How to Chop an Onion John des Rosiers style. Knife skills for the home cook.
As you all know we have a strict 20 minute prep time on all of our recipes. So when I “test” Jane’s creations I generally have a timer running to make sure I can make that time work.
And more often than not my prep time is longer – not because of the recipe but my inefficiency in chopping onions. I consider myself a good “party” cook but a very poor functional one.
I think a lot of home cooks are in the same boat so I asked one of my favorite local chefs, John des Rosiers, owner of Inovasi, Wisma and his latest addition The Side Door, to teach me how to chop an onion. I’ve met John a few times over the past few years and Inovasi is one of my favorite places to go. His food is delicious – changes seasonally and offers small plates which are perfect for me. I love variety in life so when we go with a group there are always lots of delicious foods to try. But I really didn’t get to know him until I had dinner at a friend’s home last October. John generously donated a dinner to benefit my daughter’s school and I was thrilled to have a spot at the table.
Not only was the food delicious but the ease in which he organized the dinner was amazing to me. He moved from one dish to the other and everything was cooked to perfection.
So during my last race with Jane I was determined to finally learn how to master the art of chopping an onion and went over to Inovasi for a step by step instruction.
Follow the notes below to chop an onion John des Rosiers style:
**tip would be to have razor sharp japanese knives to chop your veggies.
With Spring finally arriving Jane is all about creating a month of delicious seasonal foods and all of them involve chopping – so have fun!
Zen Toolkit
To avoid tearing up when chopping onions, pop it in the freezer for 20 minutes before you are ready to use it.
Zen Moment
“Before enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water. After enlightenment, I chopped wood and carried water.”
– Zen Saying
