How to: Slice and Dice Onion

This is the first of several posts on specific techniques you will encounter while cooking.

For the time being, there are no photos, because I did not think to take some when I did this for the Capsicum Chicken.

PREPARATION

1) Cut off both ends of the onion to remove the stem and root connections.

2) Set the onion on end on one of the flats you just cut, then cut it in half. It is much easier to peel it when it's been cut.

3) Peel off the skin and the outer layer; discard them.

Now here's where the techniques diverge slightly.

TO SLICE THE ONION:

1) Put the onion down on the big side you just cut.

2) Make very thin slices, working horizontally across the long edge you made.

3) Break apart the nested layers. Ta da! Perfect slices.

TO DICE THE ONION:

1) Put the onion on the side you just cut

2) Cut the onion almost to the edge vertically, as if you were cutting a cake into layers.

3) Turn it upwards so that the cuts you just made are horizontal and on top. Cut again almost to the edge cross to the former cuts.

4) Set the onion on its large face and cut as if slicing. The pieces should form neat little near-cubes.

How To: Peel a Tomato

When you first think about it, peeling a tomato seems peculiarly impossible. Then come the questions: why would you peel a tomato, anyway? What remains after you do it? First, the technique, then some answers.

Peeling a tomato is not nearly as difficult as it sounds if you use this little trick. It is possible to do it using only a very sharp knife, but this way is much easier:

1) Put the tomato in a pot of boiling water for 5-15 seconds. Don't do it too much longer, as the longer it boils, the less flavorful it gets.

When you take it out and let it cool, it should be dead simple to peel off the skin.

Now, back to your questions:

Why would you peel a tomato?

The skin and seeds of a tomato contain most of the bitterness. Further, when you peel the tomato, you remove a lot of its structural integrity, allowing it to easily liquefy.

What remains after you peel it?

Basically a rough, squishy version of the tomato, not entirely dissimilar to the inside of a pear.

So there you have it, a little trick that you can use whenever a recipe calls for a peeled tomato that makes the process significantly easier.