Something on chopsticks – and more!

I recently read something about chopsticks (and how you can differentiate them based on nationality). I thought I’d share:

• Chinese chopsticks are longer, have squared sides, and are made of bamboo, plastic or ivory.
• The Vietnamese use Chinese-style chopsticks.
• Japanese chopsticks are shorter and pointed at the end that goes into the mouth. Wooden chopsticks are lacquered.
• Korean chopsticks are usually made of metal like stainless steel. Although of the same length as the Japanese, Korean chopsticks are thin and flat. 

My mother once bought several pairs of lacquered chopsticks for fun. Based on this classification, they are definitely Japanese chopsticks. I haven’t learned to use them, but then, if I were really into Chinese culture, I should learn to use it, right?

Here’s more! 

Chopsticks etiquette

• Use the serving spoon or serving chopsticks when getting food from a communal bowl. If none is provided, it is acceptable to use the blunt end of the chopsticks.
• The chopsticks should not enter your mouth – they should be merely brought to your lips.
• Left-handed people have a problem using chopsticks because of the possibility that their left elbows would bump into the right elbows of their right-handed neighbors. Chinese parents force their left-handed children to learn to use the chopsticks with their right hands.
• Don’t use the chopsticks to point at anything.
• Don’t use the chopsticks to spear food.
  
• After eating, place the chopsticks in a parallel position atop the bowl or dish or on a chopstick rest (never seen one though); never place it on the table, crossed or upright. Sticking the chopsticks upright reminds Buddhists of the incense sticks used in funeral ceremonies, therefore, death.
• Do not rub wooden chopsticks to remove splinters.
• And of course, never reuse disposable chopsticks!

Chinese business banquets

• It is impolite to stop in the middle of a meal (it might be taken as an insult). Chinese business banquets can get as large as 8 to 15 courses – to accommodate such a gigantic meal, it is suggested that one eats slowly and take only small portions.
• If the host begins to heap food on your plate, eat it but leave some food to hint at the host that you are getting full.
• Beijing, Qingdao and Tianjin beers are all safe but one must be wary of bottles with something at the bottom – it might be an unfortunate animal.
• In a Chinese banquet, asking for knives might shock the restaurant staff; they would ask for the express approval of the host in acquiescing to such request.
• The Chinese generally like pork, beef, chicken, duck, fish and other seafood, but, apart from a despised minority in the north, they hate lamb or mutton. To many Asians mutton smells and tastes disgustingly.
• Lots of vegetables are likely to be well-received.

How about soups?

• The Japanese drink (or rather, slurp) soup by lifting the bowl to the mouth using both hands.
• Koreans and Chinese use soup spoons to drink soup.
• Koreans may use spoons to eat rice but the Chinese and Japanese do not.
• The Chinese consider not moving the bowl funny. Move the bowl, like bringing it closer to you, from time to time.

In Southeast Asia

• Whenever people eat using their fingers, only the right hand is used for touching food or drink; the left hand is considered unclean for it is associated with toilet practices.
• Some people dig their whole hands into the food but some consider it unclean and never allow food to go past the second joint of their fingers when eating using their fingers.
• Most Thais, Malays, Indonesians and Filipinos set their tables with spoons and forks except for those who are of Chinese descent.
• Cambodians and Lao do not use forks and rely solely on the spoon.
• Knives are rarely set on the table because, traditionally, knives were considered weapons and therefore unwelcome in a place where people ate together. Many Asian foods are also cut in small pieces making the use of knives on the eating table unnecessary.

Making sounds while eating

• In Japan, as well as Hong Kong, slurping is a sign of appreciation. For some Chinese and the Thais, however, making sounds while eating is ill-mannered.
• Some Filipinos encourage belching.
• The Japanese do not talk while eating because it is rude to show the inside of the mouth. The same applies to talking and laughing (they cover their mouths with their hands).

Cleaning your plate

• Do not put more rice than you can eat. Rice is considered a precious necessity in Asia. Leaving even a grain signifies waste and dismissal of the hardships involved in the growing and harvest of rice.
• For the Chinese and the Cambodians, finishing your plate means that you want more (or that the host was an inadequate provider). They quickly refill the plate, often in increasing quantities. Like Filipinos and Thais, leaving a little on the plate suggests that the host has provided well (more than what one needs) and signifies that the person is full.
• The Japanese and Indonesians value cleaning one’s plate: for the Japanese it means that the food is delicious, for the Indonesians, leaving some food is rude.
• Koreans will not refill a glass if there is still some liquid in it.

I’m not that sure how accurate these are. After all, I have only eaten in a Chinese restaurant once, and though we were given chopsticks, I used a spoon and fork. I am planning to eat in a Chinese restaurant next month; I have a lot of saving to do.

Now that you know, bon appétit! In Chinese, 慢慢吃, Màn màn chī! Kain na!