Suitable knife for rolls cutting.

(particularly large rolls, with ~0.300g weight)

What do you think about really suitable knife?
may be from some theory or(which is far better) from your practice ?

I have tried several yanagi, short and long, with thickness~ 4 mm.
I found too thick blade.

now I use Yoshikane ss suji and I dnt like.
need make saw peels, and all the same.. knife cuts not great.

interesting to hear some info from KKF)

thanks

I assuming you are meaning Sushi. I know that for cutting large sushi rolls you need to keep your knife very sharp. I think a lot has to do with technique. But I work at a sushi restaurant but don't get to do anything but eat it.

Perhaps what you want is a sushikiri, specifically for cutting sushi rolls.

http://yhst-27988581933240.stores.y...hi-kiri-240mm-white-ii-steel-blade-kn240.html

That Fun Ri Ka Zan you have is super thin behind the edge, does that one not work well for it?

kalaeb said:

That Fun Ri Ka Zan you have is super thin behind the edge, does that one not work well for it?

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after cutting have many pieces sticks on the rough clads..

It sounds like you are getting sticky rice to stick to the blade. Before you start your cuts you should first wet the blade so the rice wont stick. This is usually done with a damp towel off to the side.

Also if you don't have a tight roll you can have problems too. Hope I understand that is the problem you are experiencing.

I use my misono ux10 210mm for cutting rolls. works well

I have ~5 years practice and know some techs on sushi bar.
but I know cutting can be better and maybe roots just in the steel,
need to try carbon suji or UUSEd gyuto with 40-45mm width =)

Fun Ri Ka Zan is great workhorse cutter but he is too wide now, mb later it will be my gutohiki )

Pensacola Tiger said:

Perhaps what you want is a sushikiri, specifically for cutting sushi rolls.

http://yhst-27988581933240.stores.y...hi-kiri-240mm-white-ii-steel-blade-kn240.html

Click to expand...

no idea how to use it, interesting to see video with sushikiri, it would be good John showed how to cut this thing))
it has one at JKI

FWIW, whenever I sit at the sushi bar I always see the chefs (I know that's not the correct term) wrap the rolls in plastic wrap (Saran) first and then cut it with a sujihiki.

I NEVER see rolls being cut with a yanagi.

I've ran and been to many sushi joints. Most traditionally trained sushi chefs use 300mm yanagis. Of the 100 I've seen, I'd say 90 were these.

A yanagi is prefered because the stiction is very little. Most dip the tip in a sixth pan of water periodically.

A quick, single draw cut is used.

They actually will use the yanagi for everything, except fabricating fish, where a deba is prefered....

...I won't comment on the saran wrap.

Any slicer either yanagi, fugubiki, or sujihiki should be the perfect knife for you. I have to say that if sujihiki doesn't work for you, then any other knife just going to be harder for you.
Seems like the sticking is because your roll isn't tight enough, you push cut the roll instead of slice it, or the most common one is because you don't wipe your blade after the previous couple cuts.

Yanagi or sujihiki is the best. Remember that most of those rolls aren't really even Japanese food, so there's no knife designed to cut them. Nobody ever needed to invent a knife shape to cut a sushi roll with rice on the outside of it topped with eel and avocado. Even a yanagi isn't designed to cut through rice.

Yanagi or sujihiki is the best
Even a yanagi isn't designed to cut through rice.

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its true, thanks for comment.

suji is best choise for ani sticky products,
simply because of the narrow and thin blade.

in general, choice is only by maker and the steel.

la2tokyo said:

Yanagi or sujihiki is the best. Remember that most of those rolls aren't really even Japanese food, so there's no knife designed to cut them. Nobody ever needed to invent a knife shape to cut a sushi roll with rice on the outside of it topped with eel and avocado. Even a yanagi isn't designed to cut through rice.

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true... sushikiri is more for pressed sushi (like battera), though some makers have tried to gear them more towards sushi rolls more recently

Technique is much more important than knife for this Imo.

NO ChoP! said:

...I won't comment on the saran wrap.

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Why? What is so fundamentally wrong with using plastic wrap? It's usually placed over the rolling mat...

Me thinks someone is being a tad bit chesty--

Correct me if I'm wrong, Jon, but battera is the traditional, at home type of sushi, correct? If I am right, it's just pressed rice with different layers, made in a mold, popped out and cut like a lasagna...easy, quick and provides that satisfying feeling in your mouth, when eating. I could se how the sushikiri would be awesome for this type!

think its the square sandwiches sushi )

Lefty said:

Correct me if I'm wrong, Jon, but battera is the traditional, at home type of sushi, correct? If I am right, it's just pressed rice with different layers, made in a mold, popped out and cut like a lasagna...easy, quick and provides that satisfying feeling in your mouth, when eating. I could se how the sushikiri would be awesome for this type!

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i dont know if i would call it "the traditional, at home type of sushi", but it is the sushi that is pressed in a mold- rice on the bottom, fish on top. Usually saba.

I don't recall ever reading or hearing that battera was an at home type of sushi. (Come to think of it, I also don't know anyone who makes shimesaba at home, which would indicate that it's more of a restuarant dish than a home dish, but I digress.)

Nonetheless, if it is an at home type of sushi, I sure wish my mom made it when I was growing up!

I'm a long ways from a Sushi expert but I use plastic wrap on my bamboo mat at home. I can't imagine that as being a very effective technique for a Sushi Chef. +1 to who ever said technique is more important than the tool for this. I use a Suj just because it's so thin and I can get better cuts with a single draw.
Either way this would be a cool project for an old Dexter cleaver.


Dave

Hmmm. Maybe I'm mistaken, but I could have sworn I read that a while back. Regardless, I know the style and it's great and I think the sushikiri would be great for it.

I like to use a 300mm sujihiki for cutting rolls. It's thin and I can cut many rolls at once. As for pressed sushi I believe it's called ozisushi and was served in homes only on special occasions like a family member returning from a trip or such. For this too I like sujihiki. Thin is good!

I asked a friend at work about Oshizushi recently and he was saying that it's popular on the west side of Japan like Osaka which is where he is from. Saba is the most popular or common topping from what I was told.

Canadian said:

Why? What is so fundamentally wrong with using plastic wrap? It's usually placed over the rolling mat...

Me thinks someone is being a tad bit chesty--

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Chesty? lol

Wrapping the bamboo mat is totally logical and sanitary.

I read the comment as wrapping the roll itself in plastic, and cutting through the plastic wrapped roll, which is amateur'ish. I've seen this in large production settings, but never a sushi bar...

We actually cryovac the mat at the CC I'm currently at. Works really well.

As a lefty, I've always used a suji, as paying for a custom yanagi seemed a tad extreme. Yanagis seem to split the roll better, where a thinner suji requires you to draw the blade straight through to overcom
e stiction. The longer blades seemed beneficial in cleaner cuts.

I also draw between my fingers, while stabilizing both sides of the roll....

No sushi expert here, but amateur connoisseur indeed. Whenever we go for sushi, we always sit at the bar and I watch the sushi chef and his knives to see what’s what. Some guys show me their knives. I was recently shocked at how badly this one guys knives were sharpened – and on some nice knives, including a Masamoto honyaki yanagiba. Chipped edge, badly bird’s beaked, and overall dull.

I’ve seen chefs use both yanagi and suji to slice rolls. I’ve seen some use just one forward and backward stroke, and others use several. If they use a yanagiba, it’s always with the tip.

Re: plastic wrap, I’ve seen chefs put it on top of rolls that have fish, avocado, etc. on the outside and then press the matt on it. The matt is taken off, leaving the plastic wrap on, and then the roll is cut. There’s enough wrap overhanging the edges that it’s not cut from edge to edge, so it’s easily pulled off.

NO ChoP! said:

We actually cryovac the mat at the CC I'm currently at. Works really well.

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What do you use to cryovac the mat?

I like using tall gyuto and use a dual arch push pull motion. Or sometimes if my knife is nice and sharp and it's an easier to cut roll I'll just use a pull from heel to tip in an arching motion starting with the tip pointed up. And finish of the cut by pressing the edge flat against the board to make sure you cut all the way through.

allumirati said:

What do you use to cryovac the mat?

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Put the mat in a vacuum bag, throw it in the chamber and vac the air out and seal it in.