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Next
to a good sharp knife, scissors are an ultra important tool in the
Vietnamese kitchen. They're not used for cutting up poultry. A heavy
cleaver is best for that job. Rather, scissors are used for a multitude
of other crucial tasks.
For
example, when prepping noodles like long cellophane noodles (mien),
I often use scissors for cutting them into shorter lengths. After
all, those noodles are also called 'bean threads,' reflecting the
fact that they're made from mung beans and resemble threads. So
treat them like a sewing project and pick up the scissors.
Whenever
shell-on shrimp need neatening up, I grab the scissors. They're
perfect for snipping off the rostrum and pointy nose from head-on
shrimp. Regardless of whether or not your shrimp still have their
heads, their little feet and hard tails are swiftly and deftly removed
with scissors.
Scissors
are also the perfect tool for trimming banana leaves (and parchment
paper too), especially when you want nice rounds or other small
shapes for stick rice cakes. You can't manipulate the leaf nicely
without scissors.
What's
surprising to people is the fact that scissors often show up at
the Viet table. How else would you cut up a sizzling
crepe (banh xeo) into manageable pieces? Sweet potato
and shrimp fritters (banh tom) can't be eaten whole. My family
passes around a couple pairs of scissors so we can reduce them to
morsels that can be wrapped up in lettuce and herbs. And, deep fried
imperial rolls (cha gio) are best divided into small pieces
with scissors.
Beyond
the Viet kitchen and table, check out how scissors are used in other
Asian cuisines. At Cantonese dim sum restaurant, the ladies whip
scissors out for cutting up the gailan or fried eggrolls. Koreans
have scissors at the table for managing large, unwieldy pieces of
grilled meat, like beef short ribs.
Though
scissors are readily available at many houseware shops, don't forget
to check Asian markets, where the prices are pretty low because
they're a super useful tool in the kitchen. Have several pairs on
hand if you've got a large family.
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