Kuo Hsing Chung, the one handed knife king, owns two popular Thai food restaurants in Taipei that serve dishes he meticulously prepared together with a team of cooks. Kuo does not have a left hand, a condition that has existed since birth, which makes one wonder how he manages to stir-fry his dishes.
Kuo is just one of many individuals in Taiwan who has had to overcome a physical disability, but his acquired profession is one that does not lend itself easily to working with only one hand, as he has discovered during his 16-year career.
Some of the simplest kitchen tasks, such as cutting vegetables or stir-frying dishes in a wok, nearly drove Kuo away from the profession more than once, but he persevered through the challenges. Now, he treats his missing hand as nothing more than an inconvenience.
Originally from the Thai-Burmese border town of Mae Salong, Kuo faltered and cried numerous times in his pursuit of success after coming to Taiwan with his family at the age of 12.
In retrospect, Kuo says he isolated himself from other people when he first came to Taipei.
A turning point came when he turned 16. His uncle had opened a Thai restaurant and recruited him as an apprentice.
After working in the kitchen for half a year, Kuo still could not hold a knife properly, and he was ready to give up.
However, thanks to the repeated encouragement of his father and uncle, and the shock of seeing others get a promotion ahead of him, Kuo finally saw the light.
He began to observe how cooks cut different foods. During breaks, he would practice cutting discarded carrots and cabbages, using his left elbow to keep foods in place as he was cutting them. It was not an easy manoeuvre for him, and he cut himself often.
After several months, he gradually acquired top cutting skills, slicing cabbage, for instance, in consistent sizes. Fellow cooks began calling him the “one-handed knife king.”
Then came the equally difficult challenge of stir-frying or sautéing food.
He remembers that he threw away the first sautéed dish he prepared after four months of practice because other workers at his uncle’s restaurant yelled that the dish had a burnt smell.
His lack of progress left him downcast and in despair. Worse still, because he could only use one hand to stir-fry foods, he suffered severe back ligament injuries.
After three years of diligent and arduous study, Kuo finally emerged as a skilled chef of Thai cuisine who can cut and sauté a wide variety of fine Thai dishes.
In all, it took him eight years to climb to the post of chief chef at his uncle’s restaurant at the age of 24.
To perfect his culinary art and skill, Kuo has travelled to Thailand many times to study with noted Thai chefs. He said he was lucky to have such an opportunity.
With firm determination and plenty of confidence, Kuo decided to set up his own restaurant at the age of 28.
You, too, can be a master chef in your own right. Luckily, you do not need years of practice to do what Kuo can do. DoAbility has a wide array of knives for one-handed people, which you can use to perfect your culinary skills.
Cheryl Weisz | 
03 29th, 2011| 
Rollators are available almost anywhere you go. Those who have mobility problems and disabilities with walking now have more options and wider ranges to choose from. One of the best brands is the Volaris Rollator, which is available at DoAbility UK.
