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Chopsticks etiquette

T

tinker

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I just can't resist this empty sub-forum. :)

I'm not sure if chopsticks are considered "cutlery" but they are eating utensils, right?

While out for dinner with some friends, one of them brought a Chinese girlfriend so we ate at a Chinese restaurant. I made a mistake, (or so I was told) of sticking my chopsticks on the rice in my bowl while I did something, and I was told this was impolite.

Does anyone know if this is only true with the Chinese, or if this is viewed as improper at all (because I've always done that and nobody commented on it till that day)?
 
I've heard of this before, too. I think technically you're not supposed to stick your chopsticks vertically into any food. Sticking chopsticks into to rice is something that is only done at funerals for the rice that is placed on the altar.
 
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For me eating with chop sticks is like walking on stilts. I never learned to eat with chopsticks, and always feel embarassed in the Asian restaurants when I try to. I eat at a Vietnamese Pho soup place all the time and see people eating soup with chopsticks, but I need a spoon and fork. :)
 
I've never heard of this. Is this a superstition or a formal eating rule? Like most of the time forks are served on the left in the US, but I don't know how many people would care if they were served on the right in non formal occasions.
 
I think it's superstition that has become a formal eating rule.

We have soooo many chopsticks in the house. When we go out somewhere our four year old always wants to use them, too. She's actually getting pretty good at it. Our nearby Asian grocery store even had cute "kid-sized" ones so we couldn't resist and bought a few pairs of those.
 
I have tried on several occasions to eat with chopsticks and have failed miserably each time. I even have a Vietnamese friend who has shown me how to use them and I still can't get it right. I guess I have uncoordinated fingers. Thank goodness most restaurants let me use a fork or I would starve. Any good tips that might help me, I'm willing to try again.
 
For me, the easiest way to start eating with chopsticks was to hold the first one as you would hold a pencil. Then I add the second one in a similar fashion and after some practice it has become pretty easy. I think it's one of those things that is kind of hard to explain and needs to be shown. Maybe that friend's way of holding the chopsticks just isn't right for you. Not everyone uses them the exact same way.
 
I have heard that rule about not sticking the chopsticks vertically into any food somewhere before. Hmmmm....

I think ainjel has it right in regard to how to hold the chopsticks...that is how I do it. At least, I think so. I haven't used chopsticks in quite a few years. The places we get Chinese food from don't give them to us.

It's kind of fun to eat with them though, so I would like to try again soon.
 
I have a lot of chopsticks! Can't eat with them at all!!! But they do come in quite handy for cooking, stirring, baking, etc. I get more use out of them that way than if I made a fool of myself trying to eat with them!
 
I use them for more than just eating utensils, too. I've taken to using them to stir up cafe drinks, especially when I make myself an iced chai. : )
 
Interesting about the rice thing. I wonder if it's sorta like "double dipping" but with rice?
 
I haven't eaten with chopsticks in forever, but I really should try it again soon. We don't eat much Chinese food, and when we do it's usually takeout, so my opportunities have been limited.
 
We have a couple dozen chopsticks. I use them rarely, but my DH uses them several times a week to eat (a throwback to the semester he studied abroad in China). I am passable with them to other Americans, but according to DH "i use my chopsticks like a peasant" lol! (It's now a joke between us)
 
It is also true in Japan, it is impolite to stick your chopstick vertically into food especially into a bowl of rice. It is also a no no to directly pass food from your chopsticks to another. AND don't use it to point at somebody hehe.
 
LOl thats funny about the point lol. I was just thinking about this today. Because I saw a commerical on tv and they were using chopsticks. i have never used chopsticks before. I eat chinese food often but without chopsticks
 
I bought some chopsticks a few years back. Failed miserably at using them so now I use them to put my hair up. Gosh.. can't imagine what impolite thing I'm saying with that!!!

Here's a diagram on how to hold chopsticks... Not that it's gonna help me... LOL http://www.japancorner.com/etiquette.asp#chopsticks

Here are some quotes:
"Don't stand up the chopsticks in the rice in your bowl. This is done at funerals for dead people at the alter. A bowl with chopsticks stuck in it is placed there to remember the dead person. This is a BIG no-no at the dinner table.

Don't pass food with your chopsticks directly to another guest's chopstick set. This is don't at funerals when moving the bones and ashes of cremated bodies. Still hungry?"

"For those who are unfamiliar, Chinese go worship the dead in the cemetery twice a year. Those are more strict adherents may worship at home more often as well. You worship by planting sticks incense in groups of three in front of the grave, or if at home, in front of the memorial, after which you bow three times. You can see the similarity to chopsticks in rice."
 
I have never been able to master using a chop stick. Everytime I order Chinese food I ask for chop sticks. I read the directions on the pack and still cant figure it out. I always end up using a fork instead.
 
I've tried to use chopsticks, I even got a pair of those kiddie ones because they were tied together to make them easier to learn how to use properly. But I couldn't learn at all, my friend uses them quite frequently and while she's not as good as someone who has used them their whole life, she's definitely one of the better chopstick users I've seen. She tried to show me, and she holds her like someone described above, but I couldn't get it.
 
If you never use chopsticks, you probably wont get used to them at all. Im very used to them as i do eat quite a lot of chinese take out. they arent hard to learn, just hold it like a pencil and twiddle around with them
 
I have never used chopsticks in my life. Though, we don't have many chinese restaurants around me. Maybe one or two within 45 miles. My husband says I shouldn't have a hard time, but I duno about that! :p
 
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