Thai carving began about 700 years ago in Thailand as a way to enhance the Loi Kratong celebration. Thai carvers use tools to make a variety of fruit and vegetable designs including flowers, leaves, butterflies and mushrooms. These carvings make an interesting addition to platters of fruit, main dishes like Bangkok beef and pad Thai, or desserts. As you begin, you do not need to purchase new knives since you can use many common kitchen knives for basic carving.
Carving Knives
Thai carvers use a knife that has a very thin, pointed blade for making precision cuts into fruits. This knife, called a "bird’s beak knife," typically has a 2-inch blade. The bird's beak knife is especially useful when cutting melons and for creating fine details. Carvers sometimes use a utility knife instead of the bird’s beak knife.
The middle knife has a 3-inch blade and it is a bit rounded. This knife, commonly called a seeding knife, is useful for cutting seeds and pits out of fruits. Thai carvers use it for cutting detailed patterns into fruits.
A zigzag bladed slicer, also called a wave knife, is used to cut fruits and vegetables with a zigzag edge for decorative purposes.
Carving scissors, also called kitchen boning scissors, are used for cutting and trimming fruits in patterns such as the chili flower. Instead of making a small v with a knife, Thai carvers use scissors to nip the pattern into the chili.
Cookie Cutters
Thai carvers sometimes use miniature cookie cutters, commonly in the shapes of leaves or hearts, to cut slices of fruit into decorative shapes. Animal shapes such as elephants, rabbits and birds are also used. Elephants are important in Thai culture because they are Thailand's national animal and are associated with the navy and high honors from the King. Rabbits are symbolic of peace, and birds are very popular in Thai stories and legends.
Thai carvers also use cookie cutters to cut shapes out of a bowl or sheet of fruit to create a window effect.
Melon Scoop
Thai carvers use a melon scoop, also called a melon baller, to cut fruit, mainly melon, into balls. A carver will sometimes use a melon scoop just to remove the fruit, but they also use melon ballers to shape fruit for a decorative presentation. Carvers may cut a basket out of the white rind of a watermelon and fill it with the balled flesh of the melon.
Vegetable Peeler
Thai carvers make some designs with the flesh of fruits that they peeled, such as a watermelon bowl, where only the white rind of the watermelon is used. The peeler can also be used to make designs in the skin of the fruits and designs such as "spring onions."
Tags: Thai carvers, also called, beak knife, also used, bird’s beak
