Useful Useless Fact: How to Eat With Chopsticks
Posted in UUF by Dan at 11:57 pm
This post was published 3 years 3 months 22 days ago and its content may not be valid anymore.Todays Tip: I am always embarrassed when I am brought out to eat and it involves chopsticks, since I have NO IDEA how to use them. Here is a simple four step approach to head you on your way to be a pro:
- THE FIRST STICK: Pick up the first chopstick with the 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.
- THE SECOND STICK: Grip the second chopstick with your index finger. Place your thumb over the second chopstick. Adjust your grip to a more comfortable position. 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.
- STEADY: This chopstick should not move when you attempt to pick up food. Alternatively, hold the first chopstick steady and move the second (top) chopstick 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 remains pressed to the index finger from the tip through the first joint. The movement comes 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.
- PRACTICE: 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.
As always, you can see all the previous tips and read the disclaimers here.
I eat everything with chopsticks. They’re the greatest things ever. I can eat most food faster with chopsticks than people eating the same thing with a fork. It’s always kind of fun to watch people who don’t use chopsticks take a stab at it (by the way, if you end up not being able to use the chopsticks, don’t give up and start stabbing your food. That’s just rude and, in some cultures, very, =VERY= insulting to your host).
The three biggest mistakes I see people make are:
1) They hold the chopsticks too low. You know how in Duck Hunt, you think that getting closer to the TV will help, but it never really does? That’s because when you’re all the way back, aiming requires smaller movements. It’s kind of the same thing here. You should hold the chopsticks pretty high up. I hold mine as high as I can. This gives you a lot more leverage with significantly less effort. Yeah, it’s a little weird at first, but once you’re used to it, you’ll look like you grew up in Japan (or Hawaii, like me).
2) They give up too quickly. Eat everything with chopsticks, even if you can’t. Okay, so soup is out of the question, but pretty much everything else is fair game. Rice, pasta, salad, meat, vegetables, whatever. If you’re eating it, eat it with chopsticks. And yes, I’ve eaten ice cream with chopsticks before.
3) They keep their hand too rigid. A lot of people think that you have to really keep a tight grip on the chopsticks. I barely hold mine at all. Squeezing with that killer, death-grip of yours will only fatigue your hand muscles and result in your having to give up sooner.
If you’re embarrassed, just use them around the house when no one is looking. A great time to use them is when you’re having a snack. Any time I eat Cheetos, I use chopsticks so that I don’t get that orange crap on my fingers.
Also, find some chopsticks that you like. My mum bought a monster box of disposable ones from Costco and gave my half of them. I keep some with me at work and when we go out to dinner where chopstick-appropriate food will be served, we bring our own. Most restaurants have those crappy, must-be-made-of-balsa chopsticks. I much prefer the bamboo ones.