Culture Insider: Chopsticks do's and don'ts
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Culture Insider: Chopsticks do's and don'ts
Chopsticks, or kuaizi in Chinese, are a pair of small equal-length tapered sticks, usually made of wood, used for eating Asian food. It is believed the first chopsticks were developed over 5,000 years ago in China. The earliest evidence of a pair of chopsticks made out of bronze was excavated from the Ruins of Yin near Anyang, Henan province, dating back to roughly 1,200 BC.
Chopsticks play an important role in Chinese food culture. Chinese chopsticks are usually 9 to 10 inches long and rectangular with a blunt end. They are round on the eating end which symbolizes heaven, and the other end is square which symbolizes earth. This is because maintaining an adequate food supply is the greatest concern between heaven and earth.
There is an old Chinese custom making chopsticks part of a girl's dowry, since the pronunciation of kuaizi is similar to the words for "quick" and "son".
Chopsticks are so frequently used in daily life they have become more than a kind of tableware and have fostered a set of etiquette and customs of their own.
A lesson in Chinese dining etiquette and the use of chopsticks in Chongqing municipality. [Photo provided to China Daily]
How to use chopsticks
1. Pick up the first chopstick with your middle finger and thumb. Stiffen your hand for a firm grip. Have the broad end of the chopstick lay on the part where your thumb and index finger connect. Rest the narrow end on the tip of your ring finger, and hold it in place with the tip of your middle finger. (Hint: try holding it the way you hold a pen to write. It might rest on your ring finger or your middle finger, held in place by your index finger. Hold the first chopstick behind your thumb, and then lift your index finger so it can hold the second chopstick.)
2. Grip the second chopstick with your index finger. Place your thumb over the second chopstick. Adjust your grip whatever position is most comfortable for you. Make sure the narrow tips of the chopsticks are even with each other to help prevent them from crossing or being unable to "pinch" the food.
3. Hold it steady. This chopstick should not move when you attempt to pick up food. Alternatively, hold the first chopstick steady and move the second by moving the tip of your index finger up and down while the thumb remains relatively steady, acting like a pivot point. The top chopstick should remain pressed to the index finger from the tip through the first joint. The movement should come from flexing the joint closest to the knuckle. Straightening your index finger opens the chopsticks and bending it closes them, with perhaps a slight flexing of the thumb to keep the chopsticks lined up with each other. (Note: this method is different from the photos on how the top chopstick is held. The movement comes from the top chopstick, not the bottom one, so the top chopstick is held so that it can be moved easily. Use the style that is most comfortable for you.)
4. Practice opening and closing the chopsticks. Make sure the broad ends of the chopsticks do not make an "X", as this will make it difficult to pick up food.
5. Pick up food at a good angle (try roughly 45 degrees from the plate), and gently lift up. If it feels unstable, put it down and try again.
Photo/IC]
Etiquette in using chopsticks
It is important to note chopsticks are used in many different parts of the world, in many different cultures. While the principles of chopstick etiquette are similar in many of these places, the finer points may differ from region to region, and there is no single standard for the use of chopsticks. Generally, chopsticks are not used to make noise, to draw attention, or to gesticulate.
1. Playing with chopsticks is considered bad manners and vulgar, just as playing with cutlery in a Western environment would be considered crass.
2. Chopsticks are not used to move bowls or plates.
3. Chopsticks are not used to toy with one's food or with dishes for sharing.
4. Chopsticks are not used to pierce food, save rare instances. Exceptions include tearing larger items apart such as vegetables and kimchi. In informal use, small, difficult-to-pick-up items such as cherry tomatoes or fish balls may be stabbed, but this use is frowned upon by traditionalists.
5. Chopsticks should not be left standing vertically in a bowl of rice or other food. Any stick-like object pointing upward resembles the incense sticks that some Asians use as offerings to deceased family members; certain funeral rites designate offerings of food to the dead using standing chopsticks.
6. It is poor etiquette to tap chopsticks on the edge of one's bowl, as beggars are believed to make this noise to attract attention.
7. Serving chopsticks (or "community-use chopsticks") are used to move food from a serving dish to one's bowl for hygienic purposes, rather than eating directly from serving dishes. These chopsticks are to be returned to the dishes after one has served him- or herself, and are often a different color from individuals' chopsticks.
8. Chopsticks should not be chewed on, or linger in one's mouth for too long.
The fashionable designed chopsticks [Photo provided to China Daily]
Chopsticks in modern times
Today, chopsticks serve many functions besides as tableware. For example, you can buy a pair of exquisite chopsticks as a gift for your friends and relatives. In Chinese, 'chopsticks' reads 'kuaizi', which means to have sons soon, so a newly-married couple will be very happy to accept chopsticks as their wedding gift. Skillful craftsmen paint beautiful scenery on chopsticks to make them like fine artwork. Many people love to collect these elegant utensils.
It has been said that using chopsticks improves one's memory, increases finger dexterity and can be useful in learning and improving skills such as Chinese character printing and brush painting. Many Asian superstitions revolve around chopsticks as well. For example, if you find an uneven pair of chopsticks at your table setting, it is believed you will miss the next train, boat or plane you are trying to catch. Also, dropping your chopsticks is an omen of bad luck.
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I have to admit that even after more than 12 years in China, I still am still not that competent in using chopsticks, but thankfully I do manage to do so in an amateurish (and sometimes embarrassing) way. One advantage with using chopsticks is that one does not put too much food in one's mouth at a time.
There is a difference with Japanese chopsticks, which come to a more definite point. The chopsticks shown in the main photo are not in traditional shape, in that the blunt ends are round, rather than square. The ones we have at home have square blunt ends.
I can pick up a piece of rice with chopsticks. That's how good I am at them. Of course, I eat a ton of sushi. Love me my sushi.
Well, although I'm not that great at using chopsticks, I'm competent enough to pick up a grain of rice with them.
I'm so good with chopsticks that I have my soup with them.
The Korean chopstick is different than any other asian chopstick. They are made of stainless steel or another metal. They can be a bit difficult to use the first time even for an experienced chopstick user. They tend to be slippery and require a bit of practice to become good with them.
It's quite embarrassing for the new user of Korean chopsticks when they slip out of their hand and impale themselves in your sticky rice or kimchi.
If you have the opportunity to spend some time in Seoul you'll find a outstanding food scene. There are a number of outstanding Italian resturants in Seoul. It really is an international dining scene there.
Itaewon area is where I spent most of my time eating and shopping when I went to Seoul from Uijeongbu (Camp Stanley) .
Oh yeah, Itaewon is a great place. You find just about anything there and it's always fun to bargin with the shops.
Interesting fact, the leather that was sold there, coats/jackets comes from the U.S. We would ship hundreds of containers of hides to Korea. It's a big export out of the U.S.
I used to love bargaining with the shops. Sure there were a few things I overpaid for but there were many things I got at a great deal.
I didn't know that about the leather.
I have heard this saying:
The Chinese used to eat with knives and forks but then they became civilized and started using chopsticks.
I googled to see the origin, but I couldn't find it.
Probably Confucius, he was pretty good with saying you know.
Confuciius may well have said it. Check out this history of eating utensils:
Interesting and funny as well...That damn Spork, no wonder I could never find one...
Until now I thought a spork was a utensil for eating non-kosher foods.
Probably Confucius, he was pretty good with saying you know.
I think you're right.
(With famous sayings, if it wasn't Shakespeare or Churchill-- it was probably Confucius!)
Me = chopsticks = fail
Me = chopsticks = fail
Its "Carnegie Hall".
I used to be that way but after a date at a fancy Chinese restaurant where I was the only person using a fork and spoon I was determined to learn how. Buy a cheap set of chopsticks or get some from a Chinese takeout and practice at home. There are videos on YouTube about how to use them.
I am now reasonably proficient with chopsticks and can pick up rice or bits of ginger and garlic.
I think the protocol these days is not only to be able to use chopsticks, but to focus your attention on your cell phone throughout the meal.
I put my cell phone on the shelf before dinner. Anyone who would use the restaurant phone at the table is not proper etiquette unless they are on-call. It might be more acceptable at weekday lunch than it is at dinner.
I now have a small collection of chopsticks.
I think the protocol these days is not only to be able to use chopsticks, but to focus your attention on your cell phone throughout the meal.
That's certainly true in the U.S. But is it also true in China?
Hopefully not . . .
Unfortunately MORE so. At our 2nd wedding banquet a decade ago (the first one was in my wife's home town and the second in the city in which I was living) almost everyone at the table (other than my wife and myself) was on their phones during the meal.
In Japan, you can reverse the chopsticks (hashi) to share food.
An Acupuncturist I used to know once told me that using Chopsticks stimulates acupuncture points in the hand (in a beneficial way).
Also, it's generally considered poor form to use chopsticks to knit a scarf while waiting for your order.
LOL
Lol or to pretend to be a walrus
Also, it's generally considered poor form to use chopsticks to knit a scarf while waiting for your order.
Correct.
But its not nearly as bad as trying to eat your meal using knitting needles!
(Especially bad with the soup course).
I'll take a knife, spoon and fork anyday. I've already "Worked" for my food, so I sure don't want to "Work" to eat it ! (Smiley Face)
Never understood using two thin sticks to eat. Now....If I wanted to poke someone's eye out in combat, that's a different story.
LOL. I think there are billions of people in the world who have no difficulty eating with and most likely prefer chopsticks. But of course if one is brought up from scratch using a fork and knife as both you and I were, we would naturally be more comfortable using them instead of chopsticks.
There are almost always exceptions to everything.
A hell of a lot healthier than wolfing down one's meal.
I dunno.
I can think of a few things that are different-- there are no exceptions to them!
It sounds like you cannot use chopsticks and have never thought to learn how.
How much harder is it to use chopsticks than it is to have to use a knife at the table to cut your food before you eat it?
I don't have a NEED to use sticks to eat.
Technology is wonderful at times. (Snicker Face)
"Sporks" are great !
LOL
I wasn't aware that Oneida and Mikasa offered sporks as part of their flatware sets.
Do you feel offended by asked to learn to use the utensils of another culture?
Offended..….No !
Finding I have a need to learn …….. No AGAIN ! (rolling eyes face)
Growing up, our son and daughter loved chopsticks.
When your children are happy, so too are you.
E.
This kid is the new Chopstick champion....It's you tube Buzz, I know that you can't view it but it's a video of a asian baby eating with chopsticks and kid, at it's age, is a champion chopstick user.
Plenty of people use chopsticks to shovel food into their mouths while holding the bowl close to their mouths, which seems rude in our culture. And then the slurping thing ...
Yes, they are both quite acceptable here. In fact, often a spoon is not used to drink soup - just lift the bowl to your lips and drink it like water from a glass.