# do you know anyone that cannot use chopsticks?



## boomchakabowwow (Apr 29, 2014)

yesterday, a coworker came to my office looking for a plastic fork. i offered him one of my clean, cheap bamboo chopsticks i keep stashed away just in case.

he said, he didnt know how to use them. and he was eating noodles. i offered him a quick lesson, but he declined. i think he walked back to the restaurant or went across the street to Safeway..to get a plastic fork.

got me thinking. as a chinese person, i think i got chopstick skills before my fork days. anyone? 

btw, my office kitchen was full of plastic spoons/forks. he just missed them.


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## XooMG (Apr 29, 2014)

I have met a few barbarians, but I'm pretty confident most folks in my neighborhood with functioning fingers can use them.


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## echerub (Apr 29, 2014)

I used chopsticks improperly for years. Then, sometime after my university days, I decided that I should probably learn and practice how to use them properly. Thankfully I did that because it was nice to visit my eventual-in-laws and be able to use chopsticks properly.

Now, I can't even do the old scissors-method I used to use for chopsticks.

I can see why a lot of folks either don't know how to or cannot comfortably use chopsticks. 

But they *are* handy, even in the kitchen before you get to the dining table. I always had a set in my gear bag when I went to class, and they almost always came in handy. Just last night I was going two-handed with a set in each hand in order to flip stuff that I was seasoning before shoving into the oven. Whisk stuff, stir stuff, flip stuff, pick up stuff... the very definition of a multi-purpose tool


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## Mrmnms (Apr 29, 2014)

is it true that chop sticks are traditionally used only in the right hand?


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## Zwiefel (Apr 29, 2014)

I keep a lot of them in my kitchen for cooking tasks, including several pair that are extra long with ridges towards the business end to facilitate grip on food when manipulating. Far too underused in the kitchen.

And yes, I think most of my family doesn't know how to use chopsticks...or at least are fairly uncomfortable with it. 

What is this scissor technique?


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## JDA_NC (Apr 29, 2014)

I'm white and from the Southern portion of the United States..... There are a lot of barbarians round these parts :biggrin:


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## echerub (Apr 29, 2014)

Mrmnms said:


> is it true that chop sticks are traditionally used only in the right hand?



Traditionally, doing anything left-handed is a bad thing and is beaten out of you. Well, not literally for the most part, but it's worked out of you. I started off as a lefty and was converted to a righty - but it also means for some things I'm now ambidextrous, like when using chopsticks 

At Tosho's recent demo session, someone from the audience asked "what about lefties?" in terms of working at the sushi bar and apprenticing. The response from the sushi chef was something to the effect of "they aren't going to change how things are done to suit you, so you are forced to become a righty".


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## Lizzardborn (Apr 29, 2014)

I see one such person every time I shave. Of the three types of chopsticks I have tried I had worst experience with the Korean ones. They were made of metal, square edges and sharper than some of my old kitchen knives.

I have always wanted to learn how to use a pair properly but so far it is very comical experience every time i try.


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## echerub (Apr 29, 2014)

Zwiefel said:


> What is this scissor technique?



Let me try to describe while trying to actually do it here...

Hold the chopsticks together in your hand, no gap between them, resting on the web of your hand and holding the pair with your middle, index and thumb. Push down on the top chopstick with your index finger, push it back up with your thumb. Like opening and closing a set of scissors.

Not graceful, not that flexible, but worked for me for many, many years. Got me some questions from more distant relatives when they saw me doing things that way, too. "Do you know how to use chopsticks?"


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## XooMG (Apr 29, 2014)

echerub said:


> Let me try to describe while trying to actually do it here...
> 
> Hold the chopsticks together in your hand, no gap between them, resting on the web of your hand and holding the pair with your middle, index and thumb. Push down on the top chopstick with your index finger, push it back up with your thumb. Like opening and closing a set of scissors.
> 
> Not graceful, not that flexible, but worked for me for many, many years. Got me some questions from more distant relatives when they saw me doing things that way, too. "Do you know how to use chopsticks?"


To be fair, that is common technique where I live. Most folks I know do not hold chopsticks "correctly", and that includes several generations of Chinese/Taiwanese/Hakka/Japanese


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## echerub (Apr 29, 2014)

Lizzardborn said:


> I have always wanted to learn how to use a pair properly but so far it is very comical experience every time i try.



It's frustrating at first, that's for sure. But well worth the effort and persistence. Chopsticks really do become very flexible and capable once you get the hang of using them the proper way. 

What I did when I finally decided to practice the technique was to try for the first first little while - maybe the first 5-10 minutes until it was just too frustrating - and then revert back to my original way. Eventually I found I could go through my whole meal doing things properly.

Oh, and while it's not something to do when you are eating with company, if you get really frustrated with a particularly bulky item like a chunk of meat or a meatball or dumpling, just jab it with your lower chopstick (and use the upper one to "hold on to it"). Get it in your bowl and then keep going. Eventually you'll find you won't need to jab anymore... except on rare occasions


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## boomchakabowwow (Apr 29, 2014)

echerub said:


> Traditionally, doing anything left-handed is a bad thing and is beaten out of you. Well, not literally for the most part, but it's worked out of you. I started off as a lefty and was converted to a righty - but it also means for some things I'm now ambidextrous, like when using chopsticks
> 
> At Tosho's recent demo session, someone from the audience asked "what about lefties?" in terms of working at the sushi bar and apprenticing. The response from the sushi chef was something to the effect of "they aren't going to change how things are done to suit you, so you are forced to become a righty".



haha..wah! i'm laughing and sad by this.:lol2:+

i was born a lefty. being chinese, it was "encouraged" out of me. now? i'm a mess. i am left eye dominate, so i am an awful archer and gun shooter. my handwriting is awful.

i can however, also use chopsticks with either hand. with practice i can write as well. shooting a bow..oh, yard-sale. i dont have the $$ to buy all lefty equipment and start over. 

if had kids, i would let nature decide. i wouldnt eff with them like my mom did.


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## tomsch (Apr 29, 2014)

All of my kids grew up using chopsticks but my wife just does not want to learn. She always comments how easy it is for me but at I've been using them since I too was a kid. Even though we grew up in Northern CA there were always restaurants around where we honed our skills as kids.


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## jared08 (Apr 29, 2014)

I'll throw myself under the bus and admit it. I cannot use chop sticks properly. I can pick up some **** and usually drop it before it gets to my mouth. I can't exactly say I've tried to get better at it tho.


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## ecchef (Apr 30, 2014)

I'd venture to say that most Americans can't use them. The one's that try invariably make the same mistakes; 'choking up' to much & using too much pressure. Once the technique is learned, chopsticks (in my case Japanese hashi) are remarkably versatile and quite easy to use. Like everything else, mastery does take practice. My drills were with azuki beans, soft tofu and a lot of swearing, much to my wife's entertainment.


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## apicius9 (Apr 30, 2014)

In some ways, Hawaii is more Asian than American, that includes the fact that you will get a choice between cutlery or chopsticks in most restaurants. Very normal to use them out here. But there is no way I could use them with my left hand, I am way to uncoordinated for that.

Stefan


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## Matus (Apr 30, 2014)

Given that I come from central Europa and use chopstick about once a year I am quite poor with them and if I try too hard for too long my hand just cramps up. But it is fun anyway


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## panda (Apr 30, 2014)

unless you eat a lot of asian food, i don't think most people even bother with trying to learn how to use them.


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## WildBoar (Apr 30, 2014)

I didn't learn how to use them until I was in my late 20s. But in general more people around here seem to know how to use them these days than when I was growing up. I found picking up individual rice grains is a great way to learn control. Plus you don't get as fat when you eat that slowly :doublethumbsup:


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## GeneH (Apr 30, 2014)

I get teased a little for my use of chopsticks at the office - a small pile of cashews lasts a lot longer when going at it one at a time. Ya, I agree, they are all barbarians. Sometimes I think chopsticks are better than fingers and way better than forks - have to go slower and enjoy each bite. Side note: years ago I had lunch at a coworkers home, his parents were from Korea and still did not speak English. Wonderful food. Everytime I went there they put lots of napkins, forks, and I always had to as for the 'sticks, just like they used. Seems us Midwestern middle aged men just had a reputation. There really is something positive about the culture of keeping your dirty hands out of the food, even to delicately taking a small pork bone with the chopsticks instead of just awkwardly kinda spitting it out.


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## AFKitchenknivesguy (May 1, 2014)

I can use them, and actually enjoy it. Really though, a fork is better.


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## XooMG (May 1, 2014)

I'd never use a fork for Cheetos.


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## tkern (May 1, 2014)

I was lucky while in my teens I was working at a pizzeria across from a sushi restaurant so we'd trade pizza for sushi and I got a fair grip on chopsticks. I think I might be a scissor technique person. Does anyone have a link to an example of the "correct" way of chopstick usage?


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## Talim (May 1, 2014)

[video=youtube;ssvTE8fE4KE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssvTE8fE4KE[/video]


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## brainsausage (May 1, 2014)

The majority of people I know can't use chopsticks- or a fork for that matter. I prefer to eat with my hands, but chopsticks are the next best thing if you're around people that get weirded out by simple things like eating with your hands. Forks are boring.


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## brainsausage (May 1, 2014)

I find it amusing that they refer to tapping your sticks in a downward motion to ready them as being rude, as I've seen that done(and done it myself) in droves of anime and Japanese movies- most recently: Jiro Dreams of Sushi. Done so by Jiro himself. A michelined sushi chef is quite rude apparently.


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## Erilyn75 (May 1, 2014)

Despite working in a Chinese restaurant as a teenager, living in Okinawa for 3 years and having a husband and daughter totally immersed in Asian culture and cuisine, I dont know how to use chopsticks :O


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## tkern (May 1, 2014)

Talim said:


> [video=youtube;ssvTE8fE4KE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssvTE8fE4KE[/video]



Upon watching this video, it seems I do use my chopsticks correctly.


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## LKH9 (May 5, 2014)

90% of the Chinese here that I see have been using it wrongly for generations, including every single one in my family. When I was in college, the lecturer asked my classmates "how do you people use chopsticks?" All of them do it wrong. That INDIAN lecturer had to teach them how to use instead. What a shame.

If you hold it right, you will be able to grab a spherical object up, like a fish ball.

However, I don't like chopsticks, when I eat at Chinese restaurants, I will request for a fork instead. Using chopsticks is very tiring and it sucks for delicate works like removing shells from prawns.

I hold it right very naturally, it's just logic there.


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## echerub (May 5, 2014)

I use my hands for shells off shrimps/prawns 

I used to find it tiring... somewhere around the web of my hand... to use chopsticks. I don't feel it anymore, and haven't for quite some time. I think it's from not having to tense up my hand to keep everything under control unlike when I first began practicing proper technique.


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## jsjs103121 (May 5, 2014)

There are training chopsticks available for both kids and adults.
My 33-year-old Korean friend had to practice for a while using the training ones before he married, because he couldn't use them properly (especially the thin and heavy stainless steel ones in Korea) and didn't want to be embarrassed in front of the whole family. 

My 4 year old daughter loves using the Pororo ones especially when she wants to throw something out like carrots, beans and etc... 

[video=youtube_share;N73YOAWf5i0]http://youtu.be/N73YOAWf5i0[/video]


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## LKH9 (May 5, 2014)

The only time I will prefer a chopstick is when picking up sushi/ sashimi.  Otherwise, fork for everything! Maybe I just like sharp instruments.


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## larrybard (May 5, 2014)

LKH9 said:


> The only time I will prefer a chopstick is when picking up sushi/ sashimi.  Otherwise, fork for everything! Maybe I just like sharp instruments.



I thought the traditional way of eating sushi is with one's fingers (although chopsticks are also considered acceptable etiquette).


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## Scrap (May 6, 2014)

I rarely cook anything not Japanese at home, so me and my roommates all use chopsticks pretty frequently. For some reason I find the Japanese chopsticks easier to use than Chinese, perhaps because of the pointed tips. Very thin disposable ones are difficult as well.


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## echerub (May 6, 2014)

Depending on what you're eating, the pointy tips of Japanese chopsticks can certainly be nicer. 

I think the Chinese ones don't point for one simple reason: with Chinese food you can lift up the bowl and push food into your mouth. You can't really shove stuff effectively with the pointy tips because of the reduced surface area 

THe only thing about Japanese chopsticks, for me anyways, is that I have to look for the longer lengths. Short lengths drive me nuts because I hold my chopsticks pretty high up. On the shorter hashi, I'm literally holding them right at the very ends and wishing there was a bit more length to them.


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## Scrap (May 6, 2014)

The shortness of Japanese chopsticks can definitely be annoying. I'd like to find a pair of kitchen chopsticks since I like using them to cook but it's difficult picking up anything heavy with it -tamagoyaki ends up being an affair involving hands, rubber spatulas, and a pair of chopsticks getting yelled at.


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## Asteger (May 6, 2014)

Agreed that the stainless Korean ones are the worst, though not as bad because their food is generally easier for sticks than some other types, and they always have a spoon on hand for their rice and liquids, etc. I like the Japanese kind the best, but am not a fan of the lacquer and they're also too short. 

I'm not Asian, but also learned to use them as a kid and don't really remember how I learned. If people don't know how I'm always surprised at first, much like if someone doesn't know how to swim or ride a bike or drive.


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## boomchakabowwow (May 6, 2014)

Asteger said:


> .................... doesn't know how to swim ...............


oh! we're going there? 

hahaha..


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## mkriggen (May 6, 2014)

Asteger said:


> ...doesn't know how to swim...



When I went to Navy boot camp I was amazed at the number of recruits that didn't know how to swim, but thinking back they probably didn't know how to use chop sticks either

Be well,
Mikey


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## panda (May 7, 2014)

i love metal chopsticks because they have heft to them.


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## XooMG (May 7, 2014)

I use whatever's available. I've made some out of titanium alloy for myself and for others, but they are a little hefty compared to the hollow stainless steel models you can buy everywhere. I also had a very precise pair made of transparent plastic that were nice, and although I've accumulated quite a few wooden and bamboo sets (disposable and non), I prefer using plastic and metal for better durability and ease of washing (scrubbing the hell out of them under hot water). The downside is reduced friction most of the time...bamboo and wood chopsticks often do a better job of holding slippery noodles. Texturing can level the playing field some.


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## panda (May 7, 2014)

my favorite ones are ceramic. but they break easy.


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## LKH9 (May 7, 2014)

I have 2 pairs made made from exotic wood from Thailand and 1 pair made in Japan, resin-pressure treated bamboo, able to withstand high temperature and won't rot to water. These are for collection only. Picture later.


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