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June 17, 2015 6:41 AM Subscribe
I use chopsticks with the same precision, deftness and grace as I imagine a paralysed baby crab would. This embarrasses me hugely. Please help me chopsticks as quickly as possible. Your finest resources and best suggestions would be much appreciated.
Honestly, the directions on the package of restaurant chopsticks gives the correct mechanics: hold the first like a pencil, unmoving, and use the second to grasp your food. It might be easier if you place the first stick against your ring finger instead of your middle finger. This allows you to grasp the moving stick with the tips of your first and second fingers, which gives learners better control.
On preview: try the "correct" picture in 256's link. Good luck! It doesn't take long to get the knack. Oh, and don't hold them too tightly; practice relaxing your grip so that you use only enough force to get the job done.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:57 AM on June 17, 2015
On preview: try the "correct" picture in 256's link. Good luck! It doesn't take long to get the knack. Oh, and don't hold them too tightly; practice relaxing your grip so that you use only enough force to get the job done.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:57 AM on June 17, 2015
First thing you're gonna want to do is practice with a decent set of chopsticks. The short, lightweight, shitty splintery wooden ones are horrible, and if that's what you're using to try to learn with then no wonder you're having trouble. Just buy yourself some chopsticks. They're inexpensive and you can use them for everything (I use chopsticks nearly every day, for stirring stuff and normal utensil use).
So anyway, now you have your chopsticks. The way I hold chopsticks is to think of it like I'm using one pencil but holding two. Bottom pencil doesn't move, only your top one does. I suck at explaining things, but here, this lady doesn't.
Practice with a bowl of snacks while you're just sitting around home in a low pressure situation. Popcorn is a great chopstick learning food because it's got funny angles with lots to grab onto and you're not going to drip sauce all over yourself if you screw up.
posted by phunniemee at 7:00 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
So anyway, now you have your chopsticks. The way I hold chopsticks is to think of it like I'm using one pencil but holding two. Bottom pencil doesn't move, only your top one does. I suck at explaining things, but here, this lady doesn't.
Practice with a bowl of snacks while you're just sitting around home in a low pressure situation. Popcorn is a great chopstick learning food because it's got funny angles with lots to grab onto and you're not going to drip sauce all over yourself if you screw up.
posted by phunniemee at 7:00 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: I should mention that successfully managing to transfer food from the container to my mouth is, at present, something of a minor miracle and my body usually celebrates by ensuring it doesn't happen again until the temperature of the food has dropped a good 200 kelvins so yes, the more thorough the instructions the better
posted by Quilford at 7:02 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Quilford at 7:02 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Oh, and I forgot to add, you get a lot more leverage and they're easier to use if you hold the chopsticks higher up than you think you should, like more than midway. I think instinct (because of the pencil thing) makes you think you should hold them closer down towards the point. This makes them really hard to use. Back back back it up.
posted by phunniemee at 7:03 AM on June 17, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by phunniemee at 7:03 AM on June 17, 2015 [6 favorites]
If you want a bit of help to get used to chopsticks you could try this method (rubber band and folded paper). I've used this to help my daughter get used to using them.
posted by crocomancer at 7:06 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by crocomancer at 7:06 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
The only decent restaurant in my hometown was a Chinese restaurant, so I grew up eating with chopsticks regularly. The main mistake I see other people make, when they can't make the chopsticks obey them at all, is not anchoring the bottom chopstick firmly enough. The bottom one shouldn't move: it stays stable while you move the top one to pinch pieces of food.
In the picture 256 provided above, look at the bottom chopstick. In the first two illustrations, the person is pressing up towards the chopstick and their thumb with their ring finger (or middle finger) and they've set the chopstick in the crease between their thumb and pointer finger, so they can provide pressure in the opposite direction. Those opposing pressures are what keeps the bottom chopstick steady.
So, if you want to improve your chopstick skills, spend some time figuring out how to hold the bottom chopstick steady, and then add the second one to it. It takes some practice, just like any other physical skill, so try not to get frustrated with yourself if it takes a little while.
posted by colfax at 7:07 AM on June 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
In the picture 256 provided above, look at the bottom chopstick. In the first two illustrations, the person is pressing up towards the chopstick and their thumb with their ring finger (or middle finger) and they've set the chopstick in the crease between their thumb and pointer finger, so they can provide pressure in the opposite direction. Those opposing pressures are what keeps the bottom chopstick steady.
So, if you want to improve your chopstick skills, spend some time figuring out how to hold the bottom chopstick steady, and then add the second one to it. It takes some practice, just like any other physical skill, so try not to get frustrated with yourself if it takes a little while.
posted by colfax at 7:07 AM on June 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
It really is about practice, if you have a reasonable level of dexterity otherwise. Think of how long it took you to write letters in grade school - you had to teach your body the movements. So try not to be so hard on yourself and keep practicing. Choose objects that are easy to grab and put a bowl of them by your desk (or wherever you spend time) and practice whenever you are idle. Something with grippy texture that isn't too heavy that has some give. If you have something like upholstery foam cut up into little cubes that might be perfect. Cotton balls. Then graduate to harder, smoother, smaller objects until you can pick up dried beans or slips of cut up card.
256's link is a pretty good one. Apparently I hold my chopsticks the "proper" way - this may explain the admiration of random people in Beijing that one time that this 13 year old white girl was eating their food "right". But the point is to get your food into your mouth without it getting elsewhere so find the grip that works for you.
A key that was pointed out to me when I was little was that chopsticks are like levers. If you hold them closer to the tips, you have more precision, but less power. If you hold them farther back (so they're "longer") you have more power but they're harder to control. As your fingers learn what to do, you are compensating for that lack of precision and allowing the strength of the chopsticks to work. So hold them closer to the back ends.
Anyway, I see your update. Here's basically how I'd describe holding my chopsticks:
Chopstick A is tucked into the cradle of my thumb and forefinger. I curve my ring finger so there is space in the palm of my hand and press the side tip of my ring finger against Chopstick A. The stick is held there by the tension of the crook of my thumb pressing it away from me and the tip of my ring finger pressing it toward me. My pinky curls loosely under or sometimes tucks under my ring finger to add additional stability to the bottom chopstick, which doesn't move.
Chopstick B is held with three fingers - the pad of my thumb and the wedge between my pointer and middle finger. Make a "finger gun". See that line between your fingers? Line Chopstick B up with that, and hold it there with your thumb. Now, curve your pointer and middle finger together with your thumb as the stabilizing point holding Chopstick B against those fingers - the back end will lift away from your knuckles as you bend your fingers. The chopstick will be lifted and lowered by the side of your middle finger and it will be controlled by your pointer finger while your thumb stabilizes it.
Eventually with enough practice any pair of long sticks of any sort will serve as heat-proof extensions of your fingers making crab claw motions.
posted by Mizu at 7:17 AM on June 17, 2015
256's link is a pretty good one. Apparently I hold my chopsticks the "proper" way - this may explain the admiration of random people in Beijing that one time that this 13 year old white girl was eating their food "right". But the point is to get your food into your mouth without it getting elsewhere so find the grip that works for you.
A key that was pointed out to me when I was little was that chopsticks are like levers. If you hold them closer to the tips, you have more precision, but less power. If you hold them farther back (so they're "longer") you have more power but they're harder to control. As your fingers learn what to do, you are compensating for that lack of precision and allowing the strength of the chopsticks to work. So hold them closer to the back ends.
Anyway, I see your update. Here's basically how I'd describe holding my chopsticks:
Chopstick A is tucked into the cradle of my thumb and forefinger. I curve my ring finger so there is space in the palm of my hand and press the side tip of my ring finger against Chopstick A. The stick is held there by the tension of the crook of my thumb pressing it away from me and the tip of my ring finger pressing it toward me. My pinky curls loosely under or sometimes tucks under my ring finger to add additional stability to the bottom chopstick, which doesn't move.
Chopstick B is held with three fingers - the pad of my thumb and the wedge between my pointer and middle finger. Make a "finger gun". See that line between your fingers? Line Chopstick B up with that, and hold it there with your thumb. Now, curve your pointer and middle finger together with your thumb as the stabilizing point holding Chopstick B against those fingers - the back end will lift away from your knuckles as you bend your fingers. The chopstick will be lifted and lowered by the side of your middle finger and it will be controlled by your pointer finger while your thumb stabilizes it.
Eventually with enough practice any pair of long sticks of any sort will serve as heat-proof extensions of your fingers making crab claw motions.
posted by Mizu at 7:17 AM on June 17, 2015
I agree, one of the important things to master is to keep the bottom chopstick steady. The other important aspect is keeping the upper chopstick moving in one plane, not swinging wildly around.
I was just going to describe my method of holding chopsticks, but it looks like Mizu beat me to it! That's exactly how I hold them.
posted by backseatpilot at 7:18 AM on June 17, 2015
I was just going to describe my method of holding chopsticks, but it looks like Mizu beat me to it! That's exactly how I hold them.
posted by backseatpilot at 7:18 AM on June 17, 2015
The different styles of chopsticks can make a difference, too. If you've never used the very slim South Korean stainless steel chopsticks before, they're very different from the long, thick type you'll find in Vietnamese restaurants. I now find the Korean ones easier to use than all others.
posted by scruss at 7:22 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by scruss at 7:22 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Once you think you know what a decent technique is, I would literally spend some time at home like emptying out a drawer of things using only chopsticks. Like grab a pencil, grab an eraser, grab a paperclip, grab a stack of post-its, grab a rubber ball, and practice moving it over and putting it down with some level of control somewhere else. It's sort of like sitting on a yoga ball, you learn to do small self-corrections as you're holding the things and you're dealing with something less precious than food so you're more able to experiment. I think of them like pincers and try to keep them (as others have mentioned) along a flat plane when I am using them.
posted by jessamyn at 7:28 AM on June 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by jessamyn at 7:28 AM on June 17, 2015 [3 favorites]
phunniemee's youtube link looks good, as does that training thing for beginniners --- just don't use it outside the privacy of your own home! ;D
*I'd recommend you stick to bamboo chopsticks, the kind restaurants give you, until you get the hang of them --- the slight roughness of wood will help you hold onto your food better than satin-smooth lacquer or metal versions. Lacquer or metal chopsticks are certainly prettier plus washable/reusable, but buy a package of disposable bamboo chopsticks, at least for now.
*Remember that the bottom chopstick is stationary: only the upper one moves.
*Also, don't hold them close to the food end: you should be holding them pretty much at the back end.
(I don't hold mine precisely like any instructions say, but that might be because I'm a lefthander who learned mostly from a very nice righthanded Japanese lady who thought it absolutely hilarious how much this white then-little-kid loved her cooking.)
posted by easily confused at 7:30 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
*I'd recommend you stick to bamboo chopsticks, the kind restaurants give you, until you get the hang of them --- the slight roughness of wood will help you hold onto your food better than satin-smooth lacquer or metal versions. Lacquer or metal chopsticks are certainly prettier plus washable/reusable, but buy a package of disposable bamboo chopsticks, at least for now.
*Remember that the bottom chopstick is stationary: only the upper one moves.
*Also, don't hold them close to the food end: you should be holding them pretty much at the back end.
(I don't hold mine precisely like any instructions say, but that might be because I'm a lefthander who learned mostly from a very nice righthanded Japanese lady who thought it absolutely hilarious how much this white then-little-kid loved her cooking.)
posted by easily confused at 7:30 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Y'know I'm thinking about this now and can you easily do the Vulcan salute? You know "live long and prosper"? Because that's really hard for some people (just the way their hands are built, I think) and it's very natural for me, and the way I hold chopsticks involves independent control of my four fingers into two steady groups like that. So if you're non-Vulcan, definitely look at different grips where you're using your fingers in different groups, maybe with pinching the top chopstick only between your pointer and thumb, and tucking your middle and ring finger together, or some other thing.
posted by Mizu at 7:38 AM on June 17, 2015
posted by Mizu at 7:38 AM on June 17, 2015
Seems obvious, but worth mentioning: so bear in mind that the bowl doesn't need to stay on the table.
Shortening the distance between bowl and mouth sets you up for a higher success rate.
Also, for degree of difficulty: sticky rice dishes make for easier live practice. Eventually, you can graduate to noodles in oily sauces.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:41 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Shortening the distance between bowl and mouth sets you up for a higher success rate.
Also, for degree of difficulty: sticky rice dishes make for easier live practice. Eventually, you can graduate to noodles in oily sauces.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 7:41 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Really want to echo easily confused, above, with respect to chopstick material - use wooden or bamboo chopsticks! They make it so much easier to grab things. I grew up eating with plastic chopsticks in Chinese restaurants, but at home I now exclusively use wooden ones.
I don't hold my chopsticks properly except when there's something delicate (soup dumpling!!) I want to pick up, so I'm not much help there, I'm afraid.
Good luck, you can certainly learn to do this!
posted by invokeuse at 7:43 AM on June 17, 2015
I don't hold my chopsticks properly except when there's something delicate (soup dumpling!!) I want to pick up, so I'm not much help there, I'm afraid.
Good luck, you can certainly learn to do this!
posted by invokeuse at 7:43 AM on June 17, 2015
practice, practice, practice
posted by Jacqueline at 7:54 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by Jacqueline at 7:54 AM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
Also keep in mind that actual Chinese people typically eat Chinese food from bowls held close to their faces, not from flat plates a couple feet away on a table. Chopsticks are much more effective when you're picking food off a concave surface and only have to move it a few inches.
posted by Jacqueline at 7:55 AM on June 17, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by Jacqueline at 7:55 AM on June 17, 2015 [10 favorites]
Oh, another thing that might seem obvious but maybe not:
While we're all talking about how the bottom chopstick doesn't move, your wrist does move. So to do something like scoop up a pile of rice, or slide your chopstick under a slice of meat and pinch it with your top chopstick, you're using your wrist to point the bottom chopstick where you want it to go, and using your top fingers to manipulate the top chopstick away from what your wrist is doing.
posted by Mizu at 8:04 AM on June 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
While we're all talking about how the bottom chopstick doesn't move, your wrist does move. So to do something like scoop up a pile of rice, or slide your chopstick under a slice of meat and pinch it with your top chopstick, you're using your wrist to point the bottom chopstick where you want it to go, and using your top fingers to manipulate the top chopstick away from what your wrist is doing.
posted by Mizu at 8:04 AM on June 17, 2015 [2 favorites]
I studied abroad in China, and while I had used chopsticks before, as had most everyone else in my class, we all lost weight during the first week while trying to learn to use them for every meal. I'm not even kidding - even those of us who knew how to use them correctly could not do it fast enough to finish a meal in decent time, until we were literally forced to learn or go hungry. It was one hell of a motivator! So maybe just try using ONLY chopsticks for a while. Worked for me.
Also, to reiterate: popcorn. Seriously. I started doing this for practice, which it's great for, but now I love eating popcorn with chopsticks. It's honestly better that way.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:59 AM on June 17, 2015 [6 favorites]
Also, to reiterate: popcorn. Seriously. I started doing this for practice, which it's great for, but now I love eating popcorn with chopsticks. It's honestly better that way.
posted by showbiz_liz at 8:59 AM on June 17, 2015 [6 favorites]
Pro tip: use your dominant hand, no matter which one it is.
posted by Namlit at 9:24 AM on June 17, 2015
posted by Namlit at 9:24 AM on June 17, 2015
I'm a pretty seasoned chopsticks user, have been for years, and I was kind of surprised by the link 256 posted above because that's not how I use chopsticks at all and when I tried it just now with an extra set I have in my desk, I couldn't do it.
The way I do it isn't too far off those photos: instead of resting the bottom chopstick on top of my middle finger, I rest it on top of my ring finger, with the finger pad of my middle finger on *top* of the bottom chopstick, holding it steady. That way, the bottom chopstick is firmly anchored between my middle and ring fingers, and it stays completely stable. The top chopstick moves, as in the photos.
Maybe this is totally non-traditional or whatever, but I haven't had anyone snicker at me when I use chopsticks this way, or at least not openly.
posted by Button-down sock at 9:27 AM on June 17, 2015
The way I do it isn't too far off those photos: instead of resting the bottom chopstick on top of my middle finger, I rest it on top of my ring finger, with the finger pad of my middle finger on *top* of the bottom chopstick, holding it steady. That way, the bottom chopstick is firmly anchored between my middle and ring fingers, and it stays completely stable. The top chopstick moves, as in the photos.
Maybe this is totally non-traditional or whatever, but I haven't had anyone snicker at me when I use chopsticks this way, or at least not openly.
posted by Button-down sock at 9:27 AM on June 17, 2015
If you are starting from scratch, I strongly urge you to learn the "proper" way to hold the chopsticks (photo 2 in 256's link). Although people will probably not randomly accost you to tell you you're doing it wrong, there is a manners aspect to it. (At some point in college my [Japanese] husband declared he could no longer be seen in public with me til I learned to hold my damn chopsticks correctly). Also you really do have more control.
If you do buy a set of nice reusable chopsticks, be sure you get a set that has rough texture on the eating end. They exist. Also tapered is better. Smooth plastic chopsticks that are rectangular along the whole length are a bitch to eat with.
Be sure you are eating the right foods. Lots of Chinese restaurants give you non sticky rice. That stuff is next to impossible to eat with chopsticks. Hunks of sticky rice and bite size chunks of meat are the easiest, vegetables next. Don't tell anybody, but sometimes for slippery vegetables I surreptitiously impale it with the lower chopstick, then grab on with the upper. Be sneaky about this, though.
Don't ever stick your chopsticks in a bowl of rice and leave them standing up. This is horrible manners. As is allowing two sets of chopsticks to touch the same piece of food. And putting soy sauce directly on your rice.
posted by telepanda at 11:11 AM on June 17, 2015
If you do buy a set of nice reusable chopsticks, be sure you get a set that has rough texture on the eating end. They exist. Also tapered is better. Smooth plastic chopsticks that are rectangular along the whole length are a bitch to eat with.
Be sure you are eating the right foods. Lots of Chinese restaurants give you non sticky rice. That stuff is next to impossible to eat with chopsticks. Hunks of sticky rice and bite size chunks of meat are the easiest, vegetables next. Don't tell anybody, but sometimes for slippery vegetables I surreptitiously impale it with the lower chopstick, then grab on with the upper. Be sneaky about this, though.
Don't ever stick your chopsticks in a bowl of rice and leave them standing up. This is horrible manners. As is allowing two sets of chopsticks to touch the same piece of food. And putting soy sauce directly on your rice.
posted by telepanda at 11:11 AM on June 17, 2015
I use a variation of the 2nd grip, which might be easier for you even if it's "wrong". Instead of nestling the lower chopstick near the top knuckle I "tuck" it next to my fingernail. Since this may sound confusing, here's a picture.
posted by O9scar at 11:52 AM on June 17, 2015
posted by O9scar at 11:52 AM on June 17, 2015
I'm with showbiz_liz: try using chopsticks exclusively for awhile. (They even work well for salad!)
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:54 AM on June 17, 2015
posted by fiercecupcake at 11:54 AM on June 17, 2015
As far as I'm concerned, chopsticks are the only way to eat salad. Once you get the hang of actually picking up pieces of lettuce to eat them, you'll get pissed off every time you try to stab a thin little leaf with a fork for the rest of your life.
posted by telepanda at 12:36 PM on June 17, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by telepanda at 12:36 PM on June 17, 2015 [7 favorites]
Response by poster: I have a feeling this ain't gonna be the last bowl of popcorn I eat today
posted by Quilford at 5:17 PM on June 17, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Quilford at 5:17 PM on June 17, 2015 [6 favorites]
I have a thing for cheesy popcorn. The advice in this thread about chopsticks and popcorn is life-changing.
Also, the nice thing about buying chopsticks for home use is that you can buy some really cool-looking sets with different designs on them.
So treat yourself, and as others have said, practice, practice, practice!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:46 PM on June 17, 2015
Also, the nice thing about buying chopsticks for home use is that you can buy some really cool-looking sets with different designs on them.
So treat yourself, and as others have said, practice, practice, practice!
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 5:46 PM on June 17, 2015
Greetings from Japan. I use the "conventional" style that appears in the second picture on the page that 256 linked. I find it to be intuitive but I don't think it is hard to learn with some practice. I think a mistake many people make is holding the sticks too tightly. Another mistake I see all the time is people choking up on the chopsticks and holding them too closely to the tips.
At least in Japan, people will notice how you hold your chopsticks just like many westerners will notice how one holds a spoon, knife, and fork. I cannot speak to other chopstick using cultures in this regard, although I suspect it is similar. 256's linked page also has good explanations of Japanese chopstick etiquette. I don't know about other countries, but I again assume the rules are largely similar.
posted by Tanizaki at 5:50 PM on June 17, 2015
At least in Japan, people will notice how you hold your chopsticks just like many westerners will notice how one holds a spoon, knife, and fork. I cannot speak to other chopstick using cultures in this regard, although I suspect it is similar. 256's linked page also has good explanations of Japanese chopstick etiquette. I don't know about other countries, but I again assume the rules are largely similar.
posted by Tanizaki at 5:50 PM on June 17, 2015
It's difficult to pick up food if the tips of your chopsticks are uneven. If you notice that the tip of one chopstick has worked its way past the other, relax your grip slightly and tap the tips of both chopsticks lightly on your bowl to even them out.
(Someone should feel free to chime in and let me know if doing so is considered bad manners. I have been using chopsticks for my entire Asian life and just discovered that I am doing it wrong because I hold them like the first grip in 256's link)
posted by hhc5 at 6:41 PM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
(Someone should feel free to chime in and let me know if doing so is considered bad manners. I have been using chopsticks for my entire Asian life and just discovered that I am doing it wrong because I hold them like the first grip in 256's link)
posted by hhc5 at 6:41 PM on June 17, 2015 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
Note that the second picture is the "proper" way to use chopsticks. I, like the author of the article, hold my chopsticks as in the first picture, except that I press the pad (front) of my middle finger directly against the side of the lower chopstick. The result is that you have one stick in a firm grip between your index finger and the tip of your thumb while having the other chopstick in a firm grip between your middle finger and the base of your thumb. The bottom chopstick basically never moves, you just lift the top chopstick away from it and then press it back down.
I find this much easier than the proper way, though I can pull that off too if I'm at a business lunch or something.
I do remember, having grown up in the whitest part of rural Canada, moving to Toronto for university and asking a Chinese friend if I was using my chopsticks properly.
"Does the food get in your mouth?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Then you're doing it right."
posted by 256 at 6:50 AM on June 17, 2015 [9 favorites]