I am trying not to make Aftermath into a knife-focused blog, despite having already written glowingly about Japanese utility knives. But I’m afraid that I must also recommend my favorite knife in my entire house, a Chinese chef’s knife or a caidao. These are often referred to as “Chinese cleavers” in English, although not all Chinese knives are intended for cutting through bones like western cleavers. If you only have one knife for preparing food in your household and not a lot of money, I recommend you pick one up. They’re durable, fairly inexpensive, and versatile enough to cover a huge portion of what you need to do in the kitchen.
This is probably not news to anyone who grew up in a Chinese household or has studied Chinese cooking. Technically there are multiple kinds of Chinese blades in this form factor that are built for different purposes; some are lighter and meant more for slicing vegetables, while others (such as gudao) are heavier and meant for cutting through bone. I don’t find myself cutting through a lot of bones, but ideally it’s nice to have both around.
I started off with an American-made Dexter Russell several years ago, but over time got tipped off to two beloved Chinese brands: CCK or Chan Chi Kee out of Hong Kong and Shi Ba Zhi Zuo. CCK is a beloved staple that has unfortunately shot up in price, but can usually be bought for about $80 to $100,, although if you can get one at a local Chinese grocery store you will probably get a better deal. I’ve had my CCK KF1812 for several years now and love it for most purposes that aren’t blasting through chicken carcasses. Fuchsia Dunlop, a fantastic English-language writer on the subject of Chinese cooking, swears by CCK.
The CCK is a bit on the pricier end and can be slightly tricky to buy, so for the money and ease of purchase, knives by Shi Ba Zhi Zuo are more affordable and available. A while back, someone on reddit posted a good comparison of the two brands and their offerings and it’s a solid guide depending on what you find yourself doing more often. It’s also worth mentioning that Wirecutter is also a fan of many of the brands listed here. Recently Chef Panko, one of the most thorough knives reviewers I know, was shocked by the Henzen YM3L. There are tons of Chinese knives out there, usually with either a wood or metal handle, but most will do the job provided they are built for the task.
What makes a Chinese chef knife such a complete tool is that you can use it for so many tasks in the kitchen: Finely cutting garlic, slicing meat, and cutting thick vegetables. If you know what you’re doing and care for your blade, you basically only need one or two instead of a huge block of knives. The wide, flat blade can be used as a makeshift spatula, making it easy to transfer ingredients. You can also use the flat side to lightly crush garlic, making the skin easy to remove. The dull spine of the blade can be used for tenderizing. I have rarely encountered a tool that was so all-encompassing.
You can write entire articles on the art of caring for knives, however I personally like to sharpen my knives manually. I have a Suehiro Cerax dual #1000/#3000 sharpening stone that covers the majority of what I need from my knives, as well as an Atoma #400 diamond plate to keep my stones flat. Chef Panko has a fantastic guide to whetstones and their maintenance here. When it comes to sharpening knives, the now more than decade old introductory tutorials by Vincent Kazuhito Lau over at Korin remain the best basic introduction to the topic, although the angle of caidao can differ from the angle of Japanese knives. When my CCK developed a nasty nick that even I couldn’t fix, I was happy to bring it to Korin in Tribeca to mend it.
For Chinese chef's knives specifically I also like this video by Made With Lau, a fantastic YouTube channel run by Randy Lau where his dad breaks down his decades of experience working in Chinese restaurants. In the video, Chung Sun Lau shows off his knives, and he’s quick to point out that both are either as old as his son if not older. With proper care, a Chinese knife will last decades and quickly become one of the most useful tools in your house. The caidao is not just a staple of Chinese cooking, it is a knife for everybody: versatile, inexpensive and able to withstand tremendous abuse. “How do you know if you can’t use a knife anymore?” Randy Lau asks. “If the handle is broken,” his dad responds.
