Has anyone mastered eating with chopsticks?

[Elegiac]

I live in 2017,not fucking over 2000 years in the past.

Yeah! It's 2017 and I still can't get a restaurant to actually cut the fucking food before it arrives at the table.

[Fat Mac]

Yes, but only generally use it in like a Sushi restaurant or place that offers them by default on the table.

I know they pretty much always offer normal fork/knife, or rubber band alternatives if you'd ask, but I just learned it the hard way, it's not that different from learning to hold a pen/pencil properly back at school.

i mean seriously , who goes to a sushi place and does not open the chop stix to try and pick up random items while waiting for said sushi

[callipygoustp]

Learned how to use them when I was kid(which kind of feels like it was 2000 years ago). Never really had a problem "mastering" them.

[Fat Mac]

Learned how to use them when I was kid(which kind of feels like it was 2000 years ago). Never really had a problem "mastering" them.

oh ok , but have you caught a fly with them yet, danialson

[callipygoustp]

oh ok , but have you caught a fly with them yet, danialson

Would you believe me if I said yes?

I wouldn't believe me either.

[God Save The King]

I don't know if I'd say "mastered" but I'm definitely above average with them. When I was going to travel to Asia for a bit, I started to only use chopsticks for about 2-3 months beforehand. Helped tremendously. There's a bit of a growing period, but after a month of consistent use, it becomes as easy as a fork.

Start with bigger things like chunks of meat, vegetables, fruit chunks, etc. After a week or two, move to noodles/rice (those are the hard foods).

I still use them any time I make asian dishes, like ramen, pho, sushi, orange chicken, etc.

[Gestopft]

The biggest mistake I see people make is trying to move both sticks at the same time. One should stay on your thumb side and the other is used for clamping/scooping/moving.

As soon as I was told to keep the bottom stick still is when it all made sense to me. It was like a switch was flipped and suddenly I knew how to chopsticks.

[Elegiac]

As soon as I was told to keep the bottom stick still is when it all made sense to me. It was like a switch was flipped and suddenly I knew how to chopsticks.

Honestly, I prefer chopsticks to western cutlery for most foods. Easier to eat one handed.

[rayden54]

I glued a pair to one of those wood clothespin things (the kind with the sping). Used those for a while.

I can use the regular kind, but after a while, my hand really starts cramping.

[Uselessrouge]

my gf allways takes me out to eat sushi with her friends they all use chopsticks , i am probably to noob so i ask for a fork and a knife :P

so nope but i got a good excuse...

i am lefthanded they dont make those sticks for leftys....

[Celista]

After I was told that I had "mastered" chopsticks I was seriously confused as to why anyone would prefer chopsticks over a fork.

Probably haven't actually "mastered" them yet but still.

[Milchshake]

oh ok , but have you caught a fly with them yet, danialson

I got a few dozen locusts with mine, no prob.

But I like leaving my safe space and eating Filipino street food.

[Jastall]

I also had lots of trouble until a friend pointed out that you're supposed to keep one of them still against your thumb, and only move the other one. Once you're capable of doing that, it becomes much more intuitive.

Before that I always ended up stabbing my sushis with one of the sticks, which to an Asian person must have immediately made me out as some kind of barbarian.

[Gorca]

After I was told that I had "mastered" chopsticks I was seriously confused as to why anyone would prefer chopsticks over a fork.

Probably haven't actually "mastered" them yet but still.

They are better for some foods, like dumplings or fritters or anything else that can fall apart when stabbed with a fork.

Fun Fact: a lot of people are talking about how they use chopsticks on sushi. It is perfectly fine to eat sushi with your hands, even in high-end Japanese restaurants.

[Fat Mac]

I also had lots of trouble until a friend pointed out that you're supposed to keep one of them still against your thumb, and only move the other one. Once you're capable of doing that, it becomes much more intuitive.

As soon as I was told to keep the bottom stick still is when it all made sense to me. It was like a switch was flipped and suddenly I knew how to chopsticks.

this is probably the most important thing to help people out... the bottom stick stays stationary in your hand

- - - Updated - - -

They are better for some foods, like dumplings or fritters or anything else that can fall apart when stabbed with a fork.

Fun Fact: a lot of people are talking about how they use chopsticks on sushi. It is perfectly fine to eat sushi with your hands, even in high-end Japanese restaurants.

correct me if im wrong but isnt it acceptable to shovel rice in your mouth with the chop sticks with the plate by your lips?? i mean i do it anyway but is it acceptable in asian culture?

[judgementofantonidas]

Currently trying to learn how to use chopsticks but food mostly ends up on the plate again, on the table or on the floor. Not in my mouth.

So, any tips for how I can learn how to use chopsticks easy and fast?

children some times learn by wrapping the back end up in a rubber band so that they will close on their own.
it isn't really hard.

[xenogear3]

You need to buy "official" chopsticks.

Not the cheap one you get in the Chinese restaurants.
The official one should be 2 or 3 times heavier.

[Mormolyce]

You need to buy "official" chopsticks.

Not the cheap one you get in the Chinese restaurants.
The official one should be 2 or 3 times heavier.

You mean plastic ones? Or metal? The disposable restaurant ones are some cheap wood.

It wouldn't hurt to get decent ones I suppose.

[33kamous3]

I can't always pick up individual grains of rice, but I can use them well enough to eat a whole meal without much problem.

I'd say practice with the chopsticks but without food. Just sit there and pick stuff up while you watch TV or whatever.

[Radio]

I learned by going to eat noodles with a Chinese mate of mine once per week. I had him as a coach and I just forced myself to only use the chopsticks over and over again until I picked it up. Nothing like learning from someone who has lived with the utensils for life.