Do you use chopsticks ?

Some stats -

Chopstick Usage Among Americans
General Statistics
Expert Users: 4% of Americans consider themselves expert chopstick users.
Very Good Users: 11% report being very good at using chopsticks.
Fair Users: 19% feel they are fair users.
Not Very Good or Terrible: 43% admit to being not very good or terrible at using chopsticks.
No Experience: 24% say they have never used chopsticks.


I learned to use chopsticks a while ago. I'm very good with them to the point of preferring them over a knife and fork when eating Chinese food. I can eat more efficiently and quicker with them. Yes , I eat loose rice , like pork fried rice with them.

I used to work at this paper mill with only two choices for food delivery to the job , an Italian place and a Chinese place. I ate a lot of both. Got good eating the Chinese food with chopsticks. It is now second nature with me and very easy.

Some Asian people have commented to me that I use chopsticks like a native. Over 2 billion people on the planet use them everyday.
I had this Cambodian girl sitting next to me one day at lunch while eating Chinese food , elbow me in the ribs and declare this -
<Said with a thick Asian accent>
" That not right "
" You not Asian "
" You should not use chopsticks better than me "
She was one of my coworkers , US born I think. I noticed prior to this incident I noticed that she struggled a bit with chopsticks , I never said anything about it. I think she was jealous/impressed at my skill.

Easy to learn , the basic holding technique is simple , but the real payout is in practice , practice , practice and more practice. Plus it is like riding a bicycle , once you learn , you never forget.



How many of you out there use chopsticks or have become a master with them ?

I should ,would loose 20#

^^^Really needed to say that huh?

Tried them several times, no way , gave up, no worries, I can eat more with regular tools LOL !

Do chop sticks get washed like silverware.. ?

43 % 4 me

One thing I have told people is to use/learn about using chopsticks is to eat some of your meal with them , say , 5% of the meal , then switch over to a fork as it is frustrating at first. Keep doing this every time you eat. Soon , you start to get better and are able to eat 10% of your meal. As your skills improve more , eating 20%-30% becomes the norm. Practice , practice. The real tipping point comes when you can eat 50% of your meal. Then it becomes a challenge to eat the entire meal without a fork. Slow at first , taking much longer than a fork. Your skills increase and your speed picks up with practice.

This is how I learned.

Yes and no.
Depending on the type of material they are made from. Bamboo and wood chopsticks should be rinsed and wiped down without letting them soak in water which will cause them to swell.

The bamboo chopsticks that you get at a Chinese restaurant are disposable and are viewed like one use like a plastic fork.
A dishwasher would probably destroy them in a short manner. Hand washing is the preferred method.

The plastic or metal chopsticks can be treated more like silverware.

I like the Chinese and Japanese style of chopsticks. The Korean ones not as much.

For me, using chopsticks to eat a meal would be like trying to drink coffee without a cup.

lol

Only time I use chopsticks is if I need to plug a hole, lol

Anything you would use chopsticks for ain't fit to eat anyway.

May come in handy the way the World is changing.

I’m surprisingly good at using them, considering I’m exceptionally clumsy with everything else I do.
However, when I see people using them to eat sushi it drives me crazy. Another addition to my list of irritants

Put me in the 24% category. When I pick up take out from the local Chinese resturant they include plastic forks. Even they get it.

Be careful all you chopstick users. You'll be accused of cultural appropriation.

Keith

I've watched Chinese folks eat rice from a bowl,..they raise the bowl to their mouth and shovel rice in with the sticks, heck, even I can do that!, lol,,,, but I'm not going to...

I like using them when I’m cooking.

Lived there for a dozen years in the late 60s to 1980. i guess I am good with them but have not used since.....jk