Why use chopsticks? (dinner, best, noodle, chili)

[Mooseketeer]

Originally Posted by tilli

I use chopsticks when they are provided because I enjoy eating with them. It's a much different tactile sensation, and it changes the pace of a meal. When eating a meal that was cooked with chopsticks in mind they are not less efficient at all unless you are not skilled in their use. It's not difficult to learn, but it can make your hand ache at first from the unfamiliar posture. It gets easier with practice of course. Chopsticks are elegant and precise. Not every meal needs to be stabbed and sliced into submission.

I also think it is more respectful to use the utensils that you are provided with. In Thai restaurants they provide knife, spoon, and fork - so that's what I use. In Vietnamese restaurants they provide chopsticks, so that is what I use. Learning to eat the noodles in my pho with chopsticks was a lot of fun and greatly increased my proficiency with them.

Pity people like me who have never been able to learn though ! I am the biggest "klutz" ever and I suffer from joint aches and chopsticks are just torture to me as well as making me a danger to myself and others.

I am thinking of buying a pair of "idiot proof" chopsticks ( the type which is joined together) . I think it might be safer for myself and the world at large.

I do try very hard to conform to people's cultural mores but I have to admit I find a knife and fork and a spoon a lot more relaxing and a lot less messy . For me anyway.

[esya]

Well maybe but I have arthritis now so it definitely does. And I had to laugh the other night, because I ordered--what else--spaghetti in an Italian restaurant and they had the big spoon so you could twirl it with the fork and I tried to do that and made a huge mess. So I can't use the spoon thing with spaghetti--I have to cut mine.

[neutrino]

Well I'm East Asian so I grew up using them. For most things I prefer using forks, but for noodles chopsticks are definitely the way to go.

Chopsticks are very useful as cooking utensils, too.

[Rhenzanite]

Originally Posted by Blacknblue

It slows me down and I actually taste the food.

That's precisely why I prefer chopsticks. I have a few pairs and use them all the time. In fact, last night a friend of mine who was over at my house gave me the strangest look while eating dinner.... I didn't realize until later it was because I was using my chopsticks to eat Macaroni and Cheese

[jlawrence01]

Why not let people decide which utensils they prefer to use?

I have managed to get by with both western and eastern utensils even with dumplings and sushi. I will admit that it is a whole lot easier to eat PHO with chopsticks and a spoon but it is a mess either way.

[saobi]

1) Most Chinese dishes are bite sized, does not require public dismembering a part of an animal at the dinner table. So chopsticks are perfect for picking up each portion.

2) Most Chinese are served on a bowl or at least a concave plate.

I have not experienced a case where knife/fork is more convenient than chopsticks. Noodles? How do you eat noodles with a fork? By wrapping it around like a 5 year old? Come on, the best way to eat noodles is to pick them up with a chopstick and slurp them loudly, especially when multiple people are eating and slurping at the same time. It's great, stimulates your appetite.

[Wicked Felina]

Originally Posted by esya

Reasons to use chopsticks:
1. The food is prepared in a way that is meant to be eaten with chopsticks not forks and knives.
2. It slows you down so you won't be a big fat American and can get more enjoyment out of the food and in the end, eat less.
3. It's the right thing to do. Would you eat fried chicken and ribs with a knife and fork? Ice cream with a knife?
4. Don't make the rest of us look like cultural idiots. What would you think of a Japanese person who used chopsticks to eat spaghetti?

As I understand it, and I may be totally wrong here, the use of chopsticks are to 'encourage' one to eat slowly and savor the food, as opposed to shoveling it in your mouth. Liken it to the art of fine dining, not fast food drive-throughs.

It is also considered bad form to touch one's teeth on chopsticks. The point is to take bite sized portions, and drop them into your mouth. For the end result, look to #2 above. Does this sound familiar to anyone?

When I used to use them, it was in a formal Japanese restaurant. Or as a guest in someone else's home where chopsticks were the utensils that were used for eating and cooking. Trying to use chopsticks correctly is a sign of respect for and interest in other cultures.

I am far from being adept at using chopsticks. So, I just stick with my fork. That way I can stab my food.

[gichicago]

For me its about the type of food Im eating, thats all. I have a Filipino heritage, and the spoon is big for us because, well we eat rice, and staples are stew based, so scooping and savoring both items are easiest done with a spoon. I have sushi, I use chopsticks. I eat chinese, then well, its whatever the hell im eating.

I dont think any one way is more sophisticated thatn the other; its all cultural, and any arguments on whats more barbaric than the other will just spew into a religious debate.

[Gone-2-Beach]

I cannot imagine eating Chinese food, Japanese food, sushi, etc. with anything other than chopsticks. Certain utensils just seem to belong to certain food types, i.e. chopsticks for sushi, the little forks for escargo, the long spoon for ice cream sodas and my big fat fingers for White Castle cheeseburgers!

[esya]

I got to go to Okinawa once to teach a class on a base. The best thing was the base phone book had a short list of etiquette tips for interacting with the Japanese off the base.

What I remember that I still use: don't ever point or wave your chopsticks around, it's very rude. Don't blow your nose at the table or in the restaurant (I always go to the bathroom to do this now, in all restaurants). Cover your mouth when you chew or chew with your mouth closed.

If you approach an older person (or someone who may perceive you to be their social inferior) on the street, bow, the more important the person, the lower you bow. I found all of these tips to be extremely helpful and useful even in the States. I never fail to use them with people of Japanese background. Humility is something that Americans could use a lot more of in dealing with other cultures. Even if I am NOT someone's social inferior acknowledging the fact that I MIGHT be really makes the other person feel more comfortable and, in turn, more friendly and gracious back to me.