Can You Use Chopsticks?

Chopsticks! That most interesting of East Asian utensils. Who'd have thought two sticks ever make it into the utensil family.

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Despite all manner of how-to guides, the chopstick remains an elusive skill that some people just can't manage to get. So EoFFers, can you chop the stick?

No. I can't. I've tried a lot and I can't. :(

Yeah, no prob

No

I'll throw my lot in.

I can sort of use chopsticks. As in, I can use them for about half the meal, then I either A) get fed up and just use a fork or spoon or B) give up due to my hand cramping.

The hand cramping is probably from me not using them in the correct way. I can get by, but to be honest I find them to be rather inefficient.

I can, and I learned from watching Azumanga Daioh. So the moral of the story is watch excellent anime and you will be provided with life skills.

They're easy enough to use for me.

The only time I'm probably overly rude with them is when I scoop food from the bowl directly into my mouth. Soup is one thing, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to hold your rice bowl under your mouth and still attempt to pick up the item with your chopsticks and place it in your mouth.

....but that can get tiresome when you have the last little bits of your meal left in the bowl. I've seen plenty of native Japanese bend the rules on stuff like that, so I don't feel too bad when I do it myself. :shrug:

Especially when it's a pretty casual setting.

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Originally Posted by sharkythesharkdogg

They're easy enough to use for me.

The only time I'm probably overly rude with them is when I scoop food from the bowl directly into my mouth. Soup is one thing, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to hold your rice bowl under your mouth and still attempt to pick up the item with your chopsticks and place it in your mouth.

....but that can get tiresome when you have the last little bits of your meal left in the bowl. I've seen plenty of native Japanese bend the rules on stuff like that, so I don't feel too bad when I do it myself. :shrug:

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Oh goodness, rice is the worst for chopsticks. Like, any fiddly food like that I just give up with chopsticks altogether.

Yep. Though if the option is there I'll sooner take a fork.

Went to a Japanese place once the had wooden chop sticks that were obviously very cheap, ended up getting a splinter in my lip while dealing with some pretty soggy nooddles.. Let me tell you, that was not a pleasant experience!

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Originally Posted by Aulayna

Yep. Though if the option is there I'll sooner take a fork.

Went to a Japanese place once the had wooden chop sticks that were obviously very cheap, ended up getting a splinter in my lip while dealing with some pretty soggy nooddles.. Let me tell you, that was not a pleasant experience!

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Ouch! Even though wooden chopsticks are meant to hold the food better and have better grip, poorly made ones aren't worth using.

I've never even tried.

I can, and my technique improved quite a bit during my pretty long vacation in Japan.

I used to be pretty proficient, these days I can just about shovel the food into my mouth like the baka gwailo I am.

Yup, I'm pretty decent with chopsticks. Though my right hand doesn't like he claw motion you have to make, so it ends up hurting after a while. I tell it to suck it up though so it can become more cultured/pretentious.

Here's my quick tip for anyone who thinks they have the basics down but are struggling to grip the food properly: hold the chopsticks very high up (towards the end farthest from the food you are picking up). That seemed counter-intuitive to me at first but you have a much stronger grip and much greater control when you hold them high.

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Originally Posted by sharkythesharkdogg

They're easy enough to use for me.

The only time I'm probably overly rude with them is when I scoop food from the bowl directly into my mouth. Soup is one thing, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to hold your rice bowl under your mouth and still attempt to pick up the item with your chopsticks and place it in your mouth.

....but that can get tiresome when you have the last little bits of your meal left in the bowl. I've seen plenty of native Japanese bend the rules on stuff like that, so I don't feel too bad when I do it myself. :shrug:

Especially when it's a pretty casual setting.

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Good news - it's perfectly acceptable to do this! As is drinking from the bowl with soup, and loudly slurping your noodles. The Japanese see this as an enthusiastic appreciation of food and it is perfectly polite. Just don't use your chopsticks to point at anything, that's like slapping someone's mother in the face.

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Originally Posted by Formalhaut

Oh goodness, rice is the worst for chopsticks. Like, any fiddly food like that I just give up with chopsticks altogether.

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The trick is to get the right rice. Most western food (and bad Japanese food) uses quite long grain rice that isn't very sticky. Good Japanese style rice (I dunno about Chinese or other chopstick using countries) is short grain and super sticky, which makes it rather easy to pick up with chopsticks.

I have trouble eating spaghetti with a fork, I usually use chopsticks. The only time I'll prefer a fork is when a knife is also required. A spoon is prefered if rice is involved

Yep. I was terrible when I was younger but now I'm a pro. I can pick up rice, noodles, even that really slippery Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce.

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Originally Posted by Formalhaut

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Originally Posted by Aulayna

Yep. Though if the option is there I'll sooner take a fork.

Went to a Japanese place once the had wooden chop sticks that were obviously very cheap, ended up getting a splinter in my lip while dealing with some pretty soggy nooddles.. Let me tell you, that was not a pleasant experience!

---

Ouch! Even though wooden chopsticks are meant to hold the food better and have better grip, poorly made ones aren't worth using.

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It's supposed to be rude to rub the chopsticks together (to get rid of splinters) because it indicates you think the chopsticks are cheap and that the restaurant is cheap.

Of course the alternative is being polite, and choking to death on a splinter. :jess:

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Originally Posted by Fox

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Originally Posted by sharkythesharkdogg

They're easy enough to use for me.

The only time I'm probably overly rude with them is when I scoop food from the bowl directly into my mouth. Soup is one thing, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to hold your rice bowl under your mouth and still attempt to pick up the item with your chopsticks and place it in your mouth.

....but that can get tiresome when you have the last little bits of your meal left in the bowl. I've seen plenty of native Japanese bend the rules on stuff like that, so I don't feel too bad when I do it myself. :shrug:

Especially when it's a pretty casual setting.

---

Good news - it's perfectly acceptable to do this! As is drinking from the bowl with soup, and loudly slurping your noodles. The Japanese see this as an enthusiastic appreciation of food and it is perfectly polite. Just don't use your chopsticks to point at anything, that's like slapping someone's mother in the face.

---

See, I knew about the slurping and drinking soup from the bowl, but I've always been told you're not actually supposed to scoop food from your rice bowl into your mouth. If you have a big piece of food, you're supposed to move it to your rice bowl, bring the bowl to your chin and eat the object from there holding it in the chopsticks. :shrug:

Jive tried and failed many times. Now I just use a fork.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RThnq3-d6PY

According to Julia Child you can use them to whisk eggs. Who am I to argue with Julia Child?

Yep! Whenever I eat Chinese food, or at Noodles & Company, I always use chopsticks.

Yeah, used to be terrible but now I'm a pro. I always wanted to catch a fly with chopsticks like Daniel LaRusso from The Karate Kid. I actually managed it once! I mean, the fly was dead at the time but it's closer than any of you lot have gotten. Shut up.

Of course I can.

I mean, I learned how at in my teens, when I started eating asian food. I can with either hand. And the ~year I've spent in Okinawa certainly helped.

I can't use chopsticks properly, mostly due to my bad manual dexterity... but I'll master them someday! :cool:

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Originally Posted by Formalhaut

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Originally Posted by sharkythesharkdogg

They're easy enough to use for me.

The only time I'm probably overly rude with them is when I scoop food from the bowl directly into my mouth. Soup is one thing, but I'm pretty sure you're supposed to hold your rice bowl under your mouth and still attempt to pick up the item with your chopsticks and place it in your mouth.

....but that can get tiresome when you have the last little bits of your meal left in the bowl. I've seen plenty of native Japanese bend the rules on stuff like that, so I don't feel too bad when I do it myself. :shrug:

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Oh goodness, rice is the worst for chopsticks. Like, any fiddly food like that I just give up with chopsticks altogether.

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If you have sticky rice cooked properly, it's really easy to eat with chopsticks.

And, yeah, I can use them no problem.

I can use them well enough to not make a complete fool of myself, but I wouldn't say I'm good at it. Definitely prefer a knife and fork.

I use chopsticks to throw out steaks that are "rare".

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Originally Posted by Chris

I use chopsticks to throw out steaks that are "rare".

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Then I use them to steal them off your plate. :quina:

No, I can't. I've tried, and failed...miserably.

Are we doing this? Is it time for another "How Do You Prefer Your Steak" thread? I have a lot of bullets, and I also receive.

I've never used them. If someone ever hands me a pair I'll try them out and see what happens.