【Reading】かんのんびらき

【English Name】Butterfly fillet

Kannon-biraki is a cutting technique in which a knife is inserted into the center of a thick ingredient and it is opened out to the left and right to make it thin and uniform. The name derives from the fact that it resembles the structure of the doors of a zushi (miniature shrine) housing a statue of the Kannon Bodhisattva, which open from the center to both sides.

In sushi preparation, this technique is used in the preliminary processing of cutting into the belly side of shrimp to open them out flat, and when making thick toppings uniform. It is widely used in Japanese cuisine in general, for the purpose of opening out ingredients that are too thick as they are—such as chicken or fish fillets—to make the cooking through and the absorption of flavor uniform.

As an architectural term, 'kannon-biraki' refers to double doors, and French windows (French doors) are one type of this. The culinary usage is a metaphorical expression likening the motion of opening an ingredient out to the left and right with a knife to the way the doors open symmetrically.