Do you know how to use chopsticks

[foodqs]

The great difference between eating the Chinese way and let us say the Western way is that the Chinese use chopsticks and Westerners use knives and fork- for main dishes, at any rate. This inevitably means that large piece of meat, fish and poultry are not possible at the Chinese table. Most dishes are therefore made up of mouth sized pieces which are taken up by chopsticks and transferred to the mouth.

...

 

[keltin]

Not sure what the point is of this? I can use chopsticks fairly well. I’ve seen others that are masters and can shovel mounds of rice or noodles into their mouth faster than I could with a fork or even a shovel. I’ve also seen many people use chopsticks as a spear, basically a single tined fork, to pick up huge pieces of meat. Then, of course, there are dishes such as Peking duck, whole fish, etc that are large but cut prior to serving. What exactly is the point here?

 

[GrillingFool]

Well, there was an edit in the original post by an Admin,
so I am betting there was some spam in there.

Sugg to admins... put a little note in the post that you edited
for spam so we won't go more crazy than we are!

 

[Katie H]

Had nothing to do with the use of chopstix. Was a selling link. You're not going crazy.

 

[auntdot]

I will answer the question as posted - sure do.

Some forty years ago, stilll in my teens, I was on a plane from NY to Seattle, my first flight.

Wow, no one in my family had ever flown before.

Fortunalely the plane was almost empty, no one near me as I tried to adapt to the new experience - including the rumbling of this tons of tin that brazenly thought it could, at least for a little while, ignore the law of gravity.

Had a book, but could not read and there were no movies in those days.

But with dinner they gave everyone one of those chopsticks that came in a paper sheath. One had to separate the two cheap wooden 'sticks' by a bit of force.

Had no idea how to engineer the pencil length poles to pick up anything, but cryptic directions were printed on the paper wrapping.

Took me a while, but I figured out a technique that works for me. The exercise kept my mind from worrying about the audible complaints the fusilage was registering with disturbing regularity.

But I did it! Was initially very proud of my accomplishment but then realized I had found myself capable of a feat that any Asian child could perform with ease.

Life has a way of teaching us humility whether we like it or not.

Yet the experience proved invaluable, at least from a culinary standpoint - I use chopsticks as casually as a fork or spoon.

And I never could have had so many great experiences in NYC Chinatown restaurants, where for a while I could decipher enough of the Chinese characters to order the McCoi, without the skill.

Anyway, that is how I learned to use chopsticks.

Sorry about the blogishness of this post, but I did not know where to go with it.

Take care and God bless.

 

[Rom]

i can, i used to play with my pens as chopstix in class and now i can eat just fine *touch wood*

 

[keltin]

Well, there was an edit in the original post by an Admin,
so I am betting there was some spam in there.

Sugg to admins... put a little note in the post that you edited
for spam so we won't go more crazy than we are!

I saw the post before the edit, and it was a link in the sig. I didn’t click on it, but this post seems to be a spam or selling post. Katie took care of it!

 

[jpmcgrew]

I have not learned chopsticks very well but I am a master with my fingers

 

[Dove]

using chop sticks is the best diet I can think of...LOL
but little Miss Dove would get fat.
Marge

 

[Mel!]

Yes, I know how to use chop sticks.
I learned in China, because there were never any knives and forks in the restaurants I went to.

Mel

 

[GotGarlic]

When I was a teenager, my mom had a friend who was married to a Korean man; he taught me how to use chopsticks. I don't use them often, so I'm not as adept as I could be. A friend of mine in the Navy brought me a pair from Singapore - I need to get them out more

 

[buckytom]

is it me, or do koreans use especially large chop sticks?

has anyone ever used metal chopsticks, as used in a korean bbq joint? the extra weight takes some getting used to. the waitstaff graciously offers us gringos wooden chopsticks, but i wasn't gonna be outdone. not after a half dozen o.b.s and sojus.

 

[GotGarlic]

is it me, or do koreans use especially large chop sticks?

has anyone ever used metal chopsticks, as used in a korean bbq joint? the extra weight takes some getting used to. the waitstaff graciously offers us gringos wooden chopsticks, but i wasn't gonna be outdone. not after a half dozen o.b.s and sojus.

There is a Korean bbq place not far from where I live. We went there once, some time ago - I don't remember being surprised at the chopsticks, but it's been a while.

 

[GB]

is it me, or do koreans use especially large chop sticks?

has anyone ever used metal chopsticks, as used in a korean bbq joint? the extra weight takes some getting used to. the waitstaff graciously offers us gringos wooden chopsticks, but i wasn't gonna be outdone. not after a half dozen o.b.s and sojus.

The Korean places I go to use the same style chopticks as I see at Chinese and Japanese places. They are wood and the same size, not bigger. I have never seen metal ones and the larger ones I have seen were cooking chopsticks, not eating ones. I think they were playing a practical joke on you bucky. Next time they are going to give you two wet noodles to use

 

[Uncle Bob]

using chop sticks is the best diet I can think of..

Wow!! Thanks Miss Marge!!! Ya just solved my problem!!

 

[buckytom]

lol, gb.

no really, all of the korean bbq places use the metal ones around here.

the larger ones are more for serving and cooking. but they are all metal.

here's a pic, from wikipedia. the korean ones are the stainless steel chopsticks in the middle, next to the spoon.



i saw a pbs show once about how a pair of big, silver chopsticks was a standard wedding gift from one of the parents in a traditional korean ceremony.

 

[keltin]

Well, I’ve learned something today. I didn’t know there were different styles of chopsticks, and I’d certainly never heard of metal chopsticks. I also read and interesting abstract from a neurologist that explained the effects of an accident he says is peculiar to Asian culture which is craniofacial injuries in children with chopsticks. The neurologist stated that the metal chopstick injuries are the least serious and rarely require surgery since the wound is smaller and there are no wooden fragments left in the wound.

I won’t post the link to the neurologist findings, but here is a link to a Wiki article on chopsticks.

Styles of chopstick used in different cultures

Chinese: longer sticks that are square in cross section at one end (where they are held) and round in cross section at the other (where they contact the food), ending in a blunt tip.

Japanese: short to medium length sticks that taper to a pointed end. This may be attributed to the fact that the Japanese diet consists of large amounts of whole bony fish. Japanese chopsticks are traditionally made of wood and are lacquered. Some chopstick sets include two lengths of chopsticks: shorter ones for women and longer ones for men. Child-sized chopsticks are widely sold.

Korean: medium-length stainless-steel tapered rods, with a flat rectangular cross section. (Traditionally, they were made of brass or silver.) Many Korean metal chopsticks are ornately decorated at the grip.

Vietnamese: long sticks that taper to a blunt point; traditionally wooden, but now made of plastic as well. A đũa cả is a large pair of flat chopsticks that is used to serve rice from a pot.

 

[keltin]

here's a pic, from wikipedia. the korean ones are the stainless steel chopsticks in the middle, next to the spoon.

Looks like we just read the same article!

 

[YT2095]

yes I can and do use them, and even cook with them, right or left handed also.

 

[buckytom]

lol, keltin. wiki is a great resource, when you're trying to 'splain yourself.

like i said (gb... ), the korean metal chopsticks take a bit of getting used to, but now i prefer them. natural bamboo, chinese style is my second choice.

i don't like lacquered wooden chopsticks. i fell like i'm gonna scrape off and eat the lacquer, and they're too slippery. and i don't like the very pointy japanese style, used for boney fish.