How To Properly...
Use Chopsticks
Here’s something really funny. In my lifetime I’ve only seen two different packages of pairs of chopsticks. I’m talking about the single pairs of chopsticks that the Chinese food restaurants give you. One such package has instructions that teach you correctly how to use chopsticks, even if it does use terrible english and funny phrases. But the other one has different instructions… it takes you through holding one chopstick between your middle and ring fingers, and the other between your index and middle finger or something crazy like that. Then as the last step it says “Now try to pick up food!” I’m almost certain it’s a joke because it’s not really possible to pick up food using chopsticks like that. Here’s the proper way to hold chopsticks.
Relax, take the first chopstick out of the pack and hold it like a pencil, just exactly as if you’re going to write with it. Then take the second chopstick and tuck it between your index (pointing) finger and your thumb. You might need to rotate it because the ends of the chopsticks need to be able to meet at the ends… and you might give it some support with the rest of your fingers. Now, by moving the chopsticks like so you can really pick up food.
I found here some great Images of the chopsticks package that gives the correct instructions. This is how I learned the correct way of holding chopsticks.
Chopsticks rules I found rather amusing at first glance… it says among other things not to stick your chopsticks in your food especially rice. This reminds me, the correct way to eat rice with chopsticks is by scooping. Hold the chopsticks with their ends touching or near one another and use the chopsticks like a spoon… it works if the rice is good sticky Chinese restaurant rice… that you can squish into clumps and such. You can also just scoop and press it into clumps, and then use the chopsticks normally like with chicken or whatever you usually eat with chopsticks.
