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Eating with chopsticks can be tricky for those of us who first picked them up quite late in life. Even though we've been using them for a while, our frequent spillages suggest that we need to refine our chopstick wielding skills. Success in this endeavour will generate the same level of praise hitherto reserved for baby faced Channel V presenters and NBA basketball stars. We may exaggerate, but thanks to Gomestic (via Lifehacker) we have found the definitive seven step guide to becoming a chopstick maven.
- Place one chopstick in the crook of your thumb and index finger. The chopstick should be at the base of your thumb and your thumb should be about 1/3 the way down from the broad end of the chopstick.
- Rest the chopstick on your ring finger between ½ way and 2/3 the way down the chopstick. The first chopstick should now be very stable with one end securely between your thumb and index finger and the other end resting on your ring finger.
- Place the second chopstick in your hand the way you would hold a pen. It should rest slightly on the tip of your thumb and be held into place with support from your middle finger.
- Use your index and middle fingers to practice moving the tip of the top chopstick up and down. The bottom chopstick should remain relatively still. As you move the top one down the tip should meet up with the tip of the bottom one.
- Imagine you are pinching something. If the tips aren't meeting up, adjust one chopstick so they do because it will be very difficult to pick anything up if the two chopsticks aren't evenly aligned.
- Attempt to pick up some food! Start with large chunks of food like chopped up vegetables or meat. Once you get the hang of that you can try the trickier foods like rice and grains.
- Practice Practice Practice!
Visual learners will enjoy the above Youtube video from Cat1173.
Crossposted on Catshanghai
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And for the veterans here are some challenges: soft tofu, quail eggs, glass noodles (粉丝) or rice noodles (米线)...
that's pretty funny. and wrong. the video above is a joke to make you look dumb. it's like holding your fork and knife in a fist.
much more delicate, precise, comfortable and effective is the 2 finger technique. similar to the video, just use the middle finger instead of the ring finger. you don't grip the bottom chopstick, you lock it in place by bracing it against three points: the tip of your middle finger, the base of your thumb and below the base of your index, behind the first knuckle near the edge of your palm. The top chopstick is held by the tip of the thumb and the tip of the index. now, just wiggle the tip of your index. Done. Practice for one meal and you are set for life.
I've tought people aged 10 to 40 (people who have failed at it all their lives) to use chopsticks like this, in one sitting. travelling extensively in asia, I repeatedly get told "you know how to use chopsticks properly!" so I imagine I am doing something right. ;)
good luck!