Friday, November 21, 2008

Chopstick Song

I remembered there was a song I learned to play on the piano named Chopstick(s)….ages ago. I have since resigned from playing the piano. Well, chopstick(s) isn’t just about a song but a great invention. Chopsticks are believed to have originated from China but have since been used extensively in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan and even areas in Tibet and Nepal that are close to the Chinese border. Chopsticks are commonly made of plastic, wood and metal with the more expensive ones from ivory and bone. I consider chopsticks a cutlery marvel as the user has to maneuver a pair of sticks properly in order to pick up pieces of food.

I was brought up in a mostly westernized household where we eat with forks and spoons...from a very young age. Even until today, I don’t eat with a pair of chopsticks at home. Only at Chinese restaurants. So much so that people can tell from the way I hold the chopsticks that I am not a regular user. What about you?
And what are some of the rules and etiquette in using a pair of chopsticks?
According to Wikipedia:-

Universal etiquette:

Chopsticks are not used to make noise, to draw attention, or to gesticulate. Playing with chopsticks is considered bad mannered and vulgar (just as playing with cutlery in a Western environment would be deemed crass). Chopsticks are not used to move bowls or plates.
Chopsticks are not used to toy with one's food or with dishes in common. Chopsticks are not used to pierce food, save in rare instances. Exceptions include tearing larger items apart such as vegetables and kimchi. In informal use, small, difficult-to-pick-up items such as cherry tomatoes or fishballs may be stabbed, but this use is frowned upon by traditionalists. Chopsticks should not be left standing vertically in a bowl of rice or other food. Any stick-like object pointed upward resembles the incense sticks that some Asians use as offerings to deceased family members; certain funerary rites designate offerings of food to the dead using standing chopsticks.

Chinese etiquette:

In Chinese culture, it is normal to hold the rice bowl—rice in China is rarely served on a plate—up to one's mouth and use chopsticks to push rice directly into the mouth. It is acceptable to transfer food to closely related people (e.g. grandparents, parents, spouse, children, or significant others) if they are having difficulty picking up the food. Also it is a sign of respect to pass food to the elderly first before the dinner starts. It is impolite to spear food with a chopstick and/or play with the chopsticks. It is rude to use the chopstick to dig for food in the common dish. Chopsticks should not be left vertically stuck in rice because it resembles the ritual of incense-burning that symbolizes "feeding" the dead and death in general.

Korean etiquette (since the pair of chopsticks were photographed at a Korean restaurant):

Koreans consider it rude to pick up the rice bowl from the table to eat from it.
Unlike other chopstick cultures, Koreans use a spoon for their rice and soup, and chopsticks for most other things at the table. (Traditionally, Korean spoons have a relatively flat, circular head with a straight handle, unlike Chinese or Japanese soup spoons.) Unlike the rice eaten in many parts of China, cooked Korean rice can be easily picked up with chopsticks, although eating rice with a spoon is more acceptable. When laying chopsticks down on the table next to a spoon, one must never put the chopsticks to the left of the spoon. Chopsticks are only laid to the left for deceased family members. The blunt handle ends of chopsticks are not used to transfer food from common dishes. When no communal chopsticks are available, it is perfectly acceptable to pick up banchan and eat it without putting it down on one's bowl first. Also, there is an old saying suggesting that the closer one's hand is to the tips of the chopsticks, the longer they stay unmarried.

14 comments:

haleyhughes said...

Interesting. I know a little bit of chopstick etiquette, but obviously have a lot more to learn. Thanks for the lesson.

foongpc said...

I didn't know that Koreans considered it rude to pick up the bowl of rice like what Chinese people do! Looks like there is much to learn about different cultures even among us Asians.

Oh, is that you holding the chopsticks? Indeed that's not the normal way to hold a chopsticks : )

Btw, I have also played this short piano piece called "Chopsticks" when I was small : )

My Bug Life said...

Hahha...Foong, that's my friend holding the chopstick..I guess she'd like me, not a regular user :)

Happysurfer said...

Interesting info, MBL. Thanks.

I also heard that the distance you grip the chopsticks from the tip denotes how far off you will be married to from your home. Old wives tale probably.

I was told I hold the chopsticks the right way.

C K said...

Thanks for the post! I read from somewhere that whether a Korean picks up his/her bowl when eating tells much about their background - wealthy Koreans have enough table space that allow them to place their rice bowls on the tables whereas their less well off counterparts are not able to do that as they tend to share a small table.

Me? I can't handle a pair of chopsticks even if my life depended on it. It was so embarrassing when my New Zealander colleague managed them better than I did in a Korean restaurant. Oh well...

iWalk said...

Chopsticks are already a part of food culture.

But I hate one-off Chopsticks which are used popularly in China and Japan. They are all made by wood! What a kind of waste!

Monica said...

we don't eat with chopsticks at home too. I find it so difficult to use it and eat rice out of a bowl :-D

jam said...

I still use chopstick both at homes and eating outside. It is not that I dun like to use fork. It has become a habit I guess.

lina said...

I need my chopsticks when eating noodles (especially instant noodles) hehehe

I have a few pairs of chopsticks at home but I am not really good at using them.

Thanks for the info - ahhh I've got a lot to learn about etiquette

angelgrotton said...

what s story. Thanks dear )

Jinghui said...

A very detailed and informative write up on chopsticks etiquette, even though Asians regularly use chopsticks, there were still some differences in the cultures.

Mizé said...

Hi. Super interesting.
I didn´t know anything about chopstick etiquette so I loved learning with your post.
I´m not very gifted using them, I´m left handed when I eat and can´t use chopsticks properly, never got used to it.
A funny thing is my daughter, she´s left handed too but she can eat with chopsticks so well, it´s amazing to see her eat when we go out to a Chinese restaurant. It´s like she´s been doing that all her life.
I also love Piano, my ex used to play. It´s ultra romantic, lol.
A great Sunday. Cheers!

Tekkaus said...

Wow! I've learnt a lot of things here today. Chopstick knowledge huh! =)

QuaChee said...

so many dos & donts lol :) i think even for fork & spoon, many arent eating the right way..

but well learning the right way is good i guess - though as pointed, in diff cultures, it will be diff :)