Chef Matthias Fong
Chef Matthias Fong River Café
A good quality knife is made from high quality steel, usually German or Japanese, which will stay sharp for a long period of time, and has the potential to last a lifetime. Owning a stainless steel knife versus one made from high carbon steel is also extremely beneficial in any kitchen. It’s easy for a knife to end up in the sink, which can leave non-stainless varieties rusted and ruined. “Regardless of style or brand, it’s never safe to let knives go dull. Dull knives lead to excessive force and can easily slip off the product you’re cutting,” cautions Fong.
Pacific Albacore Tuna Crudo
3. Slice 8 pickled string beans thinly
Serves 4
into rounds.
335 g Pacific albacore tuna 1 honey crisp or granny smith apple 4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced ½ tsp ground espelette chili ¼ cup (60 mL) sunflower oil ¼ cup (60 mL) flax oil 1 Tbs lightly toasted flax seed 8 pickled string beans (keep some pickling liquid) 4 slices of prosciutto 1 Tbs (1 mL) rice vinegar Pea shoots Good quality finishing salt like fleur de sel
4. Dice the apple into 1 cm cubes and
1. Slice garlic as thinly as possible, and
5. Set up 4 plates. Slice the tuna into ¾ cm thick slices and lay out 85 g per plate. Using the finishing salt, season the tuna to taste.
6. Pull the prosciutto slices apart into
bite-sized pieces, and scatter them with the tuna slices.
7. Drizzle 1 Tbs (15 mL) flax oil over
each plate, with a few slices of the fried combine with sunflower oil in a small garlic from the oil on each plate. saucepan. Heat slowly and allow the garlic to fry until golden brown. Remove from 8. Scatter the apple and string bean heat and add the ground espelette chili. mixture over the slices of tuna, being sure to spoon some of the pickling liquid 2. Allow the oil to steep for 15-20 from the bowl over the tuna slices. minutes at room temperature. Once cool Finish with pea shoot tips and toasted add flax oil. flax seed.
䠀䄀䰀䘀 䘀刀䔀䔀 圀䤀一䔀℀
“To properly care for a knife, I recommend investing in some sharpening stone and/or a ceramic honing rod, which prolongs the life of your knife and requires less sharpening. I also suggest signing up for a class to learn the art of sharpening, or just take your knives directly to the folks at Knifewear and they’ll gladly maintain for you.”
䈀甀礀 琀栀攀 琀漀瀀 栀愀氀昀 漀昀 愀渀礀 戀漀琀琀氀攀 漀昀 眀椀渀攀 戀攀琀眀攀攀渀 ㌀瀀洀ⴀ㘀瀀洀 愀渀搀 最攀琀 琀栀攀 戀漀琀琀漀洀 ⠀琀栀攀 昀甀渀 栀愀氀昀⤀ 昀漀爀 䘀刀䔀䔀⸀
䴀伀一䐀䄀夀 ⴀ 䘀刀䤀䐀䄀夀 ㌀瀀洀 ⴀ㘀瀀洀 䘀 刀 䔀 䔀
“My go-to knife is the Tojiro Flash 8.25-inch slicer. It’s short in length making it versatile for a variety of uses. I use it for the majority of my prep work, but it’s ideal for slicing and carving. The narrow blade allows for paper thin slicing on delicate fish like tuna,” says Fong.
add a splash of the pickled string bean liquid as well as rice vinegar; add to the sliced string beans.
⼀㈀ 瀀爀椀挀攀 戀漀琀琀氀攀猀 漀昀 眀椀渀攀 ␀㔀 戀漀琀琀氀攀猀 漀昀 戀攀攀爀 ␀㔀 栀椀最栀戀愀氀氀猀
“I favour the Tojiro line of knives because they offer stainless, Japanese steel that’s easy to sharpen and repair.” 㔀㔀 Ⰰ 㠀 䄀瘀 攀 匀 圀Ⰰ 䌀 愀 氀 最 愀 爀 礀Ⰰ 䄀 䈀 吀 ㈀ 倀 䜀