Nakiri

Nakiri Knives – a Japanese vegetable knife
If you’ve ever watched a chef chop vegetables, you’ve probably wondered how they manage to get such even and thin slices. The secret is the Japanese **Nakiri Knife**. By chopping or mincing with a Nakiri knife, you’ll ensure that vitamins and nutrients end up in the wok, frying pan, or pot, and don’t spill all over the board. **The Nakiri knife is also great for chopping and mincing vegetables and portioning boneless meats. This knife loves hard vegetables.**
Nakiri-bōchō (from Japanese – knife for cutting greens) is a Japanese knife for cutting vegetables. The characteristic feature of this knife is its rectangular shape – it has no tip, and its cutting edge is straight or slightly curved. The history of the Nakiri knife dates back to the seventeenth century. In those days, it was used as one of the two basic knives in Japanese cuisine. The other vegetable knife, deba, was used for meat and fish. In ancient Japan, the Nakiri knife had a wider use than it does today; however, in modern times, due to its shape, it’s not used for cutting meat, especially with bone. The blade length of this knife varies depending on the model you choose. In our store, you can choose a blade length from 16.5 cm to 18 cm.

A vegetable knife like a cleaver
**The Nakiri knife is similar to a popular cleaver**. Like a cleaver, it has a rectangular blade with a flat edge, but it has a much thinner blade. Nakiri kitchen knives are also much lighter than a cleaver. A cleaver is great for portioning meat and can even handle bones or cartilage. The Nakiri knife, on the other hand, is designed for cutting into even and thin slices. It sometimes happens that people unused to using a Nakiri knife try to use it like a cleaver, cutting meat with the bone. However, it shouldn’t be used this way because it can crack or even break.
**The Usuba knife is also very similar to the Nakiri knife, which is also used for slicing, however, Nakiri knives are sharpened on both sides**, and Usuba on only one. Usuba allows for even thinner slices than Nakiri, but its use is more difficult, so it’s mainly reserved for professionals. The Nakiri knife is much more popular among chefs in Europe and America than the Usuba vegetable knife and is also suitable for beginner cooks.

Nakiri knife
Cutting with a Nakiri knife allows you to get incredibly even pieces or slices, because when you move the knife’s blade up and down, the entire blade touches the cutting board. This makes it suitable for cutting even the most delicate vegetables, without fear of damaging the vegetable. Sometimes thicker, heavier kitchen knives crush the vegetables being cut, which makes them not look as aesthetically pleasing. The straight cutting edge allows for precise cutting of all types of vegetables. The Nakiri knife handles this better than other types of knives. Nakiri knives are characterized by their exceptional effectiveness in cutting both soft and hard vegetables and fruits. It’s ideal for chopping because it’s very thin and light. The blade’s height also makes the knife easy to use, because the entire surface of the knife adheres to even larger vegetables, e.g., cabbage. The knife’s shape also makes it easy to transfer sliced vegetables from the cutting board to the wok or pot. It handles root vegetables well, e.g., carrots, parsley root, or celery root. With the help of a Nakiri knife, you can also mince all herbs and spices. This cleaver, regardless of the blade’s size and weight, is also used for efficient portioning of meats and chopping and mincing vegetables.

A vegetable knife especially recommended for Far Eastern dishes
The Nakiri knife allows for the use of various cutting techniques, for example, julienne (long, thin strips), chiffonade (a technique for cutting leafy greens into thin ribbons), brunoise (fine dice), or paysanne (thin slices). This vegetable knife works best with an up-and-down motion. This makes the cut more controlled because it only goes in one direction. Cutting back and forth is essentially unnecessary when using this type of knife. Japanese Nakiri knives, intended for mincing vegetables, are great in most cuisines around the world.
**The Nakiri vegetable knife** is suitable for both amateurs and professionals who want to get perfectly cut vegetables and fruits.
The Nakiri knife is great for all kinds of Asian dishes, especially when supplemented with other Japanese kitchen knives. You can use it to quickly cut vegetables, for example, for a wok. However, it’s not reserved only for lovers of Asian cuisine. **Nakiri knives are suitable for all people who love variety in the kitchen**. It allows for mincing vegetables without losing valuable vitamins. Because the vegetables and fruits are cut in a precise way, they are not crushed by a blade that is too thick and heavy. This ensures that the juice doesn’t spill onto the cutting board but stays in the vegetable or fruit pieces. This allows for the preservation of more nutrients when preparing dishes.

Nakiri vegetable knife – Summary
Nakiri kitchen knives look a bit like a cleaver. However, it has a much thinner blade that is ideal for chopping even delicate vegetables without damaging the vegetable itself. The Nakiri knife’s straight blade allows for a single-motion cut all the way to the cutting board, without the need to pull or push. This means the cut is more controlled because it only goes in one direction.
When it comes to using a Nakiri knife for cutting vegetables and fruits, you must follow a specific pattern. The Nakiri knife has a straight tip, which makes it very easy to use. When cutting, you should only move the knife up and down, not horizontally. A little practice with the Nakiri knife will allow both amateurs and professionals to easily get perfectly chopped vegetables and fruits.
All products available in our store can be complemented with other dishes from a given series. A knife for vegetables and fruits is one of the most important tools in any kitchen. Those in our collection are distinguished by an extremely sharp blade and a specially profiled, ergonomic handle. With such equipment, you are ready for any kitchen task. The Nakiri vegetable knife – a precise Japanese knife recognized all over the world. Let’s remember that in Japan, for several hundred years, the tradition of preparing exceptional blades has been passed down – different ones for preparing meat, cutting fish, and also for mincing vegetables and chopping fruits.
In our store, you’ll find traditional Japanese Nakiri knives. Join many satisfied cooks!

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