How do you eat with chopsticks?

[sixdogs]

I eat with chopsticks practically every day. Chopsticks are used to pick food from the plate, to shovel/scoop rice, like a pair of scissors to shear soft food to smaller pieces, in short: anything you do with your forks.

BTW, Asian etiquette says do not use your chopsticks to get food from the serving plate, use the serving utensils. However, if the serving utensils are not available, turn the chopsticks around and use the blunt ends as the community ends to get your food. Do not put the community ends in your mouth, doing so will get you booted off my table.

Very good etiquette advice. Thank you. Whole thread is great and serious advice from a good mix of experience.

 

[houstonscott]

There are three ways to hold them, it's regional. Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.

 

[sixdogs]

There are three ways to hold them, it's regional. Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.

Uh, oh. What's the difference and which ways ticks off the others?

We learned to like top slice hot dog buns while in New England but around here they have no clue. Around here they dip everything barbequed in a "dipping sauce" but in New England "sauce" is what the locals drink to make a few of the women look better.

 

[houstonscott]

Uh, oh. What's the difference and which ways ticks off the others? We learned to like top slice hot dog buns while in New England but around here they have no clue. Around here they dip everything barbequed in a "dipping sauce" but in New England "sauce" is what the locals drink to make a few of the women look better.

Check out this video on YouTube: How to use Korean chopstick - YouTube Check out this video on YouTube: how to use chopsticks / japan - YouTube Japan. Check out this video on YouTube: Learn how to REALLY use chopsticks from a Chinese ... - YouTube China. I use Japanese method. The Chinese scissors method is hard, never mastered it....

 

[IslandTractor]

Check out this video on YouTube: How to use Korean chopstick - YouTube Check out this video on YouTube: how to use chopsticks / japan - YouTube Japan. Check out this video on YouTube: Learn how to REALLY use chopsticks from a Chinese ... - YouTube China. I use Japanese method. The Chinese scissors method is hard, never mastered it....

I learned and use the easy basic Chinese method, not the scissors method which does seem hard. I'd never seen the Korean way (which makes sense though). I've certainly never seen anyone in Japan pull out a little plastic training dongle thingie before using chopsticks. Chopstick training wheels??? Only the gadget happy Japanese could ever have come up with that.:laughing:

 

[IslandTractor]

Uh, oh. What's the difference and which ways ticks off the others?

We learned to like top slice hot dog buns while in New England but around here they have no clue. Around here they dip everything barbequed in a "dipping sauce" but in New England "sauce" is what the locals drink to make a few of the women look better.

A) Top sliced hot dog buns just make sense. Much easier to contain the mustard and onions etc. Given that New England is where it all started I'm going to argue for top sliced as the true American way. (Though clearly hot dogs didn't arrive until the German immigration to the midwest in the 1800s so I may be on thin ice).

B) I don't see what the confusion is with dipping sauce and "beer goggle" sauce. The weiner is going to get wet either way.:thumbsup:

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I learned and use the easy basic Chinese method, not the scissors method which does seem hard. I'd never seen the Korean way (which makes sense though). I've certainly never seen anyone in Japan pull out a little plastic training dongle thingie before using chopsticks. Chopstick training wheels??? Only the gadget happy Japanese could ever have come up with that.:laughing:

They probably did that after watching some of us poor Americans trying to eat and flinging food everywhere but into our mouths. I knew guys that never did get the hang of chopsticks and would carry around a knife and fork when we went out to eat (only marginally less embarrassing than watching them eat with chopsticks).

 

[IslandTractor]

They probably did that after watching some of us poor Americans trying to eat and flinging food everywhere but into our mouths. I knew guys that never did get the hang of chopsticks and would carry around a knife and fork when we went out to eat (only marginally less embarrassing than watching them eat with chopsticks).

I suspect you are correct. Probably a post WWII invention to help GIs learn to use chopsticks.

Many restaurants today will help kids learn by creating a hinge in a pair of chopsticks using a wad of paper between the two sticks and a rubber band to hold it together. My youngest daughter loved using those.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

I've lived in China. I was determined to learn how, and I did. A few years later, on a trip to India, I had lunch with a mixed group which included some native Chinese who were also there on a business trip. They were wide-eyed at my use of chopsticks, and complimented me on my skill. I can eat rice with chopsticks. Non-sticky rice. So.... I guess I know how to use them.

That said, I had really struggled stateside for years trying to learn to use the things, and I wasn't getting any better in China. Frustrating!

What finally turned the tables for me, or maybe I could say, what turned the key in the lock for me, was sitting around a large restaurant table with maybe a dozen native Chinese, and realizing that no two of them did it the same. Every single person there used chopsticks effectively and differently. Some held at the back some in the middle, some near the front. Finger position was different. It was all different!

After that, I relaxed and just did what felt right to me. I stopped trying to wrap my brain around "THE One True Pure and Correct Method".

There ain't one!

So, I just used them. I found what was comfortable and used them. It clicked for me very quickly then.

By the way, I have seen shoveling, but it's not the norm in my experience, and it's also dependent on the type of food. I've also seen spearing, for round balls of... something doughy.

 

[Paddy]

I learned out need, traveling to China often. It takes time. If you don't have the real need, I'm not sure if it's worth the effort : )
The key is the food must be prepared for chop stick use. All food bits are mostly cut up to bit size pc. Certain foods would appear difficult, like peanuts but are actually quite easy. Triangle cut slippery food is the worst. And yes, with friends, Chinese push rice from a bowl raised to their mouth.

 

[IslandTractor]

Here you go: How To Eat Rice With Chopstick The Right Way - YouTube

 

[KennyG]

I lived in Korea for many years. The Korean way is good. Notice the stainless chopsticks in the video, which Koreans use. Chopsticks may be wood, plastic or stainless steel. The stainless ones are trickiest to use. We would show off by picking ice out of drinks with the stainless chopsticks.

 

[IslandTractor]

I lived in Korea for many years. The Korean way is good. Notice the stainless chopsticks in the video, which Koreans use. Chopsticks may be wood, plastic or stainless steel. The stainless ones are trickiest to use. We would show off by picking ice out of drinks with the stainless chopsticks.

I don't like metal or plastic chopsticks. I need the extra friction that wooden ones have at the tip to hold on to the food. I don't doubt that more expert users find the plastic or stainless ones just as easy and they certainly are more sanitary.

 

[TemporaryKubotaOwnerMark]

And yes, with friends, Chinese push rice from a bowl raised to their mouth.

Ah, if that's what was meant by "shoveling", yes, all the time. The Asian idea of table manners is.... not ours. There don't seem to be many rules.

 

[sixdogs]

OK, today was the day and we got Thai takeout from a wonderful place. We mix and match and share so we got Szechuan chicken and garlic, spicy chicken and broccoli, chicken lo mein and an order of fried rice. Two sets of chopsticks. Three fortune cookies. No MSG.

After reading all the posts and watching the tutorials here, I felt I was ready and hit the ground running. I did a perfect job and managed to grip everything just fine. I had trouble with the rice so fell back to a fork and that was OK. I even easily picked up a pea with chopsticks.

So, the mystery is no more and I feel good about it. The problem, I think, is that pilgrims either cross the chopsticks or insert a finger in between them. Don't do that because it won't work. I just relaxed, kept my fingers loose and didn't try to cross them. It's easy that way and for a first try I'll give myself an "A". This thread made the difference.

Give it a serious try and I think it will work as well for you as it did for me. Now, thanks to TBN participants, I can eat most things with chopsticks and plan to keep doing that for Chinese/Thai/etc. Give it a try and surprise the family with takeout --or just go out.



Oh, my fortune was "Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire".

 

[IslandTractor]

OK, today was the day and we got Thai takeout from a wonderful place. We mix and match and share so we got Szechuan chicken and garlic, spicy chicken and broccoli, chicken lo mein and an order of fried rice. Two sets of chopsticks. Three fortune cookies. No MSG.

After reading all the posts and watching the tutorials here, I felt I was ready and hit the ground running. I did a perfect job and managed to grip everything just fine. I had trouble with the rice so fell back to a fork and that was OK. I even easily picked up a pea with chopsticks.

So, the mystery is no more and I feel good about it. The problem, I think, is that pilgrims either cross the chopsticks or insert a finger in between them. Don't do that because it won't work. I just relaxed, kept my fingers loose and didn't try to cross them. It's easy that way and for a first try I'll give myself an "A". This thread made the difference.

Give it a serious try and I think it will work as well for you as it did for me. Now, thanks to TBN participants, I can eat most things with chopsticks and plan to keep doing that for Chinese/Thai/etc. Give it a try.



Oh, my fortune was "Education is not filling a bucket but lighting a fire".

Great job! It's like riding a bicycle. Once you know how it's quite natural. And, even the Chinese don't really try to pick up rice with chopsticks, they use the pair as a shovel and bring the bowl of rice up to their mouths.

Funny that a Thai restaurant would serve only Chinese food though.

 

[dickfoster]

This is on my bucket list and something I've wanted to try for years. Some say you just scoop food out like a shovel but I've seen people pick food up with them. Anyone know?

You do both, pick and scoop. The secret to getting the hang of it is to be hungry enough and have no other options and you'll learn pretty quick. Well you usually have that funky porcelain spoon too but that's only good for soup.
I've picked up up as many as four bar nuts laid sideways and could do three on a regular basis. That ability has bought me a lot of beer in Asia. You try eating spaghetti with two sticks for a while and see how fast you learn.

 

[sixdogs]

Great job! It's like riding a bicycle. Once you know how it's quite natural. And, even the Chinese don't really try to pick up rice with chopsticks, they use the pair as a shovel and bring the bowl of rice up to their mouths.

Funny that a Thai restaurant would serve only Chinese food though.

No confusion; it's mostly all Thai stuff and full of Thai people. It's mostly a Thai menu but they have other stuff on the menu for people like me.

 

[sixdogs]

You do both, pick and scoop. The secret to getting the hang of it is to be hungry enough and have no other options and you'll learn pretty quick. Well you usually have that funky porcelain spoon too but that's only good for soup.
I've picked up up as many as four bar nuts laid sideways and could do three on a regular basis. That ability has bought me a lot of beer in Asia. You try eating spaghetti with two sticks for a while and see how fast you learn.

I'll bet I could pick up four peas in a row right now. You guys are good teachers.

 

[PJSprog]

We love Thai food, and have a favorite restaurant about 15 miles from home. The original owner died several years ago, but her husband has kept it open, and preserved her recipes.

We've both been eating with chopsticks since we were young, and have taught both of her sons as well (not to mention many of their girlfriends over the years).