrape the tip of the vegetable, as if sharpening a pencil with a knife. Suitable for salads and soups. Used in vegetables like burdock, carrot, etc.
SOGIGIRI [ใใๅใ] – Angled Cut
Description: slice into angled pieces [45-degree angle]. Helps to cook more quickly and evenly. Used in vegetables like mushrooms, cabbage, Swiss chard, etc.
HANA RENKON [่ฑใฌใณใณใณ] – Lotus Root
Description: shape the lotus root into a flower and slice it. Used in vegetables like lotus root.
KAZARIKIRI [้ฃพใๅใ] – Decorative Cut
Description: decorative cut. Some examples are carrots shaped like flowers [hanagiri] made by hand or with special molds and shiitake mushrooms with flower-shaped incisions on their surface. Suitable for decoration. Used in vegetables like shiitake mushroom, carrot, lotus root, etc.
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