| Chinese recipes call for ingredients to be cut into
different shapes because different ways of cutting affect
the texture and appearance of a finished dish.
Chinese cooks use three main cutting techniques (see
illustrations): straight-cutting (also known as perpendicular-cutting),
horizontal-cutting (slicing), and slashing (scoring).
Both straight-cutting and slicing are used to create
chunks, slivers, slices, strips, cubes, and even pulps
and pastes. Slashing means making shallow parallel cuts
on the surface of an ingredient, usually a meat or fish.
This exposes a larger area to the seasonings and to
the heat source. If an ingredient is scored in a crisscross
or diamond pattern, it will shrink to form a raised
flower-shaped pattern when cooked.
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