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If you want an authentic experience while enjoying a Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese meal, put away your knife and fork and pick up a pair of chopsticks. Our guide, How to Use Chopsticks, will show you the proper way to hold them and the proper etiquette to follow as you retrieve and eat your food.
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Chopsticks Tips
- Hold the chopsticks about two-thirds of the way up.
- Keep the bottom chopstick stationary under your thumb and resting on your ring finger.
- Grasp the top chopstick between your middle and index fingers and thumb.
- Pick up food by moving the top chopstick up and down to open and close on the food.
- Never use the chopsticks to spear your food.
- Don't rest chopsticks by standing them vertically in a bowl of rice, for example.
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If you want an authentic experience while enjoying a Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Vietnamese meal, put away your knife and fork and pick up a pair of chopsticks. Our guide, How to Use Chopsticks, will show you the proper way to hold them and the proper etiquette to follow as you retrieve and eat your food.
-
-
Chopsticks Tips
- Hold the chopsticks about two-thirds of the way up.
- Keep the bottom chopstick stationary under your thumb and resting on your ring finger.
- Grasp the top chopstick between your middle and index fingers and thumb.
- Pick up food by moving the top chopstick up and down to open and close on the food.
- Never use the chopsticks to spear your food.
- Don't rest chopsticks by standing them vertically in a bowl of rice, for example.
- by Denise Ryan
Introduction
- If you're tired of being the only person in your party using a fork at an Asian restaurant, learn how to wield a pair of chopsticks with ease. With a few style tips, a little practice and a short etiquette lesson, you'll be able to eat everything from slippery noodles to tiny grains of rice with the wooden utensils.
Using Chopsticks
- Holding chopsticks with the right fingers goes a long way toward helping you move the sticks and use them to pick up small pieces of food. Follow these simple steps to master the technique.
Holding Chopsticks
- Although you'll typically hold the chopsticks about two-thirds of the way up, start by holding them in the middle to make them easier to manipulate.Real Simple: How to Hold Chopsticks (November 2004)
- Take the first chopstick and place it under the base of your thumb, resting it just above the fingernail of your index finger.Northeastern Illinois University: Chopsticks Techniques
- Hold the second above the first chopstick and grasp it with your index finger, middle finger and tip of your thumb.Northeastern Illinois University: Chopsticks Techniques
- Use a training aide if you need help holding the chopsticks steady.
- -Start with a pair of chopsticks with a hinged end like clothespins so you can concentrate on opening and closing them.Real Simple: Chopsticks (June 2005)
- -Help kids learning to use chopsticks with a holder to help them open and close them.Amazon.com: BOY Kids Chopsticks Holder by Fred
- -You can also wrap a rubber band around the top of the chopsticks to anchor the sticks together.Real Simple: How to Hold Chopsticks (November 2004)
- YouTube Video: How to Use Chopsticks (Time: 3:41)
Eating with Chopsticks
- Keep the bottom ends of the chopsticks even.Chinatown Connection: How to Use Chopsticks
- Hold the chopsticks directly on top of one another so the ends don't cross.About.com: How to Use Chopsticks (Time: 2:39)
- Ensure the bottom chopstick remains stationary, while you move the top chopstick up and down with your middle and index fingers to open and close on the piece of food.Chinatown Connection: How to Use Chopsticks
- Keep the chopsticks closed on the piece of food so you can bring it directly to your mouth to enjoy.About.com: How to Use Chopsticks (Time: 2:39)
- If you're picking up long food, like noodles, use the chopsticks to place a strand in your mouth, then use them to help guide the food in the rest of the way.Chow: The Right Way to Eat Noodles: China (September 04, 2007)
Conclusion
- If you're just starting out with chopsticks, How to Use Chopsticks: Picking Up Food with Chopsticks practice by picking up larger food items like chips or popcorn until you get the hang of it. Soon you'll be proficient and confident enough to use the utensils in public to enjoy a delicious meal.YouTube: How to Use Chopsticks: Picking Up Food with Chopsticks (Time: 1:28)
Chopsticks Etiquette
- Once you've mastered chopstick basics, concentrate on learning the proper manners that go along with using the utensils.
- Don't spear food with your chopsticks to pick it up.BBC Southern Counties: Chopsticks: The Lowdown (January 23, 2006)
- When retrieving food from a plate you're sharing with others, be sure to use the back end of your chopsticks instead of the end that you're eating with.Real Simple: How to Hold Chopsticks (November 2004)
- Avoid picking up a cup with the same hand currently holding the chopsticks.About.com: Japanese Chopsticks Manners: Bad Manners
- Don't suck on the chopsticks as you're eating the food off of them.About.com: Japanese Chopsticks Manners: Bad Manners
- Don't use the chopsticks as tools to pull dishes toward you.Chopsticks Etiquette: Common Chopsticks Faux Pas
- Be sure not to wave the chopsticks over your plate, use them to point at others or to drum on glasses or plates.Chopsticks Etiquette: Common Chopsticks Faux Pas
- Never use your chopsticks to pass food to another person's chopsticks.Everything Chopsticks: Japanese Chopstick Etiquette
- When you're done eating or between bites, lay the chopsticks in front of you with the eating ends pointed to the left.Everything Chopsticks: Japanese Chopstick Etiquette
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