The Chinese cleaver (菜刀, cài dāo) is a multipurpose wide-bladed knife used throughout Chinese cuisine. Despite the name, the standard cai dao is not a heavy bone cleaver — it is a medium-weight vegetable and protein knife that also functions as a bench scraper, smasher (for garlic), and food carrier.
Three types
- Cai dao (菜刀): the general-purpose vegetable-and-meat knife, 200–250g; used for 90% of Chinese kitchen work
- Pian dao (片刀): lighter, thinner; slicing fine cuts, like a Chinese version of a yanagiba
- Zhan dao (斬刀): the true heavy cleaver for bone; 500g+; not used for vegetables
The versatility
A cai dao performs: chopping, slicing, julienning, mincing (rock-chopping), smashing garlic flat, transferring chopped ingredients from board to wok on the flat of the blade, and scoring skin on fish or duck.