You aren't supposed to eat it like that!

[Rehovot]

Plenty of people who didn't grow up eating hamburgers at all eat them like this. I just spent an evening staring at an entire table full of them. Once I got over the shock and stopped trying to coach them ("Just grab it in both hands!"), it was entertaining.

I don't get the knife-and-fork approach with pizza, either, and people look at me like I'm a barbarian, when I pick up a slice and eat it. But, as Peter said, I don't care.

I once saw a couple in their late 20's who looked to be well off financially, eating a hamburger with a freakin fork and a knife.  I kid you not!!!!  They didn't remove the burger from the bun and proceed to use a fork and knife, they left the burger and fixins within the bun and ate it like that. This happened at Eastern Standard, so if you go there and happen to see them, please somebody slap them

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[WHT]

Pizza with a knife and fork. What's that all about?

I had an aunt that ate NY style that way as she viewed using ones hands as rude. Ya have to love WASP logic.

[prasantrin]

I hate it when I see people pour soy sauce on their rice. Sends chills up my spine!

I also hate it when people in Thai restaurants insist on using chopsticks to eat their meal. Thai people don't use chopsticks unless they're eating noodles or Chinese food, but I guess because we're Asian and all Asians must use chopsticks....

Edited May 18, 2007 by prasantrin (log)

[Hiroyuki]

You are supposed to keep it on the table and eat the rice with a spoon, but I still prefer to use chopsticks.

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This is simply a cultural difference. In Japan, you are supposed to hold your rice bowl (at about the chest height) before picking up some rice with your chopsticks.

I hold my rice bowl up to my face

and eat rice with chopsticks? I sometimes do that, but this is considered bad manners in Japan. When you eat a donburi dish like gyudon (beef bowl), however, that's what we usually do.

[Kent D]

Well, maybe I'm just a rednecked barbarian, but I eat the same way no matter what culture of food I'm enjoying. I didn't grow up with chopsticks, never got the hang of them, so there's no point in embarrassing myself or others trying to get food into my mouth with them. The world's too big to worry about meeting the etiquette and manners of every culture who've had thousands of years to work out all the kinks.

If the food's good, and you're enjoying it, and most of it gets to your mouth safely, no one should say anything. Sometimes I eat fried chicken with a fork, sometimes I scoop up stray Mexican food on a tortilla chip, and sometimes I put soy sauce on my fried rice. It's MY fried rice, and I like it that way.

This past winter, I observed my uncle, who's been living in Japan making bamboo flutes for 35 years, and his son and "female companion" at a dinner honoring my Grandmother's 95th birthday. He attacked his steak dinner with a single-minded intensity that I've never seen. He piled his baked potato with a significant quantity of sour cream and butter, because he said "they don't eat sour cream over there, and when you can find it, it's in a tiny little tube." It's quite possible that he might have brought eternal shame upon his son and friend, but he sure looked like he was enjoying himself.

[SheenaGreena]

Sheena

Ok I got the leave the rice bowl on the table for Korean food thing down....but are you supposed to tear a piece off the lettuce leaf and make tiny packages of BBQ or ...? the lettuce leaves they give are taco sized

tracey

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you are supposed to tear off pieces of lettuce, or you can make the package with a whole leaf. Usually koreans even use two pieces of lettuce or a piece of lettuce and a piece of sesame leaf. A trick is to break the rib of the lettuce, use softer lettuce with a softer rib (my mother grows a special lettuce for this), or to not stuff the package with so much stuff.

what do you usually put in yours?

But a lot of times there are no forks and the fried rice is served on a big plate to be put on your individual big plate.  What's a girl to do?

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scoop the rice off the big plate into your bowl, not your plate.

also, I hate it when people hold their chopsticks all weird like down towards the bottom or middle of the chopsticks (when using wooden or metal chopsticks).  I always hold mine towards the top, even if I am using those super long wooden ones for cooking

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newbies tend to do it this way because it's easier to control (observe really young kids growing up in households that eat with chopsticks). As you pick up the finer motor control, you move up the chopsticks for more dexterity/strength/comfort.

about samgyupsal or other meats served with the lettuce, are you supposed to rip the lettuce first and then wrap using smaller pieces?

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read my response above. what do you put in your package?

[SheenaGreena]

You are supposed to keep it on the table and eat the rice with a spoon, but I still prefer to use chopsticks.

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This is simply a cultural difference. In Japan, you are supposed to hold your rice bowl (at about the chest height) before picking up some rice with your chopsticks.

I think the chinese hold it up to their face which is interesting, because the japanese hold it lower at their chest. I think this might be because chinese rice isn't as sticky and is harder to eat so they have to hold it close to their face?

I hold my rice bowl up to my face

and eat rice with chopsticks? I sometimes do that, but this is considered bad manners in Japan. When you eat a donburi dish like gyudon (beef bowl), however, that's what we usually do.

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My manners are always bad, but that only happens when I'm at home. When I'm out in public my manners are completely different. However if I'm eating in front of korean relatives I have to eat like a saint or I will get my hands smacked!

[Gruzia]

Pizza with a knife and fork. What's that all about?

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Ah, pizza and burgers and knives and forks:

Well, speaking for all the messy eaters - sometimes it's just easier, especially if you're on a date...or in polite society...

[Endy']

read my response above.  what do you put in your package?

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samgyupsal (cut into smaller pieces with the shears provided), garlic slices (raw or grilled or both), onion (grilled, and cut up with those shears). I used to put raw peppers in too, except the place I usually go stopped bringing them with the garlic. Wrap the whole thing up in a whole Romaine leaf, dip into ssamjang (dwaenjang?) and take bites out of it.

now that I've encountered this thread, I'll try with smaller pieces of lettuce -- thanks!

oh, and I usually forgo that salt/pepper/sesame oil stuff if I'm wrapping, but I'm possibly gauche and order rice (hey, I'm Chinese) with my samgyupsal too, and I use that oil with pork and rice.

[SheenaGreena]

read my response above.  what do you put in your package?

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samgyupsal (cut into smaller pieces with the shears provided), garlic slices (raw or grilled or both), onion (grilled, and cut up with those shears). I used to put raw peppers in too, except the place I usually go stopped bringing them with the garlic. Wrap the whole thing up in a whole Romaine leaf, dip into ssamjang (dwaenjang?) and take bites out of it.

now that I've encountered this thread, I'll try with smaller pieces of lettuce -- thanks!

oh, and I usually forgo that salt/pepper/sesame oil stuff if I'm wrapping, but I'm possibly gauche and order rice (hey, I'm Chinese) with my samgyupsal too, and I use that oil with pork and rice.

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so you dip your entire lettuce wrap in the dwaengjang? I dip my meat in the dwaengjang, gochujang, or sesame oil and then wrap it up. It sounds like you are putting the "right" stuff in your lettuce wrap, you should just use a smaller piece. My white father always uses one or two pieces of huge lettuce and manages to fit the whole thing in his mouth, but yeah I usually just tear the lettuce in half or remove the rib. If you ever eat samgyupsal at home maybe you could try using butter lettuce? It's incredibly soft and the rib isn't as big as in lettuce at the restaurant. My family uses green lettuce and sometimes red lettuce.

you should put a slice of hot pepper in your wrap, I always do and it adds a nice touch of heat

[MomOfLittleFoodies]

If the food's good, and you're enjoying it, and most of it gets to your mouth safely, no one should say anything. Sometimes I eat fried chicken with a fork, sometimes I scoop up stray Mexican food on a tortilla chip, and sometimes I put soy sauce on my fried rice. It's MY fried rice, and I like it that way. 

My mother-in-law (3rd generation Japanese-American) razzes my kids about wanting soy sauce on plain white rice... nevermind that I grew up doing the same thing. My mom was okay with it, and she's Japanese-American of the same generation.

As long as you're not drinking the water from finger bowls thinking it's soup, flinging your food across the room or putting your feet on the table, I don't get too fussed about culturally appropriate table manners.

Of course, my idea of "good table manners" is pretty broad. My paternal grandmother was a stickler for proper Western table manners, where as my mother's family didn't care as long as I wasn't leaving chopsticks sticking up in my bowl.

[doughgirl]

Pizza with a knife and fork. What's that all about?

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I am so guilty of that. I also eat muffins with a fork, which drives my husband INSANE. lol

[Domestic Goddess]

Sheena - I eat crabs with my hands - the Filipino way. I also crack the claws and legs with teeth. I think using the hands get the most meat from the crab crevices and nooks.

How do I eat my samgyeopsal? I usually tear a lettuce leaf in half, get rid of the tough rib and fix two packages from one single leaf. I usually put garlic (raw or cooked over the coals), kimchi, slivers of leeks with red sauce and some gochujang). I also dip in ssamjang if it is served with it.

I pretty much eat how others would eat - chinese way in a Chinese restaurant, korean way in a korean restaurant, american way... well you get the picture. But at home, I eat Filipino style, with a spoon and fork (most Filipino food are saucy, soupy kinds and are eaten with rice).

[sharonb]

One thing that bothers me is when Americans (OK, my parents; but I've seen other people do it, too) take cheese or pâté and *spread* it on a piece of baguette. You're supposed to cut a chunk and place it on a smallish broken-off piece of the bread and eat the thing in one bite. Smearing it across the bread is really bad form.

[Milagai]

One thing that bothers me is when Americans (OK, my parents; but I've seen other people do it, too) take cheese or pâté and *spread* it on a piece of baguette. You're supposed to cut a chunk and place it on a smallish broken-off piece of the bread and eat the thing in one bite. Smearing it across the bread is really bad form.

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I've heard about this rule, but never understood why it's bad form.

I can see the logic behind many other manners rules (e.g. elbows on

the table may crowd others, etc.) but what's the why of this one?

thanks

Milagai

[scubadoo97]

it's OK to eat sushi with your fingers

I have for many years considered sushi finger food and get weird looks from others when using my fingers. They give you the warm towel before you eat to clean your hands. Right?

My father in law just can't get his hands dirty when he eats. Fried or bbq chicken are eaten with a knife and fork as well as pizza. My wife is a little better but not much.

[rooftop1000]

Ok Sheena may as well pick your brain

Seafood pancake - how should one eat that

pan chan....dig right in when they put it down?

oh, and if you run out of lettuce can you drop meat slices on your rice and spoon it all up...I am guessing No

tracey

damn I want Korean food again

I think they like us as KeoKu we keep bringing new people with us

Edited May 19, 2007 by rooftop1000 (log)

[Hiroyuki]

it's OK to eat sushi with your fingers

I have for many years considered sushi finger food and get weird looks from others when using my fingers. They give you the warm towel before you eat to clean your hands. Right?

My father in law just can't get his hands dirty when he eats. Fried or bbq chicken are eaten with a knife and fork as well as pizza. My wife is a little better but not much.

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Sushi was a finger food in the Edo period, and it was also a fast food. It still is a finger food, but I am tempted to have it with chopsticks like many Japanese.

In Japan, they give you a wet towel (oshibori) at many restaurants, usually a warm one, but a cold one at some restaurants when it's summer.

[takadi]

I don't know if anyone has mentioned it, but this topic should be read

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...00746&hl=heresy

As for the whole eating kalbi or bulgogi in lettuce wraps, I remember eating at a korean restaurant for the first time and the owner of the place was appalled that we were taking bowls of rice and topping it with chunks of kalbi meat and just shoveling it into our mouths without using any of the condiments or lettuce. He showed us the "right" way, and I do attempt to eat it that way now and again. However, I find that as long as it tastes good, I think the rituals some people follow when eating food is just for fun and giggles. I think if you like eating food with your feet, go ahead! It's like the whole thing with chopsticks and forks. Of course you can eat everything with a fork, but it wouldn't "feel" right. I find alot of people who use chopsticks for the first time do so because of a role-playing element that comes with eating asian food with chopsticks, to get the whole immersive, exotic, authentic experience.

I still like eating bulgogi and kalbi like a barbarian by shoving it down with just rice. hahah

[Jmahl]

When eating Ethiopian food with our fingers with our adopted Ethiopian daughter she just laughs at our technique. When I ask her what is so funny – she just continues to laugh. I think we are doing what she is doing - but I guess not. We will just keep trying.

[Jaymes]

Pizza with a knife and fork. What's that all about?

Ah, pizza and burgers and knives and forks:

Well, speaking for all the messy eaters - sometimes it's just easier, especially if you're on a date...or in polite society...

...or with a bunch of old people that don't want to bite into anything firmer than a soft banana for fear of messing up their false teeth.

[judiu]

I once told a dear friend that a "friend" of hers was a pretentious b*&^%h because at a picnic we were attending, she peeled a shrimp with a knife and fork. Sure enough, a few weeks later the "friend " decided to sue my pal over a totally bulls**t circumstance. Just shows to go ya!

[sharonb]

One thing that bothers me is when Americans (OK, my parents; but I've seen other people do it, too) take cheese or pâté and *spread* it on a piece of baguette. You're supposed to cut a chunk and place it on a smallish broken-off piece of the bread and eat the thing in one bite. Smearing it across the bread is really bad form.

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I've heard about this rule, but never understood why it's bad form.

I can see the logic behind many other manners rules (e.g. elbows on

the table may crowd others, etc.) but what's the why of this one?

thanks

Milagai

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I don't think it can really be said that most table manners and customs are logical (in France, another one is that you never use a knife on salad; cutting salad is a major faux pas in stuffy settings (you're supposed to fold it if the leaf is too big); much as in Italy you're not supposed to cut pasta). To me, a set of rules is often just traditional and a way of showing one belongs to a culture or has a certain class-based knowledge. If we were all to be utterly correct, we'd be eating peaches on salad plates with a knife and fork...

Edited May 20, 2007 by sharonb (log)

[prasantrin]

I once told a dear friend that a "friend" of hers was a pretentious b*&^%h because at a picnic we were attending, she peeled a shrimp with a knife and fork. Sure enough, a few weeks later the "friend " decided to sue my pal over a totally bulls**t circumstance. Just shows to go ya!  

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When I can, I prefer to use a knife and fork to peel my shrimp because I hate it when my fingers smell like shrimp!! The only problem is that I suck at peeling my shrimp with my knife and fork, so I usually just use my hands. My mother can do it really well, though, but that's because she was taught to do so.

[slkinsey]

Pizza with a knife and fork. What's that all about?

Ask the Italians. That's how most pizza is eaten over there.