3 ways to use the other side of your knife
The other side of that chef’s knife? Yes, you can sometimes use it too. In fact: this blunt part of the knife is perfect for cracking, bruising and cleaning. We’ll explain how to do this.
1. Opening a coconut
You don’t need a super-sharp object for that at all. Hold the coconut in one hand (over a bowl) and strike the hard shell with the blunt side of the knife in your other hand. Slowly rotate the coconut as you do so. After a few minutes of forceful striking, you’ll notice a groove forming in the coconut, and you’ll be able to break it open without any effort.
2. Scaling a fish
That means removing the scales from the fish. How do you do that? Hold the fish by the tail and scrape with a knife from the tail toward the head. There are special knives for this job, but if you use a chef’s knife, you can also scrape perfectly well with the blunt side. Check out this video to see how.
3. Bruising lemongrass
Lemongrass stalks have tough leaves. You can slice them very finely, but for some dishes it’s better to bruise the lemongrass and stew it whole. In this fantastic rendang, for example. You do this by giving the stalks a few firm taps with the blunt side of your knife. This releases the flavor much better.
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Image: Diamant Sabatier, knife designed by Henk Schiffmacher
