Adventures in chopstick etiquette

[Schneier]

It's a nice thing to grow up with the Chinese traditions 'cause it means I know when I can break them! For instance, I use a soup spoon when eating noodles and never reach over to grab food on the far side of the dish only when I'm with strangers or people I need to impress. I never stab my chopsticks in rice in restaurants, but do it often at home. And while I'll use the "eating" end of my chopsticks to pass food to family and close friends, I'm conscientious about using the blunt end when I'm out with other people.

Everyone breaks etiquette rules in their own homes. What else are homes for?

Bruce

[jo-mel]

When setting the table, chopsticks are placed perpendicular to the edge of the table,

on the right hand side, big end down. This way, the chopsticks are ready for use when the guest is ready to eat.

Tonight, for dinner, I made Lamb with Scallions. (& stir/fried snap peas) I put a fork/knife for DH, and chopsticks for me, on the counter. DH usually puts them on the table when he sits down. I served his plate, then sat down with my bowl. Just to be funny -- DH had put one chopstick on one side of the placemat, and the other chopstick on the other side! It really looked funny! (but I gave him a scowl)

[hzrt8w]

A bit of chopstick lore I heard was that one symbol of class was how you held your chopsticks - the further from the food, the higher your social stature was percieved to be. 

I think this saying is rediculous. I can improve my perceived social status just as easily as holding my chopsticks a little higher?

Where you hold your chopsticks is all a matter of personal preference and skill-level. I see most people hold their chopsticks in the mid to high end. Children and non-Chinese who are beginners in using chopsticks tend to hold them in the lower end because they have not trained their finger muscles adequate enough to grab on to food. I like to hold my chopsticks at the high end for greatest leverage in picking up the biggest pieces of meats the farthest away from me on the dinner table.

When eating dumplings, if you cannot hold the dumpling firmly enough with your chopsticks to pick it up, the next best way to do it is try to hold your chopsticks firmly with a 1/2-inch gap between them, then use them as a "fork lift" to lift up the dumpling. Yes yes, you can poke into the dumplings/dim sum if you like. And if you do that, why use one pair of chopsticks? Just use one chopstick would do.

[bobmac]

When I lived in New Jersey, everybody are everything with a spoon, no forks. Of course that was because the drill sergeants wouldn't let us use forks.

[Laksa]

When I lived in New Jersey, everybody are everything with a spoon, no forks. Of course that was because the drill sergeants wouldn't let us use forks.

I see, so the proper etiquette in New Jersey is to avoid using chopsticks altogether.

[Jeannie]

My family always told me that to hold your chopstick high is an indication that you will travel far from home and go a long way in your life. Maybe thats only the saying in Shanghai?!

[aprilmei]

My family always told me that to hold your chopstick high is an indication that you will travel far from home and go a long way in your life. Maybe thats only the saying in Shanghai?!

I've heard this one too. A similar one is that it means your husband/wife will come from a country that is far from your own.