You might have seen it in the movies or even on a Chinese cooking show. You might have even eaten in a Chinese or Japanese restaurant and found some of the patrons enjoying their meals using these curious pieces of eating utensils. Whenever you talk of eating in an oriental way you would have envisioned eating your with chopsticks. Here are the steps how to use chopsticks to get you started in eating in the traditional oriental way.
Types of Chopsticks
There are two types of chopsticks you’ll find in restaurants or in oriental stores where these are sold. The first type is called the home use chopstick. Each stick of this variety is unattached to any other stick and can be mixed and matched with any other stick in the set. The second type is the disposable one, which is also known as the half-split chopstick. These are sold in pairs with each pair of sticks joined together on the thicker end.
How to Use Chopsticks
Whether you use the cheap disposable ones or not, you will still use chopsticks the same way each and every time. Follow the steps below to guide you how to use chopsticks if you’re using them for the very first time. It may take some practice in before you can handle them comfortably as you would a knife and fork.
The first step on how to use chopsticks is to place one at the crook of your index finger and your thumb. The skinnier end should be pointing towards your plate as it rests on the base of your fingers. The broad end of the chopstick should be about two thirds of its length down in between your fingers. Let this chopstick rest on your ring finger. This stick will remain steady while you eat your meal.
The next step on how to use chopsticks is to work the other stick. While the first stick rests on your hand grab the other stick using your thumb, index, and middle fingers as if it were a pen. This stick is the only one that will move whenever you eat using chopsticks. Practice moving this stick up and down before trying to pick up any piece of food. The ends of both sticks in your hand should be even and neither should be protruding.
Practice picking something up using the chopsticks. It would be something like pinching an object to pick it up. Remember that the bottom stick should remain still while the one on top should be the only one that’s moving. Once you get the hang of this try it out on food. Start off with larger chunks of food first before trying some of the trickier stuff like grains like rice. That’s basically how to use chopsticks, which still means you will still have to practice.
