Dicing makes small, roughly even onion pieces. Similar sizes soften at a similar rate; precision matters less than avoiding a mixture of large chunks and tiny fragments.
What you need
- An onion, a sharp kitchen knife and a stable chopping board.
Step by step
Make a flat surface
Trim the stalk end and peel away the papery skin and any tough outer layer. Leave the root end attached. Cut the onion in half through the root and place one half flat side down on a stable board.
Image by JustRecipesChoose a coarse or fine dice
For larger pieces, skip the horizontal cuts and go straight to the downward cuts. For a finer dice, hold the onion from above with your fingers clear of the blade’s path. Keep the knife parallel to the board and make one or more horizontal cuts from the stalk side towards the root, stopping short of the root. Use a gentle slicing motion, never force the knife, and leave the root section intact to hold the layers together.
Image by JustRecipesCut towards the root end
Curl the fingertips of your supporting hand away from the blade. Make parallel downward cuts from the stalk side towards the root, stopping before the root end. Keep the onion flat on the board. Closer cuts produce smaller pieces.
Cut across the strips
Turn the onion half so you can cut across the first cuts. Move your supporting hand back as you work towards the root. Stop while there is still enough onion to hold securely; set the root remnant aside.
Check the size
Separate the pieces and cut any unusually large ones again. Repeat with the other half. For smaller pieces, space both the downward cuts and the final crosswise cuts more closely.
Image by JustRecipes
If the onion slips or falls apart
Dry the board and onion surface. Work with the cut face down, and keep more of the root end intact on the next half. Slow down when the remaining piece becomes too small to grip safely.
