How to make brunoise (small dice)
Make thicker julienne (about 1/8 in / 3 mm) and cross-cut into small uniform dice.
Brunoise is a small dice larger than fine brunoise. Use the same workflow (square, slice, stack, julienne, dice) but at a larger size.
The short version
- Same method as fine brunoise, just larger dimensions
What you need
- chef's knife
- cutting board
How to do it
- 1
Square off the vegetable to create flat sides.
Watch this step - 2
Cut into julienne about 1/8 in / 3 mm thick (matchsticks).
Maintain even thickness for even dice.
Watch this step - 3
Cross-cut the julienne into small dice (brunoise).
Watch this step
What goes wrong
Mixing thicknesses in the julienne
Standardize the matchstick width before dicing.
Why it works
Keeping the same sequence of cuts preserves uniformity; changing only thickness controls final dice size.
Learn next
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Cut chicken into uniform-size chunks so they cook at the same rate
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Use the edge of the cutting board to keep your knife parallel when slicing chicken horizontally
Move the chicken toward the edge of the board so you can keep the knife flat and parallel for an even horizontal cut.
Cut ingredients to similar sizes so they cook evenly
Keep pieces roughly the same size so they finish cooking at the same time.