apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

It's the Korean stainless steel chopsticks that are a little more challenging -- they are more slippery, and the shape is different.

(oh, am I ever craving Korean food now....!!!)

I grew up with chopsticks, and they've carried over into everyday kitchen use... to the point that I cook just about everything with them (except pancakes and deep-fried goodies). When I cook in friends' kitchens, I feel clumsy with wooden spoons and spatulas. I guess I've gotten used to chopsticks as an extension of my cooking arm! I can't imagine a more versatile utensil.

Like phu, I grew up using chopsticks. My family actually scheduled "western-style" eating nights to hone our fork and knife skills, though I still cannot eat a salad or spaghetti without looking foolish.

I can use them but my eating speed which is already 1/2 that of most of my peers is then cut in 1/2 again----unless you want to wait another 20 minutes for me to finish, I'll take a fork.

I agree with mschateilane, Korean metal chopsticks are quite the challenge! Particularly because they're quite heavy, stainless steel is super slippery and their 'gauge' is more rectangular than square. It's well worth it though, all for the love of Korean bbq.

I sort of grew up with them. My dad is half Japanese so we'd go out for Japanese fairly regularly and my sis and I would always use chopsticks. Christmas Eve dinner always involved chopsticks as well.

Tips for newbies:
-Don't order udon! Squeeze too hard, and the noodle breaks, don't squeeze hard enough and it slips away. Katsu donburi is easier and quite delicious, although nothing like Udon.
-Tamp down your rice if you're having trouble eating it. If it's pressed together, it sticks so you can get chunks instead of single grains.
-Remember, sometimes you're going to pick up your food, but other times you're going to need to use the chopsticks, held slightly apart, like a shovel or spoon. This is especially true with rice.
-Practice! Eat with chopsticks at home if you really want to get decent at it. It's fun, especially if you go buy some cheap but darling sets from an Asian market or something.

I'm awful with chopsticks. The first time I tried, I flung a piece of sushi (which I'm now told is OK to eat with fingers) across the restaurant, and my mortified teenage grandson had to retrieve it. I'm very good at patting my head and rubbing my tummy simultaneously, but with chopsticks, I'm totally spastic.

I'm very fluent in chopstick. I am always sad when the mandatory January "lose those holiday pounds!" advice is "eat with chopsticks to slow down." No. Won't work. I can eat just as fast, alas.

Chopsticks make me sad. Especially since most used in the US are not reusable and get thrown out after one use. When i think of all the sushi joints plus chinese takeout places that go through so many chopsticks, i get sad. :(

I am hopeless when it comes to chopsticks despite my repeated attempts. My husband and I went to sushi on Friday and managed to not completetly botch my dinner but that was a rarity.

I went to elementary school in San Francisco's Chinatown, and have been eating with chopsticks as long as I've been eating with forks and knives.

When I was in first or second grade, at Chinese New Year the local community center had a children's game - how many marbles can you pick out of a bowl of soapy water with chopsticks? Everyone thought it was hilarious that I, a little non-Chinese kid, was the grand prize winner of the day! (I won a plastic bag full of goldfish.)

Chez Shoes, that's funny -- I used to win the Chinese New Year chopstick contests, too! :D

Wow! Stainless steel chopsticks?? The Korean place by me just has the disposable kind.

I've eaten Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese and sushi/Japanese (even Udon) food with chopsticks. That probably means I should get my own pair; anybody have any good recommendations?

one of my personal biggest embarrassments as an adult (besides not being able to fold a fitted sheet) is not being to use chopsticks.

I'll blame my parents for it. I didn't have a real Asian restaurant experience until I was in college!

I agree with mschatelaine and morphomercedes...metal Korean chopsticks are so difficult! And...mschatelaine...you made me crave Korean food too!! I was fortunate enough to live in Daegu, S. Korea for four years growing up, so being able to use authentic chopsticks was so awesome!

I have no problems using chopsticks, metal or other types. I can actually use them with either hand. I had chopsticks shoved in my hands when I was four. Of course, I also loved escargot when I was four, so I guess I just had progressive parents.

I agree with MH330. Too many disposable chopsticks!

When we get takeout we tell them not to add them and I plan on picking up some of the many pretty travel sets for husband and I to use when we go out for sit-down Asian food.

Like these: http://www.to-goware.com/store/cart.php?m=product_list&c=7


:-)

http://embritadesign.blogspot.com

I'm very good with chopsticks. I never understood the big deal about using them. It's not a feat of incredible dexterity.

As for all the complaints about disposable chopsticks in the U.S., they use nothing but those in Japan (including restaurants which are not doing take out food or delivery).

i was always kind of ok as my parents always had chopsticks and we'd use them maybe once a week.

i went to japan on exchange when i was 15 though and thats when i really learned quick. i love eating with chopsticks.

i wish it was considered socially acceptable here to carry your own chopsticks around. heck i wish it was just everyday practice to carry your own knife and fork around too.

mh330, what's the difference between disposable chopsticks and plastic forks? Obviously, we should encourage restaurants to move away from both...but isn't it a little rude to say "chopsticks make me sad"?

My brother and I used to practice our chopstick skills picking the ice cubes/chips out of our water glasses waiting for dinnner.

....there are travel chopsticks....they're like mini pool cues in a box. They screw together in the middle to make full sized chopsticks. I also got a mini pair that goes in my bento box (there's even a space for it) so when I bring my lunch I don't have to worry about utensils.

I've used them all my life, but I do use them wrong. My cousins make fun of me all all the time. I also cook with them, however my boyfriend only uses them to stir things like paint and tosses them. So I'm on my 3rd set....that makes me sad.

I'm not quite expert with them, but I learned to use them in third grade, so I do okay. The wooden disposable kind are the least slippery, so they're easiest to learn on. But I bought two pretty coated bamboo pairs in chinatown so I rarely have to feel bad about throw aways. Besides, if you do end up with a pair of disposables you can always take them home and reuse them for something. They make good plant supports, for example.

My grandmother got on a Chinese food kick and taught me to use them when I was young. It turned out to be handy when about fifteen years later, I started dating an Asian guy.

From my now in-laws, I have travel chopsticks that collapse like radio antennas to fit in a little case. Mine are ribbed so they're not so slippery. A bunch of co-workers were entertained when I whipped them out to eat duck legs out of a noodle soup. (That was admittedly a bit awkward, partly because the chopsticks kept collapsing because of the fatty broth.)

I do have a porcelain set that's difficult to use, though (and heavy!)

Although I've found chopsticks handy in cooking, I'm a little puzzled that my husband tries to beat eggs with them. Sure, you can do it, but it's not the most efficient tool for the job. (I'm picky about beating eggs though - it must be a fork, because a whisk doesn't puncture the yolk properly and therefore takes longer.)

About carrying your own--you can get handy cases at Pearl River and keep a pair at your desk at work. Much nicer than splintery disposibles. Of course, eventually the cheap case wears out. And then you'll be sad.

Cooking. They are fantastic for cooking. I'd like some of the tied ones that are actually intended for the task, but even the annoyingly-smooth cheapies have their uses.

Also, there's no faster way to eat a bowl of noodles (oh dear, my college is showing...).

I eat about as well with chopsticks as I do with a fork and knife. About two years ago I started working with native Koreans who were temporarily in the US, and they eventually gave me my own set of the metal chopsticks. At first I found them a bit tricky, since I was accustomed to the disposable ones or wider bamboo ones, and the metal ones were heavier, longer, and thinner than what I was used to -- but after maybe two weeks or so they felt perfectly natural. I eat with them all the time now, basically whenever I'm eating at home.

One thing that's awesome about Korean food is that it's totally acceptable to eat some rice dishes with one of those wide Korean spoons. I can pick up rice with chopsticks, no problem, but it's a whole lot more satisfying to shovel a mouthful of fried rice in all at once. (Similarly, one of my biggest pet peeves is people who eat most Thai food with chopsticks. Use the spoon!!!)

Eating with chopsticks is one of the few things that I have a natural ability for, although I didn't pick up a pair of them until I was at university. I should really pop into Chinatown the next time I'm in the West End just to have a couple of pairs on hand (no pun intended) at home.

I have never understood the point of learning to use a less-efficient implement when there is a more efficient one readily available - I don't use them on principle.

They're not less efficient for everyone, Violetsrose. It's easier for me to eat some foods with chopsticks -- and I didn't even grow up in a home where we used them for meals. Once you're comfortable using them, there are times when it's handier to have something to just grab food with rather than trying to spear or scoop it up.

Of course, it depends largely on what your typical diet is. Most of what I cook is Korean or Japanese. It's not like I'd eat a steak and mashed potatoes with chopsticks. But for grabbing some kimchi out of a big bowl of kimchi chigae, a fork would probably be harder.