Chinese knife work centres on the Chinese cleaver (cai dao, 菜刀) — a large, flat-bladed knife used for virtually everything from fine julienning to splitting bones. Unlike Western chef's knives, the Chinese cleaver is a multi-purpose tool: the flat of the blade crushes garlic and ginger; the spine cracks crab shells; the blade julliennes, slices, dices, and minces. Chinese knife cuts are not purely aesthetic — they directly affect the flavour, texture, and cooking time of the ingredient. The principle that 'the way you cut determines the way it cooks' is foundational.
Types of cuts and their culinary purpose: Qie (切, slicing): Straight slices across or with the grain. Against the grain (duan) shortens the muscle fibres — produces more tender, quicker-cooking slices. With the grain (shun) preserves the fibres — produces firmer, more resilient slices that hold up in braising. Dice (ding, 丁): 1-2cm cubes for dishes where the ingredient contributes to the sauce (kung pao chicken, mapo tofu). Mince (mo, 末): The foundation of filling preparations and aromatic bases. Chinese mincing is achieved by rocking the cleaver across the ingredient — not using a food processor. Julienne (si, 丝, silk shreds): 0.5-2mm strips for stir-fries where maximum surface area is desired for fast cooking and sauce absorption. Roll-cut (gun dao qie, 滚刀切): The ingredient is rolled slightly between each cut, producing angular, multi-faceted pieces with maximum surface area — ideal for root vegetables in braises. Scoring (hua dao, 花刀): Cross-hatch or diagonal scoring of meat or fish skin to control cooking speed and allow sauce penetration.
Irene Kuo, The Key to Chinese Cooking (1977); Eileen Yin-Fei Lo, Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking (2009)