How to Use Chopsticks.
Like skiing and speaking a foreign language,
chopstick use is a skill ideally acquired
in childhood.
But with a little perseverance, adults tired
of feeling boorish in Asian restaurants can
become adept.
You will need Chopsticks and patience.
Step 1.
In your right hand, traditionally used even
by the left-handed, rest the thick end of
one chopstick on the webbing between your
thumb and forefinger so that about an inch
of it sticks out beyond your hand, and rest
the other end on your ring finger.
Keep your fingers loosely curled.
Successful chopstick use depends on stabilizing
this bottom chopstick, which doesn't move,
to leave your thumb and forefinger free to
maneuver the top chopstick, which does.
Step 2.
Grip this bottom chopstick with the bottom
of your thumb so it is immobilized and sits
firmly on your ring finger.
You can use the tip of your middle finger
to stabilize the ring-finger end of the chopstick.
Step 3.
If you're holding the bottom chopstick correctly,
your entire index finger and the top joint
of your thumb are free to move around.
Grip the top chopstick between the tips of
these fingers so that its tip lines up with
the bottom chopstick's tip.
Step 4.
To pick up a piece of food, maneuver the top
chopstick to grasp it with the tip and brace
it against the bottom one.
Etiquette requires that you use chopsticks
neither to chop nor to stick.
For that, use knives and forks.
Step 5.
Now, carefully lift a piece of food with your
chopsticks, taking care not to let it slide
out.
Sweet success.
Did you know Many sushi aficionados insist
that sushi should be eaten with the fingers—an
excellent fallback position if you have trouble
mastering chopsticks.
