Peking cabbage is a relatively new vegetable for Russia, but has already gained popularity as a component of salads. Especially in winter period a time when the shortage of fresh herbs is especially acute. However, due to the recent appearance of cabbage in our diet, many do not know how to cut it correctly.

Prepare a cutting board, a sharp knife, a deep bowl and a towel. Wash a head of cabbage under running water, holding the stalk up, dry it with a paper or plain towel. Do not wash cabbage by completely immersing it in water - this will cause it to become too saturated with excess liquid. Let's get rid of the top 3-4 leaves; they may be wilted and dirty and should not be eaten. Cut off the bottom of the head of cabbage by 5 cm and throw it away. The remaining leaves can either be disassembled or left in the head. The cabbage is ready for further cooking, but you need to decide what exactly you are going to do with it. If you need cabbage for cabbage rolls, then it should be disassembled into sheets. If you are going to salt it, then the head of cabbage should be cut in half, and then each half in half. That is, only 4 equal parts. For the traditional Korean dish kim chi Chinese cabbage cut into narrow strips, but this dish is quite difficult to prepare. If you are going to cut cabbage into salad or cabbage soup, then you should start shredding. Cut the cabbage head into two halves lengthwise. Place half cut side down on a cutting board and cut lengthwise into strips 1-2 cm wide. And then chop it across to the width that you prefer - wider for soup, narrower for salad. But don’t chop it too thin – the cabbage will lose all its juiciness. Do the same with the other half.

If you are preparing the salad not directly to the table, but in advance, it makes sense not to cut cabbage leaves, and tear them with your hands, like tearing lettuce, into pieces about 4 by 4 cm. Only tear the lettuce so that it does not taste bitter, and the cabbage to preserve its juiciness. Divide the cabbage into leaves and, placing several leaves together, tear into small pieces with your hands. If you first place the cabbage leaves in a deep bowl of water, they will retain their juiciness longer.

Do not cut off the white part of the leaves - this is the juiciest part of the cabbage and it contains the largest reserves of microelements. Just chop it thinner. You can use a grater, vegetable cutter, or food processor. And add shredded cabbage to the salad.

Chinese cabbage is very tasty and healthy, and familiar dishes prepared with its addition will acquire a new taste. And learning how to cut it correctly is not at all difficult, and you will quickly master this simple science.

Despite the relatively recent appearance of Chinese cabbage on the Russian market, this vegetable has managed to gain enormous popularity among domestic housewives. It is excellent as an ingredient for salads, appetizers and main courses of Asian cuisine. Most often, cabbage is bought in winter, when the lack of vitamins is especially acute. The juiciness of the vegetable and its delicate taste are to the liking of even those who do not really like cabbage. However, most housewives do not know how to properly cut “Peking”, and the taste of the entire dish depends on the correctly chosen method. In this article we will look at several options for cutting petsai and talk a little about beneficial properties vegetable.

Preparatory stage

Petsai has a huge amount of vitamins and is incredibly beneficial for the body. The vegetable is rich in ascorbic acid, fiber, minerals, proteins and vitamin C. In addition to salads, it can also be used as a component for soups, main courses, and starters. The low calorie content of the product, which is only 15 calories per 100 grams, appealed to most women, because everyone wants to eat not only tasty, but also healthy without harming their figure. By the way, the calorie content of the white cabbage analogue is 30 kcal.

The tender pulp cooks quickly, regardless of the type of dish. You should cook, fry or stew the product for no more than two to three minutes, as this ensures the preservation of vitamins and minerals inside the vegetable.

Many chefs recommend replacing white cabbage with Chinese cabbage. The juiciness of the product radically changes the overall taste of the dish. To get an ideal result, you need to know how to cut petsai correctly, depending on the chosen dish.

First of all, you should prepare everything you need for slicing a vegetable: a cutting board, a large sharp knife, a kitchen towel and a bowl of water will definitely be needed during the cutting process. The cabbage should be washed, holding it upside down, and then dried with a towel.

It is not recommended to wash your petsai by placing it completely inside a deep bowl filled with water, as it may absorb too much liquid. It is imperative to remove the top three leaves, as they are usually already withered and dirty. After this, five centimeters of the lower end of the head of cabbage is cut off and thrown away.

It is important to pay attention to the preservation of the white part of the leaves, which is the juiciest and contains most of the vitamins.

How to chop?

There are several methods for cutting Peking, the choice depends on the dish to be prepared.

For pickles

To prepare petsai pickles, the finished fork is first cut in half, and then each half is cut into two more pieces. This way you get four pieces that are optimal in size and shape for salting.

"Kim-chi"

This dish came to us from South Korea, its peculiarity lies in its spicy-pungent taste, achieved by fermenting Chinese cabbage in a special brine. In this case, Petsai is cut as follows: the head of cabbage should be rinsed with the cut point facing up so that the water passes through the vegetable and does not remain anywhere deep between the leaves. This prevents the dish from becoming watery. Then the fork is shaken off and dried with a paper towel or a regular kitchen towel.

The cabbage is placed on a board and cut along the vegetable, not reaching the leaves, which are divided into two parts by hand, which will ensure the safety of the leaves. Next, the process is repeated with each half, resulting in four equal parts, which are kept in a special composition, after which they are seasoned with a spicy pepper-garlic mass.

"Caesar"

Everyone knows the recipe for this dish, the main ingredient of which is lettuce leaves, but when you replace this ingredient with pestai, the salad becomes richer and radically changes the taste for the better. In total, there are two ways to cut Chinese cabbage for this salad.

Large pieces

To get the classic look of Caesar salad, professional chefs recommend cutting the leaves larger. After washing, drying and clearing the top wilted layer, the head of cabbage should be placed on a cutting board and the upper ends of the leaves should be cut off. For work, you should use a well-sharpened, long knife. Next, you need to separate the cabbage into separate leaves, rinse them additionally and then shake them off.

For the salad, only the green part of the Chinese cabbage is required, so you need to cut off the lower white part from each leaf, while holding the vegetable diagonally. The unnecessary part can either be thrown away or added to other dishes. When the leaves are ready, each is cut into pieces, three or chesters, depending on the size and final result.

Checkered

This method is optimal not only for Caesar salad, but also for other types. This will result in a dish with a mild taste and crispy filling. A head of Chinese cabbage, ready for slicing, is placed on a board and cut in half along the growth of the leaves. Next, one of the parts is cut into strips about two centimeters wide along the body. Then the petsai is cut into strips of the same width, but already across the length. This produces neatly cut cubes, ideal for any salad.

Another popular way to cut Chinese cabbage for salads or appetizers is the option applied to leaf lettuces such as romaine or iceberg. You just need to tear the leaves of Chinese cabbage into small pieces with your hands.

How to shred?

A shredder is the best option for cutting any type of vegetable. This method makes it possible to obtain straws of any thickness and length. Thinly shredded Chinese cabbage will be an ideal component for salads; thicker strips will perfectly complement soups and hot dishes. There are several options for shredding petsai.

Thin straws

Already washed and dried cabbage is placed on a cutting board, where it is cut into two parts. Next, one of the halves is chopped crosswise into thin strips. To obtain long straws, it is recommended to cut the vegetable diagonally. This way you get a long and beautiful straw that will decorate any salad.

Here we will tell you very briefly, for salad, that is, cut quite finely. Of course, this is just one of possible ways, but, as it seems to us, the fastest, simplest and most convenient.

This is how we do it. First, wash the cabbage cold water under the tap, trying to hold the stalk up (if you turn the head of cabbage over or immerse it completely in water in a bowl, a lot of water will accumulate between the leaves, and then all this water will end up in your salad! - do you need this?). We blot the head of cabbage with a paper towel (however, a cloth one can also be used). Since it is impossible to wash very thoroughly in this way, we prefer to remove the outer leaves from the cabbage and discard them; usually it is enough to discard 4 leaves to remove the “outer clothing” from the cabbage.

Now cut the cabbage in half lengthwise.

Place each half cut side down and cut lengthwise into strips about 1 cm wide.

Then we chop everything finely across, cutting approximately every 7-10 mm or even thinner.

You can use any other method that will result in the cabbage being chopped or shredded fairly finely, such as chopping the cabbage in a wooden bowl or shredding it thinly with a knife.

And a couple more tips related to Chinese cabbage. When choosing Chinese cabbage, pay attention to ensure that its leaves are not withered and lethargic. The head of cabbage should be quite dense and tight, and not loose, the leaves should be light green and elastic.

If you bought cabbage in advance, just put it in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator - you can store it for a week without any problems.

You can also watch our video instructions:

It has long been known that The taste of the dish greatly depends on the cutting. Try, for example, to imagine a Caesar salad with the same amount of chicken cut into it as an Olivier salad. quail eggs finely chopped, not cut in half, and cherry tomatoes are completely cut into small cubes. It is unlikely that it will be similar to the dish that everyone knows and many love so much.

In addition to taste, cutting also determines appearance dishes and its texture, which are so important to preserve if the dish is being prepared for the arrival of guests, for a beloved family or for festive table. Ultimately, cutting it incorrectly can result in some of the cabbage being wasted.

Instructions

What equipment should I take?

It's simple here:

• The knife should be as sharp as possible, well sharpened, with a long blade of medium (closer to large) width in order to accurately and accurately cut thin leaves.
• Whether you take a glass or a wooden board doesn’t matter either, the main thing is that the surface is smooth (though cutting on a wooden board will most likely be more convenient).
• We also need a deep bowl.

Size

The size of the cut depends on the dish for which the cabbage is cut:

• For Caesar salad, for example, Chinese cabbage, on the contrary, is cut quite coarsely.
• On Kim Chi it is even larger (in fact, it is almost not cut into pieces).
• Shredders also come in different sizes - finely shredded cabbage is used for salads, coarsely shredded cabbage is used for soups and other dishes that are subject to heat treatment.

Preparation

1. Separate the leaves from the head, discard the top ones, and rinse the rest well.
2. Pour into a bowl cold water and dip the Chinese cabbage leaves there for a few minutes to maintain their shape and juiciness.
3. After removing the leaves from the water, shake them off and dry them with paper towels.

Under no circumstances should you get rid of the white part of the leaves: it is the most juicy and contains more useful substances than the green part.

How to cut into Kim Chi?

Kim Chi - korean salad, which came to Russia not so long ago. To prepare it, Chinese cabbage leaves are used, pickled in a special solution. For this Chinese cabbage leaves are cut in a special way:

1. Take forks of cabbage, wash it under running cold water, and remove the top leaves.
2. The cabbage fork is cut in half along the length of the petioles (white parts), so as not to damage the leaves. Use forks to separate them slowly and carefully so that the Chinese cabbage leaves are gently separated from each other.
3. Each half must be cut again along the length of the petioles and separated, maintaining the integrity of the leaves.

   At the same time, if the cabbage fork is taken very small, it can only be cut into two parts.

4. The resulting four equal parts are soaked in a special solution.

Crumble into Caesar salad

Traditionally, Chinese cabbage is cut coarsely for Caesar. As a rule, they cut off the leaf and leave only the green part. The white, hard part of the leaf can be added to soup or stewed with something. Each green piece of leaf should be divided into either two or four parts (depending on your desire and the size of the leaf).

Another non-traditional cutting option is to cut or tear by hand the entire sheet (including the white part) into 2x2 squares. Although this option is not classic, it may be even better, because the white part Chinese cabbage, which is not suitable for Caesar salad in traditional cuts, is more juicy and contains many useful substances.

Shred

There are several ways to shred Chinese cabbage. This is an extremely fast and versatile cutting method.

• The prepared (washed, etc.) cabbage should be placed on a board and cut in half into white parts. Next, you need to place the cabbage halves on the board with the cut side down and, trying to make equal indentations all the time, starting from the edge, cut the cabbage into strips. This will help chop the cabbage finely. This cut is perfect for salads.
• For a large shredder, you also need to divide the cabbage forks into two parts, then cut each half exactly along the center. You should end up with equal quarters. Shred the cabbage crosswise into pieces of the width you need. A large shredder is usually used if you are going to add Chinese cabbage to soup or other hot dishes, i.e. subject it to heat treatment.
• The simplest and quick way Chinese cabbage shredder - a shredder in standard kitchen electronics such as a food processor, blender and meat grinder with a vegetable attachment. This is done like this:
  1. The cabbage, washed and dried with paper towels, is cut into small pieces so that they can easily fit into the loading hole. Do not load too bulky pieces of cabbage: this may break the device.
  2. Next you need to assemble the device by installing the shredder attachment of the required size.
  3. Turn on the device and gradually load new pieces of Chinese cabbage into it, using a pusher to press them against the rotating blade.

  Using electrical appliances allows you to achieve very fine shredding, perfect for some salads.

If you shred Chinese cabbage by hand, you should remember how you need to hold the knife, because this affects both the speed of shredding and the safety of this activity.

The knife is held with the entire palm, while thumb is located on the side of the blade, the index finger is on top of the knife, as if “pressing” on the blade, and the remaining fingers are under the handle, but so that there is no contact with the blade.

Photo

Check out what properly chopped Chinese cabbage looks like in the photo.

What is incorrect cutting and what are its consequences?

Improper cutting of Chinese cabbage means cutting it into pieces of the wrong size for a particular dish. Simply put, thin shredding of cabbage for Caesar, fine slicing for Kim-Chi - these are all examples of incorrect slicing of Chinese cabbage.

The consequences of this are quite clear - in fact, you end up with a completely different dish, not the one you wanted to prepare. It really can have a completely different taste. For example, if you slice Caesar cabbage too thin, you will end up with large, bulky pieces of chicken, halves of cherry tomatoes and a couple of thin strips of Chinese cabbage on your fork. Of course, this will not be the same salad that is served in good restaurants.

So, we told you about the features of correct slicing of Chinese cabbage, about the preparation of cabbage, what types of slicing there are and for what dishes each of them is used, what equipment is needed for slicing and what the consequences of mistakes in this delicate matter are. We hope our article will be useful to you and your dishes will turn out exactly the way you wanted them to be prepared. We wish you good luck in your cooking!

Video on the topic

In Russia, Chinese cabbage became popular relatively recently and has since successfully replaced both its white cabbage relative and various leafy salads. Accordingly, she has several ways to serve it on the table. It should be noted that it is almost always served without any heat treatment, which means that the main subtlety in preparing this dish is the correct cutting.

Longitudinal slicing seems a little unusual at first. To prepare the leaves, you need to separate them, cutting off the hard bottom of the head that holds them together, and put them in cold water for a few minutes. This will help the greens regain their shape and elasticity if they have wilted, and will retain the juiciness of the cabbage in the dish. After removing the leaves from the water, gently pat them dry with a paper towel.

The prepared leaves are placed on a cutting board one on top of the other (2-3 pieces) and cut into thin longitudinal strips. This method is great for fresh vegetable salads, since one strip contains both the juicy white part and the greens. Another “salad” way of serving Chinese cabbage involves the leaves being carefully torn into small pieces by hand or chopped into squares.

If you need to chop the leaves finely, the knife acts predominantly across the leaf, and the result is very reminiscent of shredded white cabbage. You can prepare a head of cabbage for slicing differently than in the first case: just rinse it under the tap, holding it with the base up so that excess water does not accumulate between the leaves. If the degree of washing seems unsatisfactory, the four outer leaves should be discarded: as a rule, underneath there is a perfectly clean and ready-to-use core.

The white part of the leaves is very valuable, therefore, when cutting off the lower fastening part, you need to try not to capture too much. A maximum of five centimeters is removed. The rest of the head of cabbage is divided in half, several longitudinal cuts are made on each half, and then the leaves are finely chopped with short transverse movements.

In order to pickle Chinese cabbage, it is enough to remove the upper spoiled leaves and, without separating the connecting part, cut the head of cabbage lengthwise into four parts. The structure of the plant allows it to absorb brine or marinade quickly and evenly.

Even though this type greenery tolerates storage well, you need to make sure that the leaves are not lethargic and withered. If their color is far from natural pale green, and the head of cabbage does not have elasticity and density, it is better to refrain from purchasing such a product. Good fresh Chinese cabbage contains many vitamins (especially vitamin C) and protein necessary for the normal functioning of the body.