Chopstick

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is what chopsticks look like. The ones in the picture are wooden and plastic.
This is what chopsticks look like. The ones in the picture are wooden and plastic.

Chopsticks are (usually) two sticks which are used in some Asian countries to carry food from the plate or bowl to the eater's mouth. They are made of wood, metal, ivory, bamboo, or plastic.

Many people believe chopsticks were invented in ancient China. Today in China and neighboring countries people use chopsticks; Korea, Japan, Mongolia, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore. In many other countries chopsticks are often found in restaurants of those countries' cuisines.

In countries where people use chopsticks, people use them instead of a knife and fork. The sticks are held together in the same hand -- the right hand. In most countries, people think it is rude to use chopsticks in the left hand.

[edit] How to use chopsticks

Diagrams on how to hold chopsticks
  1. Put one chopstick between the palm and the base of the thumb, using the ring finger (the fourth finger from the thumb) to support the lower part of the stick. With the thumb, squeeze the stick down while the ring finger pushes it up. The stick should be stationary and very stable.
  2. Use the tips of the thumb, index and middle fingers to hold the other stick like an ink pen. Make sure the tips of the two sticks line up.
  3. Turn the upper stick up and down towards the stationary lower stick. With this motion one can pick up food of surprising size.
  4. With enough practice, the two sticks function like a pair of pincers (a tool that can easily lift things).

Tip: For easier handling in the beginning, hold the sticks at the midpoint as a child would do. With proficiency, hold the sticks at the upper ends for a farther reach and a more mature look.

If the tips fail to line up, it will be difficult to hold things. Hold the chopsticks upright with one of the tips lightly touching the table, and gently push the chopsticks down or gently loosen your grip for a moment to let both tips become equal in length. You can also adjust your grip or holding position this way.

With practice, it is possible to perform step one and two right away, on picking up the chopsticks with one hand smoothly. Hold the chopstick at different angles if necessary in order to feel comfortable with two sticks between your fingers.

[edit] What chopsticks are used for

Chopsticks are used in cooking to stir materials in a pan, or moving meals from a pan to dishes.

In Japan people use a single-use chopstick called waribashi (split chopstick). Before using, people split it into two.

In Japan people use chopsticks during the funeral ceremony of Buddhists. After burning the dead, family and friends move the burned bones of the dead from the coffin to a pot with chopsticks. Different from ordinary use, the chopsticks in this occasion are not made from the same material (for example, a wooden one and a bamboo one).

[edit] In the past

Chopsticks' name means "the quick little fellows". Also, it is either greedy people who cannot wait for their supper invented the chopstick to get their food or it is Confucius who said people should not take knives onto the table.