chili-pepperscutting
If I'm chopping fresh chillis to use as an ingredient, does how fine I chop them affect the heat of the dish in any way?
Logically, smaller pieces would expose a greater surface area, however, I have experienced greater heat from a dish when using larger pieces.
I think what you want to do is this, cribbed from this book, which has an excellent step by step guide with pictures:
Remove the wings. Stand the chicken on its neck, legs point to the ceiling and breasts pointing away from you. slide the cleaver between the body and wing, cutting through the joint close to the body. You should slide the knife between the joint cutting only the tendons, not the bone.
Remove the legs. lie the chicken on its back one leg near you, one leg away from you. slide the knife between the joint near the body, again cutting only tendon not bone and remove the leg.
Separate the thigh from the drumstick, again go for the joint. If you want the legs to be in smaller pieces then you can cut each thigh and drumstick in two with a firm action. You have 2 choices for technique
Start with the cleaver tip furthest from you on the board, place the thigh under the blade and push down firmly and quickly. you should cut through the bone.
Chop through the bone by lifting the cleaver in the air and bringing down hard and fast. This has better chance of a cleaner cut through the bone, but you need to be a better aim.
Split the carcass in half. Stand in the same position as 1. and with the blade parallel to to your body cut down through the carcass so you have the back and the breast in separate pieces
Remove the breast from the bone by sliding the knife (might want to use a smaller knife here) between the meat and the bone.
Remove the backbone out of the back, kitchen scissors are easiest. you can skip this if the back doesn't have much meat.
Cut the back pieces into nice size pieces across the length.
Slice the breast pieces crosswise into nice size pieces
Reassemble the chicken on the plate with the breast meat on top of the back pieces
this picture doesn't really do it justice, but until I can find a better one...
this video shows it being done with a bit more force and not for presentation, but might be more what you are after
The Wikipedia article on Capsicum reads, citing a FAQ on a page of the ollege of Agriculture and Home Economics of the New Mexico State University:
Capsaicin is present in large quantities in the placental tissue (which holds the seeds), the internal membranes and, to a lesser extent, the other fleshy parts of the fruits of plants in the genus Capsicum. Contrary to popular belief, the seeds themselves do not produce any capsaicin, although the highest concentration of capsaicin can be found in the white pith around the seeds.
Cisneros-Pineda et al. measured via gas chromatography the content of capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin in the pericarp, placenta, and seeds of seven cultivars of chili peppers and the results confirm this:
For dihydrocapsaicin, the difference is not so large, but the placenta still has a higher concentration.
In terms of concentration considering fresh mass the difference won't be as dramatic because while the seeds lose around half their mass by drying, the placenta will lose 90%.
Best Answer
It really does depend how you're cooking them.
The small pieces give an even heat that permeates the dish, but the big pieces give a burst of heat when you encounter them. Even using both wouldn't be unreasonable.
The difference will be reduced in long slow cooking, especially with some fat in the sauce, as the capsaicin (i.e. the heat) will have more chance of dissolving and spreading into the rest of the food.