Do you love Asian cuisine, but want to experience eating Asian cuisine the way it's meant to be eaten -- with chopsticks? Some people claim that eating with chopsticks makes Asian food taste better, and you want to experience it for yourself… without looking stupid. Other people make it look so easy, but when you try it, you'll end up asking for a fork. Now it's time to say goodbye to forks forever and eat successfully with chopsticks!
Step
Method 1 of 2: How to Move Chopsticks
Step 1. Grab the first chopstick with your middle finger and thumb
This is your anchor -- it shouldn't move. Make your hands stiff to form a firm grip. Make the wide end of the chopstick rest in the arch of your hand, where your thumb and index finger meet. Lay the narrow end between the base of your thumb and the side of your index finger. The chopsticks should appear to be barely moving. Just like how you hold a pen, but slightly lower.
Some people may choose to hold the chopsticks next to their ring finger, with the tip of their index finger holding it in place
Step 2. Grip the second chopstick with your index finger and thumb
These are chopsticks that move. Place your thumb over the side of the second chopstick, so that it rests on top of the first chopstick. Adjust your grip to a more comfortable position. Make sure the narrow ends of the chopsticks are parallel to each other to help prevent them from crossing or being unable to "clamp" the food.
To make them even, you can tap them on the table. Chopsticks that are not aligned will be very difficult to use
Step 3. Practice opening and closing chopsticks
Make sure the wide ends of the chopsticks don't form an "X" as this will make it difficult for you to pick up food. Is it only the upper chopsticks that move? Good!
If this helps, move your hands up and down from the chopsticks, but keep the same position, trying with different grip levels. Some people find it easier to move closer to the bottom of the chopsticks, others farther up
Step 4. Start taking food
Taking from a 45° angle is probably the easiest at the moment. When it is stable, remove the food. If it feels unstable, put it back and try again.
When you become proficient with one type of food, try different sizes and textures. When you start to feel really confident, practice with noodles
Method 2 of 2: Chopsticks etiquette
Step 1. Know the rules when sharing food
Often at the Asian dinner table (both at home and in a restaurant) means sharing a large plate of food. It is rude to enter food with chopsticks that have just entered your mouth. You have two options:
- Use a pair of public serving chopsticks that never touch your (or anyone else's) rice/food bowl
- Grab it with the other end (not for eating) of your chopstick. That is the wide end of the chopsticks, I hope you don't chew them!
Step 2. Know what to do with chopsticks when you're not eating
The chopstick rule doesn't stop once you've put food in your mouth, unfortunately. Every society has slightly different rules, but in general:
- Do not place your chopsticks perpendicular to your food. It was seen as a bad omen and reminiscent of incense at a funeral.
- Don't stick your food with the tip of your chopsticks. If all else fails, this may feel like a good alternative, but it looks impolite.
- Do not transfer food from one chopstick to another. It is also seen as part of funeral ceremonies and bad (or even unpleasant) table habits.
- Don't cross your chopsticks. When you are finished eating, place the chopsticks next to your dish on the left.
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Don't point at people with your chopsticks. Pointing is generally not allowed in Asian culture and so is chopsticks.
This page would be much longer if all the rules were listed. These rules are ground rules
Step 3. When eating rice, try to dig
If a bowl of rice is placed in front of you and what you have are two sticks of bamboo, you may feel like you are in a river without an oar. But it's perfectly acceptable (and slightly normal) to lift the bowl of rice close to your mouth and eat from there. You will not look stupid, you will look experienced!
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You might feel a bit like the Beast during dinner with Belle, but stay calm, here's how to do it. Don't shovel rice into your mouth like a caveman, but raise the bowl close to you to prevent grains of rice from falling and collecting in your dining area.
Japan has slightly stricter rules regarding this. If you're in China or Vietnam, for example, you might be able to shovel food
Tips
- While it may seem at first that it is easier to hold the chopsticks near the pointed end, holding the chopsticks farther back means that the chopsticks will be more parallel, which helps to scoop up food (such as rice) from the bottom. You will be able to take the food in larger chunks.
- Apply firm but gentle pressure to your food, just enough to keep the food from falling off the chopsticks. Too much pressure makes it more likely for your chopsticks to cross at their narrow ends unless your chopsticks are perfectly straight and can throw your food across the table.
- The difference between someone who looks uneducated and someone who looks refined is when you hold the chopsticks. Do not hold the chopsticks close to the lower end. The further your hands are from the food, the better. Do not stab the food, as this is considered rude and/or an insult to the chef or enterpreneur who prepares the food.
- Foods that aren't stiff and/or cut, such as sliced meat or cheese are good for practice. They are more forgiving than cubed food when you learn to keep the chopsticks level and how much pressure to apply.
- Start holding the chopsticks in the center or closer to the pointed end as you get used to the movement and keep the tip straight. As you become more comfortable and confident, try holding the chopsticks closer to the wide end.
- Take the chopsticks home to practice with him. Follow the steps above and grab a peanut, squid shell, or a piece of fish. Try having dinner with these foods.
- This is the correct way to hold chopsticks. But in the end if you can comfortably pick up food and bring it to your mouth, you're already effective at using chopsticks.
- Wooden or bamboo chopsticks are the easiest to use because of the texture that grips the ends. Plastic chopsticks will be more difficult to use. Metal chopsticks, as Koreans choose, are the most difficult of all. Master one, and move on to the next. Furthermore when you go out, your hosts will be impressed!
- Be patient as it takes time to learn to use it properly. It's okay to ask for a fork or spoon if you get too frustrated.
Warning
- Chinese etiquette says that you can lift your own rice bowl close to your mouth with one hand, and you use chopsticks to push the rice into your mouth. However, Korean etiquette says it's really bad! Be careful with the people you eat with, and what their customs are.
- Do not hit the bowl or plate with your chopsticks. That is what beggars did in ancient China.
- Avoid passing food with chopsticks. As in the previous memorial, this resembles a part of a traditional Japanese funeral, where family members pass bones with chopsticks. However, when passing food, place the food on an intermediate plate, preferably using a serving utensil or, if not provided, turn your chopsticks so that the tip that never goes to your mouth touches the food, then pass the plate to the intended person.
- Don't pick your teeth with chopsticks, even if you don't have a toothpick where you eat.
- Decide what food you want before putting your chopsticks on it. Picking food is considered very disrespectful.
- It's not easy to use chopsticks so be careful when learning to use them.
