Mobile
Eating with two skinny sticks feels unnatural to some of us, but it's been a way of life for about 5,000 years in China. Food was cooked in large pots and retrieved using twigs. As the population grew, it was important to conserve resources so the food was cut into small pieces that would cook fast and save fuel. The small pieces made knives unnecessary, and the twigs evolved into chopsticks. Confucius, who lived from around 551 to 479 BC, may have influenced the development of chopsticks. As a vegetarian, he believed knives reminded people of slaughterhouses and he discouraged their use at the table. By 500 BC, chopstick use had spread to present-day Vietnam, Korea and Japan.
It's really not that difficult to learn to use chopsticks, and somehow the food does taste better when eaten with them. But there are some rules of etiquette and some superstitions that you should know once you get the hang of them:
Don't spear food with the chopsticks.
Don't wave your chopsticks around, point with them, or play with them.
Don't stick chopsticks into your food, especially not into a bowl of rice. In Japanese funerals, the deceased's chopsticks are stuck into a bowl of rice and placed on the family altar as an offering.
Don't pass food directly from your chopsticks to another's. This resembles a ritual in which bone fragments from a cremated body are removed from the pyre and passed by chopsticks among the mourners.
The Chinese believe that an uneven pair of chopsticks at your place setting means you are going to miss a boat, plane or train, and that dropped chopsticks will bring bad luck.
And although I didn't find this in my research, I suspect that shoving chopsticks between your gums and your upper lip so you look like a walrus is considered very gauche.
Speaking of Cuisine_chew.html
-
At Your Service
Jun 29, 2005 -
It's the Berries
Jun 15, 2005 -
It's Picnic Time
Jun 8, 2005 - More »
Latest in Chew on This
More by Linda Vespa
-
Well, It's Diet Time Again
Nov 27, 2019 -
Urban Explorer's Handbook 2006
Mar 8, 2006 -
American Gluttony
Nov 23, 2005 - More »
Calendar
-
Charlotte Wine + Food Week Presented by Truist @ Charlotte, NC
- Tue., April 16, Wed., April 17, Thu., April 18, Fri., April 19, Sat., April 20 and Sun., April 21
-
-
Charlotte Wine & Food Week’s Annual Sake Dinner at Mizu @ Mizu
- Wed., April 17, 6:30 p.m.
-
-
Hands On Cocktail Class Featuring Gin at DTR Southpark @ DTR SouthPark
- Wed., April 17, 7 p.m.
-
-
Angeline’s Featuring Sciandri Family Vineyards @ Angeline's
- Thu., April 18, 6:30 p.m.
-
-
Aria Tuscan Grill Featuring Allegrini - Charlotte Wine + Food Week @ Aria Tuscan Grill
- Thu., April 18, 6:30 p.m.
-
-
TESTED RECIPE: Barbecued Chinese Chicken Lettuce Wraps 3
A review of the wraps and a recipe for a fabulous Lemon Cake.
-
Elizabeth Anne Dover Brings a Vineyard to NASCAR Country
Napa South
-
Cotswold Enters the Food Truck Frenzy 1
Friday night lights, redux
