Image from sxc.hu
Many of us who love Asian food have probably had the experience of using chopsticks around Asian natives and slowly realising that we use them like big ham handed fools. The Guardian has an interesting post about it in the Word of Mouth blog, pointing out that the people who cringe when others ask for forks in Chinese restaurants are the very same ones who probably eat their sushi and Thai food all wrong. Sushi is supposed to be a finger food, and in Thailand food is usually eaten with a spoon and fork. But does any of this really matter, as long as you are appreciating your food (and not making a hog of yourself, obviously)?
We may think we’re nifty with your chopsticks, but when you go to an Asian country and see how delicately and deftly people handle them, you can feel a bit clunky. I remember reading somewhere that the reason all the best table tennis players come from Asia is because of chopsticks, and the dexterity that they build up in the human hand. Is this true, or did I dream it?
Tuesday 25 August, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Can’t/ won’t/ not arsed trying to use chopsticks. I always have to be self-deprecating while my more sophisticated friends show off their chopstick prowess. I’m a philistine, but I don’t get it – Chinese food is all sauce, and how do people eat rice with chopsticks? God, it takes forever. Knife and fork will do me fine, ta; I’ll figure out the chopsticks if I’m in China.
Tuesday 25 August, 2009 at 2:30 pm
This guy (from the Guardian blog comments) has it right:
“There is no such thing as an ‘authentic way’. You get the food from place X (plate) into place Y (mouth) using implement of preference Z. Anyone who uses chopsticks out of some smug sense of cultural sensitivity rather than because that’s what they feel most comfortable with is probably too self-regarding to get the most out of eating with friends.”
Tuesday 25 August, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I’ll eat food with chopsticks, no problem.
I have what might be termed a somewhat unorthodox, but highly effective technique. That said, you almost need a spoon with some of the allegedly Asian food I’ve eaten in Dublin.
Tuesday 25 August, 2009 at 3:28 pm
Yeah, there’s some good comments on that piece alright, I like this one:
Surely this article simply demonstrates that snobbery is something that has an eternal and irresisitable appeal to the English. We pride ourselves on having done away with the suffocating strictures of Victorian morality, only to replace them with a new set of arbitrary and impenetrable rules. I use a knife and fork to eat every meal, apart from soup. If this makes you wince, Felicity, I’m glad that we’re not part of the same social group.
Tuesday 25 August, 2009 at 3:53 pm
I decided to learn to use chopsticks properly. If I’m presented with a pair of chopsticks, I want to be able to use them properly. It took a while, but I’m there now. I’m pretty deft. Rice was a challenge 😀
Having said that, if chopsticks are not on the table, then I won’t go looking for them.
They may not be the correct way eat sushi – but they keep your hands clean.
I think chopsticks suit chinese food anyway – they slow down your rate of eating with the small bite-sized food and help you manage your food intake. If the food is too “saucy” for chopsticks, then abandon them.
Tuesday 25 August, 2009 at 3:57 pm
For the rice, that’s the reason why asian rice is sticky. Also, if you watch Chinese people eat, they bring the bowl close to their face.
Sunday 30 August, 2009 at 10:52 am
I cringe when people in restaurants pounce on the chopsticks. It just screams ‘Look at how well-travelled and sophisticaaaaated I am!’
Monday 31 August, 2009 at 9:45 am
I’m a terrible food shoveller, so chopsticks are great for me! I use them with any rice dish including Indian. My parents introduced them into the house when we were kids for the laugh and we’ve always seen them as a fun thing to use…
Monday 31 August, 2009 at 2:54 pm
Chopsticks give my hand cramps but I usually try and use them for a while anyway. I have no problem asking for a fork though.