Korean Knife Cuts: Julienne, Diagonal, Cubes and More

Julienne (chae-sseolgi, 채썰기)

Long, thin matchsticks, about 2–3 mm thick and 5–6 cm long. This is the most common cut in Korean cooking: carrots, cucumber and zucchini for bibimbap and japchae, radish for musaengchae (radish salad) and kimchi filling, and onion, peppers and mushrooms for stir-fries.

1. Cut the vegetable into 5–6 cm lengths.
2. Slice each length lengthwise into thin, even slabs, about 2–3 mm thick.
3. Stack a few slabs, overlapping them like fallen dominoes, and cut lengthwise into thin strips.

Even thickness matters more than speed. Strips of the same size cook at the same rate. In our recipes this cut is written as "julienned", "cut into thin strips" or "cut into matchsticks".

Diagonal slices (eoseut-sseolgi, 어슷썰기)

Long, oval slices made by holding the knife at an angle of about 45° to the vegetable. This is the standard cut for green onion, chili peppers, cucumber and Korean zucchini going into soups, stews and stir-fries. Diagonal slices look generous, have more surface for absorbing broth, and cook a little faster than straight rounds of the same thickness.

Recipes call this "sliced diagonally" or "sliced on the bias". For stews, slice green onion and chili about 5 mm thick. As a garnish, they can be thinner.

Cubes (kkakdduk-sseolgi, 깍둑썰기)

Dice-shaped cubes, usually 1.5–2 cm, for potatoes and carrots in braises, radish for kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and tofu for stews. Cubes hold their shape during long cooking and give each spoonful an even mix of ingredients.

1. Square off the vegetable by trimming the rounded sides, so it sits flat on the board.
2. Cut it into slabs as thick as you want the cubes.
3. Cut each slab into sticks of the same width, then cut across into cubes.

For braises (jorim, jjim), trim the sharp edges of potato and radish cubes slightly. Rounded edges do not break off and cloud the sauce.

Thin squares, rounds and half-moons (nabak-sseolgi, 나박썰기)

Thin, flat squares about 2–3 cm across and 3–5 mm thick, used mainly for radish in clear soups such as beef radish soup and in nabak-kimchi (water kimchi). Flat pieces cook quickly and release their sweetness into the broth.

Related cuts: rounds (tong-sseolgi) for zucchini and carrots, and half-moons (bandal-sseolgi) for zucchini in doenjang jjigae. Cut the vegetable lengthwise first, then slice across. Recipes write these as "sliced into rounds", "cut into half-moons" or "cut into thin bite-sized squares".

Green onion rounds and mince (song-song-sseolgi and dajigi, 송송썰기·다지기)

Song-song-sseolgi means slicing green onion or chili straight across into very thin rounds, 1–2 mm thick. Fine rounds are used in seasoning sauces, egg rolls and steamed eggs, and as a garnish on soups.

Dajigi means mincing very finely, as for garlic, ginger, green onion and onion in marinades, dumpling fillings and sauces. Garlic is minced so often in Korean cooking that many households mince a whole batch at once and freeze it flat in a bag, breaking off a piece as needed. Recipes write this as "minced" or "finely chopped".