Thai Knife Techniques — Chiffonade, Julienne & Bias Cut / เทคนิคการหั่น

Pan-Thai — knife technique is universal but with Thai-specific applications; the functional cutting norms are consistent across regional Thai cooking

Thai knife work has specific standards for specific ingredients that serve functional rather than aesthetic purposes. Kaffir lime leaf chiffonade must be extremely fine (1mm) because thick strips are fibrous and unpalatable; lemongrass is always cut at a 45-degree bias to maximise the surface area of the exposed aromatic cells; galangal is sliced paper-thin (2mm) for soup infusion but in 5mm rounds for longer cooking; krachai is julienned for stir-fry because the thin strips cook evenly in the brief wok time. Thai vegetable cutting is not decorative — every cut serves the specific cooking context of the ingredient.

Thai knife technique is flavour technique — a correctly chiffonaded kaffir lime leaf contributes floral citrus brightness to a finished curry in a way that coarsely cut leaves cannot, because the smaller surface area releases volatile oils more evenly throughout the dish.