A santoku is a Japanese all-purpose kitchen knife. Like a chef’s knife, the santoku is used for just about every cutting job in the kitchen. The name means “three virtues”. Depending on who you ask, the name refers either to the three types of foods it works well with—vegetables, poultry, and fish—or for the three types of cuts at which it excels—slicing, dicing, and chopping. Hollow-ground indentations on the blade help reduce friction so the blade glides through the food more easily.