The Miyabi Kaizen 5000 DP, 34183-163 is my new favorite dinner date. Even these obsequious i.d. numbers are sexy to me now. While this 6” chef’s knife’s sliding, gliding micro carbonate steel blade and sleek handle has been sitting quietly in its encased bed for months waiting for the chef de la maison to withdraw it from its foamy sheath, I thought it verboten for me, merely the sous, to take advantage of its thrills.

You probably  know the benefits of Japanese knives, or possibly their Samurai weapon qualities, and therefore you can appreciate their spectacular reputation. You probably know the delicacy with which you must manage them, and certainly, clean them. Until now, I did not, mostly because I was not interested in the knife as a medium, or a tool, and thus something to enhance the artform that cooking can be.

In our household, I am not the great chef, nor even a good cook, but I am a patient slicer, dicer and an even julienner; the vegetable is my game. The veggie provides the luminous color and a healthy, and on most any day delicious roughage filler in our diet. That is why I am touting the Miyabi 34183. Oh sure, there’s a whole line of them out there, Miyabi’s, and Shuns, but lest I repeat myself, the crying onion, the clever shallot, the Hermes orange carrot, the tumescent cucumber and even the crowning ruby cabbage has never responded to a knife like this, at least not in my humble kitchen.

Naturally, during this time of Covid, quarantine and curfews, when we can’t go out to satisfy our discriminating hungers, those of us who appreciate good and fresh food must step up to the chopping block. For this reason, and because the chef de la maison has taken an interest in more plebian affairs, like the future of world order, I have been indirectly nudged to recognize the Miyabi 34183 pressing against the slotted knife holder (still in its box!) deep inside the kitchen drawer. Perhaps it was because I re-watched Julie and Julia on Thanksgiving, and secretly wondered if I could stuff a duck. In truth, I can’t recall.  Oh well, the point is, I have been lured to the blank canvas that is the cutting board, seduced by the subtle curve of the well-fitted composite handle, a stealth of a blade, and the familiar ease that feels like an old friend.

During these challenging times you might want to drive this Japanese knife into the heart of your mattress, or dig out the grit from under your fingernails, but do not. Instead, why not try,  a new “old” recipe, like the one I’ve listed below which comes from an old cookbook that belonged to my late in-laws who were deft cooks.  You’ll only need the one knife, the only one and true. (Feel free to replace the chicken fat with butter!).

 

(From Luchow’s German Cookbook)

Red Cabbage With Apples

Rot Kraut Mit Appeln

1 medium-size head red cabbage

2 apples

2 tablespoons chicken fat

1 medium-size onion, sliced

1 quart of water

1/2 cup light red vinegar (or a bit of red wine)

1/2 cup of sugar (I use brown sugar)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

2 cloves

1 bay leaf

Juice 1/2 lemon

Wash cabbage, drain; cut as for Cole Slaw

Wash and core apples;peel and cut in small pieces.

Heat chicken fat in large saucepan and saute onion and apples 3 0r 4 minutes. Add water, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, cloves, bay leaf, and lemon juice. Stir;bring to boil. Add cabbage. Cover and let simmer 45 minutes or until tender. Just before serving, (you can) sprinkle flour on top to absorb liquid. Serves 4