Videos: Japanese Knife Skills

Improve your Japanese-style knife skills and cooking techniques with expert tips and demonstrations. Learn simple cutting methods to enhance your home cooking. Watch videos of chefs showcasing impressive katsuramuki with daikon and fish filleting in Japan.

For me, one of the great pleasures of studying Japanese cuisine has been perfecting my Japanese-style knife skills, techniques that open a range of cooking possibilities -- and not just for pros. While expertly slicing fish for sashimi is a specialized ability that can take years to master, home cooks can greatly improve their knife skills by learning a just few simple cutting methods. In the video that follows, I join my coauthor Chef Tadashi Ono at Matsuri restaurant in New York to demonstrate a few of these techniques (please note the video starts in black for 5 seconds). If nothing else, hold your knife like Tadashi does, and you'll dramatically improve your slicing mojo.

I've also added a couple of bonus videos below, too, of cooks in Japan demonstrating breathtaking katsuramuki with a daikon, and breaking a fish. Man, do these guys have skills! I can only dream...