Chopsticks got a boost in popularity when the philosopher Confucius disdained the use of knives when eating.  “The honorable and upright man keeps well away from both the slaughterhouse and the kitchen. And he allows no knives on his table.” Another ancient practice, in which chefs  chopped ingredients to allow faster cooking time and less use of scarce fuel, led not only to the non-necessity of knives at the dinner table, but also the practicality of chopsticks when picking up bite-sized portions of food. Thus, the use of these pairs of long sticks in dining spread throughout China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Today, chopsticks are called kuàizi in Mandarin, hashi/otemoto in Japanese, ??a in Vietnamese, jeotgarak in Korean, and takiap in Thai. They come in wood, bamboo, metal, ivory, jade, plastic, and bone. The English word “chopstick” is derived from Chinese Pidgin English, where “chop chop” means “quickly”. Chopsticks are best at eating fish, allowing diners to pry away bits of flesh from the bones.

To use chopsticks properly, hold the upper stick like a pen with your thumb and middle finger, then take the lower one with the thumb and set it on the ring finger. Try to move the two sticks and pick up for favorite tidbit.

Here are some of the etiquette when dealing with chopsticks:

•    don’t point with or play with chopsticks.
•    don’t use chopsticks to play with food or pierce them in general.
•    don’t stick chopsticks vertically into a bowl of food. This resembles the incense being offered to ancestral shrines. Do not also cross chopsticks when laid on a table, as this symbolizes death.
•    don’t dig for food in a bowl.
•    don’t place chopsticks on the table; place it on a chopstick rest or sideways on the bowl.
•    don’t tap the edge of the bowl with chopsticks, as this is how beggars do it to attract attention.
•    Don’t openly rub chopsticks together to get rid of splinters. It suggests that the restaurant or home providing them is cheap. Do it under the table.
•    Don’t suck at the end of a chopstick or keep it in the mouth for too long.
•    While reversing chopsticks to use the clean ends when moving food from the communal plate is common, it is nevertheless considered improper. Use any extra chopsticks for this purpose.
•    When catching flies with chopsticks as a demonstration of skill, don’t reuse them for eating.
•    In Taiwan, it is improper to pass food using chopsticks.
•    In Korea, don’t lay the chopstick to the left of a spoon, as the left side is reserved for deceased family members only.
•    In Vietnam, don’t place the chopsticks in a “V” shape after eating; it is interpreted as a bad omen.
•    While holding the bowl near the bowl and shoveling food in may be acceptable in China, Koreans prefer that you keep the dish on the table.
There is an environmental impact in using disposable chopsticks, as 45 billion pairs are used and thrown away annually in China alone. To encourage people to use and dispose less, the Chinese government added a 5 percent tax on chopsticks.

The Kyoto Chopstick Culture Museum exhibits some 500 pairs of chopsticks, including Wajima-nuri Wakasa chopsticks as well as those from foreign lands. The museum also provides real tools for visitors who want to try their hand at making chopsticks. It’s located at 29 Misagani, Tentoku-cho, Yamashina-ku, Kyoto City in Japan, and is free of charge.

Posted in Asia, Food, Guides

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