On 2012-01-21, J. Clarke > wrote:
> house anyway--land is scarce in Japan) and still use slivers of wood to
> eat the rice they prepared in their computer-controlled fuzzy-logic
> induction heated rice cookers.....

Unfortunately, the popularity of chopsticks seems to waning in present
day Japan, where it's been reported that children's training
chopsticks are at a shocking all time low in sales. I don't know
about China, where chopsticks are still the primary eating implement.
Perhaps they are fading, there, too. Seems the only place chopsticks
are still religiously utilized is on NYC produced TV programs where
apparently every round-eye in town is gifted from birth with the
ability to retrieve Chinese from a take-out box using sticks and
obviously everyone has a good pair in their pocket or desk drawer, as
you never ever see anyone using those crappy disposable "slivers"
(literally!) that are routinely included with every order.


nb

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vanillabeans.foodbanana wrote:
>
>Do you use them? For what?
>-Yes. Most foods... 90% asian dishes
>
>Are you proficient with them?
>yes. after a long long time. i used to hold them "wrong" but i fixed it
>after a while so i wouldnt hold it like that when i become older
>
>How often? For non-Asian foods?
>pretty much all the time. even for non-asian foods.
>
>really depends. i can use chopsticks to eat spaghetti... but probably
>not stuff like paella, tacos, fries, etc.

Huh? Paella was made for chopsticks... there is no more perfect dish
on the planet for eating with chopsticks. Fries are very easy to eat
with chopstics too. And tacos are finger food, every beaner Mexican
knows that.

>sometimes it just feels awkward to use chopsticks. like eating a cake
>with chopsticks

Why would you eat an entire cake with chopsticks... cut into serving
size cake is as easy to eat with chopsticks as dim sum. I think
you're full of doodoo... you've never used chopsticks, no way, no how.
The concept of chopsticks was very likely born of watching birds eat,
especially when feeding their young... chopsticks operate exactly like
bird beaks. I've watched bluejays eat my left over rice and beans,
only difference from watching a common coolie eat is their round eyes.

"notbob" > wrote in message
...
> On 2012-01-21, J. Clarke > wrote:
>> house anyway--land is scarce in Japan) and still use slivers of wood to
>> eat the rice they prepared in their computer-controlled fuzzy-logic
>> induction heated rice cookers.....
>
> Unfortunately, the popularity of chopsticks seems to waning in present
> day Japan, where it's been reported that children's training
> chopsticks are at a shocking all time low in sales.

When I was in Japan 5 years ago, they complemented me on how well I used
chopsticks. They even bantered back in forth to themselves in Japanese about
it. Then back at the hotel I read a newspaper article bemoaning the fact
that Japan's kids were so poor in chopstick ability.

China is probably different, likely just behind this curve a bit.

Jim Elbrecht wrote:
>
> Gary > wrote:
> -snip-
> >
> >Later on, someone figured out that eating with a pair of sticks was kind of
> >stupid, and he invented the fork. Worked so much better except for soup,
> >etc. No problem said the next inventor who came up with the complimentary
> >spoon.
> >
>
> Just to pick a nit here-- the spoon predated the [eating] fork by
> centuries. Forks were for grabbing stuff out of a fire-- fingers
> and knives gave way to knives and spoons-- and a few hundred years
> after the fork made it to the table.

That's interesting to know, Jim. Makes sense though...eating with 2 sticks
works (if you are so inclined) but neither sticks or forks work for liquid
meals. I can see now how the spoon was the next invention.

Gary

On Jan 20, 5:43*pm, James Silverton > wrote:
> On 1/20/2012 4:53 PM, Jerry Avins wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Jan 20, 2:04 am, > *wrote:
> >> Do you use them? *For what?
> >> Are you proficient with them?
> >> How often? *For non-Asian foods?
>
> >> The history can be found on wiki, so I'll bypass that. *I've been
> >> using them, regularly, for about 6 yrs. *I still don't consider myself
> >> anywhere near having mastered them. *More comfortable and use 'em more
> >> and more, but still not my primary eating implement.
>
> >> I notice my old geezer honky friend, who uses chopsticks exclusively,
> >> has mastered them to a point where it's natural. *He even does what I
> >> call the scissors method --which is choreographed nowhere on the web.
> >> Instead of the narrow isosceles trianble hold, most common with
> >> novice/intermediate users, he crosses the sticks and pinches the food
> >> item in a backward cross pinch. *This is not unusual, having seen
> >> scores of old geezers at pho houses using the exact same scissors-like
> >> method. *My buddy can't even articulate what he's doing, having done
> >> it so long. *But, I see the distinction.
>
> >> BTW, nothing ****es me off like the lame-O retard TV producers who
> >> consistently, to the point of boredom, always show ppl eating Chinese
> >> take-out from the box with chopsticks, like every single living
> >> individual in NYC is born with the inate ability to eat with
> >> chopsticks. *The only exception to this insane stereotype is
> >> Christopher Noth on Law and Order, who once actually ate Chinese
> >> take-out from the box with a plastic fork, like most real ppl! *Mark
> >> this day!! *
>
> >> nb
>
> >> --
> >> Fight internet CENSORSHIP - Fight SOPA-PIPA
> >> Contact your congressman and/or representative, now!http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/
>
> > At home, I use chopsticks mostly for cooking. Picking out a piece of
> > pasta to check for done, for example, or manipulating pieces 1n Teflon
> > pan. (My steel turners are smooth enough for Teflon, but my tongs
> > would scratch.) I guess I'm fairly proficient. Being mostly left
> > handed, I was eating with my right hand while I did a crossword with
> > my left. After a while, I realized that I was eating with chopsticks
> > -- crosswords can be distracting. I have eaten stiff Jello with
> > chopsticks just to show off, but that's nothing next to a Korean chap
> > who broke an egg into desert cup and picked the yolk out whole to --
> > as he put it -- "make show". I sometimes make my own version of ramen
> > that I eat with a large soup spoon abd chopsticks. If I had to use a
> > fork, I would probably use something else or break the noodles small
> > before putting them in.
>
> The egg is a real achievement but I can usually pick up cubes of jello
> with hashi (chopsticks). I only try that in Chinese buffets and I'm
> sometimes reduced to stabbing them. Japanese and Chinese do eat soup
> without a spoon by raising the cup to their lips. If there are solid
> things, like noodles and meat in Pho soup, I use hashi. (OK, let me be
> honest, I don't usually raise a large Pho bowl to my lips and I use the
> porcelain soup spoons that are provided.)
>
> Generally Chinese cooks use much oversized chopsticks as cooking
> implements. It is also easier to cut food with the large ones.

I have a pair of those large chopsticks. They came as accessories with
a wok (more like a woklet) that I have. They are only rarely more
useful than a normal size.

I've been told quite seriously by ethnic Chinese that chopsticks are
superior because foods with delicate tastes are "invaded" by contact
with metal. When I ask what effect the iron wok and wok shovel have on
the flavors, I get a blank stare. I don't mean to sneer. I prefer to
drink water from an aluminum dipper. It changes the taste.

Jerry
--
"I view the progress of science as being the slow erosion of the
tendency to dichotomize." Barbara Smuts, U. Mich.

On 1/21/2012 3:24 AM, Gary wrote:
> Serene Vannoy wrote:
>>
>> I use them well, and usually only in two circumstances: If we're eating
>> Chinese/Japanese food (not Thai), or if we're out of clean forks.
>
> "if we're out of clean forks?"
> Geez....how long does it take to wash a couple of forks? ;-D
>
>
>> My first boyfriend was from Vietnam, and he taught me how to use them.
>> He said they used to play a game when he was little to see who could
>> pick up the smallest grain of rice.
>
> Sounds like he was easily amused.

You're kidding but being easily amused should be a virtue these days. To
amuse us, it takes a lot of cash, megahertz, terabytes, wattage, grams,
kilos, pounds, drama, CGI, speed, and sometimes, a good amount of flesh.
If there's anything about our culture, it is that we're not easily
amused - especially not by the smallest grain of rice.

>
> Here at the beach a few years ago, one tourist shop offered:
>
> "Your name printed on a grain of rice - $5.00"
> LOL! Very weird yet different and unique.

This sounds like a rip-off. Your name plus your favorite bible verse or
satanic message would probably be worth $5. My guess is that a bag of
rice so inscribed for $10 would sell like cheap hotcakes. I wonder how
many grains of rice there are in a small bag?

>
> They used a laser something and they actually printed your name on a single
> grain of rice. You could only see it by using maybe a magnifying glass, or
> more likely a microscope?
>
> Anyway, that was strange enough that I was tempted to buy a few for future
> gifts to family or friends.
>
> Gary

notbob wrote:
>
> Unfortunately, the popularity of chopsticks seems to waning in present
> day Japan, where it's been reported that children's training
> chopsticks are at a shocking all time low in sales. I don't know
> about China, where chopsticks are still the primary eating implement.
> Perhaps they are fading, there, too. Seems the only place chopsticks
> are still religiously utilized is on NYC produced TV programs where
> apparently every round-eye in town is gifted from birth with the
> ability to retrieve Chinese from a take-out box using sticks and
> obviously everyone has a good pair in their pocket or desk drawer, as
> you never ever see anyone using those crappy disposable "slivers"
> (literally!) that are routinely included with every order.

I agree. Normal ppl will use a spoon and fork to get the best out of their
meal. Using chopsticks today seems to be more of a yuppie "let's try to be
cool" thing to do.

"Let's do chinese (or Japanese) tonight. Chopsticks, of course."

I did teach myself how to use them (somewhat) but I really don't see any
good use for them. It's old tech stuff now and I don't have any need to
impress anyone with my ability to use the useless things.

Gary

Brooklyn1 wrote:
>
> Fries are very easy to eat with chopsticks too.


> >sometimes it just feels awkward to use chopsticks. like eating a cake
> >with chopsticks
>
> Why would you eat an entire cake with chopsticks...

I'm wondering why YOU would eat fries with chopsticks?

Gary

Jerry Avins wrote:
>
> I prefer to drink water from an aluminum dipper.
> It changes the taste.

If you might remember, I questioned you on that years ago.
Now that you've said it again, I believe you completely.

Gary

On Jan 21, 3:24*pm, Gary > wrote:
> notbob wrote:
>
> > Unfortunately, the popularity of chopsticks seems to waning in present
> > day Japan, where it's been reported that children's training
> > chopsticks are at a shocking all time low in sales. *I don't know
> > about China, where chopsticks are still the primary eating implement.
> > Perhaps they are fading, there, too. *Seems the only place chopsticks
> > are still religiously utilized is on NYC produced TV programs where
> > apparently every round-eye in town is gifted from birth with the
> > ability to retrieve Chinese from a take-out box using sticks and
> > obviously everyone has a good pair in their pocket or desk drawer, as
> > you never ever see anyone using those crappy disposable "slivers"
> > (literally!) that are routinely included with every order. *
>
> I agree. *Normal ppl will use a spoon and fork to get the best out of their
> meal. Using chopsticks today seems to be more of a yuppie "let's try to be
> cool" thing to do.
>
> "Let's do chinese (or Japanese) tonight. *Chopsticks, of course."
>
> I did teach myself how to use them (somewhat) but I really don't see any
> good use for them. *It's old tech stuff now and I don't have any need to
> impress anyone with my ability to use the useless things.
>
> Gary

I learned to use chopsticks fairly well from my father, who thought it
an amusing trick. I developed some skill when, in my early 20s, I
shared an apartment in Boston with three others. It was their custom
to have dinner every Friday night at Wah Yuen's in Chinatown, and they
invited me to join them. (Great food! The House of Roy was also
excellent.) It turned out that one ate with chopsticks from the common
serving dish, and the faster one ate, the more one ate. One's skill is
quickly honed!

Jerry
--
Never look back unless you are planning to go that way.
Henry David Thoreau

On 01/21/2012 05:24 AM, Gary wrote:
> Serene Vannoy wrote:
>>
>> I use them well, and usually only in two circumstances: If we're eating
>> Chinese/Japanese food (not Thai), or if we're out of clean forks.
>
> "if we're out of clean forks?"
> Geez....how long does it take to wash a couple of forks? ;-D

Depends. Do you have to wash a sinkful of dishes first, to find the
forks, or do you have to go upstairs to the teenager's room and excavate?

>> My first boyfriend was from Vietnam, and he taught me how to use them.
>> He said they used to play a game when he was little to see who could
>> pick up the smallest grain of rice.
>
> Sounds like he was easily amused.
>
> Here at the beach a few years ago, one tourist shop offered:
>
> "Your name printed on a grain of rice - $5.00"
> LOL! Very weird yet different and unique.
>
> They used a laser something and they actually printed your name on a single
> grain of rice. You could only see it by using maybe a magnifying glass, or
> more likely a microscope?
>
> Anyway, that was strange enough that I was tempted to buy a few for future
> gifts to family or friends.

Yeah, I see those in San Francisco sometimes. Speaking of easily amused.

Serene

--
http://www.momfoodproject.com

On 20 Jan 2012 07:04:38 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>Do you use them? For what?
>Are you proficient with them?
>How often? For non-Asian foods?

I used to use chopsticks whenever we went out for Chinese food and
when we made Asian-style food at home and, I was quite proficient with
them.
We have a number of universities in the area and a large number of
students are Asian. Several years ago I learned a great lesson by
watching a bunch of these Asian students eat in a local Chinese
restaurant.
They were very proficient with their chopsticks, deftly using them to
push the food onto their forks. Saves getting sauce on your thumb.

Ross.

On 2012-01-21, Gary > wrote:

> I'm wondering why YOU would eat fries with chopsticks?

It's understood that chopsticks are a cultivated extension of using
one's fingers. No salt, grated cheese, bbq sauce, etc, on the
fingers. A no brainer. OTOH, Westerners are not fluent in sticks, so
it's neither obvious nor convenient. It's been my experience, the
more proficient one becomes at using them, the more often they are
used. I know everyone pooh-poohs their use, but ever tried to eat
sticky caramel corn with a fork?

nb

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On 2012-01-21, Ross@home <Ross@home> wrote:

> They were very proficient with their chopsticks, deftly using them to
> push the food onto their forks.

That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard and have never witnessed such
a preposterous exercise in my life. In short, yer a lying troll!!

nb

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On 1/21/2012 4:13 PM, Ross@home wrote:
> On 20 Jan 2012 07:04:38 GMT, > wrote:
>
>> Do you use them? For what?
>> Are you proficient with them?
>> How often? For non-Asian foods?
>
> I used to use chopsticks whenever we went out for Chinese food and
> when we made Asian-style food at home and, I was quite proficient with
> them.
> We have a number of universities in the area and a large number of
> students are Asian. Several years ago I learned a great lesson by
> watching a bunch of these Asian students eat in a local Chinese
> restaurant.
> They were very proficient with their chopsticks, deftly using them to
> push the food onto their forks. Saves getting sauce on your thumb.
>
> Ross.
I've seen more than one elderly Chinese lady using a fork to cut pieces
of food in two before picking them up with chopsticks. It's really an
implicit criticism of the restaurant since food is supposed to be sized
properly for chopsticks.

--
Jim Silverton

Extraneous "not" in Reply To.

On Jan 21, 12:39*pm, James Silverton >
wrote:
> On 1/21/2012 4:13 PM, Ross@home wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On 20 Jan 2012 07:04:38 GMT, > *wrote:
>
> >> Do you use them? *For what?
> >> Are you proficient with them?
> >> How often? *For non-Asian foods?
>
> > I used to use chopsticks whenever we went out for Chinese food and
> > when we made Asian-style food at home and, I was quite proficient with
> > them.
> > We have a number of universities in the area and a large number of
> > students are Asian. Several years ago I learned a great lesson by
> > watching a bunch of these Asian students eat in a local Chinese
> > restaurant.
> > They were very proficient with their chopsticks, deftly using them to
> > push the food onto their forks. Saves getting sauce on your thumb.
>
> > Ross.
>
> I've seen more than one elderly Chinese lady using a fork to cut pieces
> of food in two before picking them up with chopsticks. It's really an
> implicit criticism of the restaurant since food is supposed to be sized
> properly for chopsticks.
>
> --
> Jim Silverton
>
> Extraneous "not" in Reply To.

We're a multi-utensil culture over here. If I eat out, it's pretty
much 50-50. At home, I mostly use fork and spoon, mostly fork. My kids
grew up using hashi but my guess is that with each generation, the use
of 2 sticks will be on the wane.

You're right that the person preparing the food should be ashamed that
an old Chinese lady would do this. That's inexcusable. My guess is
that the Japanese still consider Western utensils as exotic and chic.
If they eat foreign dishes like curry or French food, they'll probably
use a fork or spoon. I'll use chopsticks cause I consider curry to be
Japanese food. :-)

On Jan 21, 2:39*pm, James Silverton > wrote:
> On 1/21/2012 4:13 PM, Ross@home wrote:

> > On 20 Jan 2012 07:04:38 GMT, > *wrote:
>
> >> Do you use them? *For what?
> >> Are you proficient with them?
> >> How often? *For non-Asian foods?
>
> > I used to use chopsticks whenever we went out for Chinese food and
> > when we made Asian-style food at home and, I was quite proficient with
> > them.
> > We have a number of universities in the area and a large number of
> > students are Asian. Several years ago I learned a great lesson by
> > watching a bunch of these Asian students eat in a local Chinese
> > restaurant.
> > They were very proficient with their chopsticks, deftly using them to
> > push the food onto their forks. Saves getting sauce on your thumb.
>
> > Ross.
>
> I've seen more than one elderly Chinese lady using a fork to cut pieces
> of food in two before picking them up with chopsticks. It's really an
> implicit criticism of the restaurant since food is supposed to be sized
> properly for chopsticks.
>

When I make gai lan, I slice it diagonally across the grain so I can
eat it with chopsticks. But Chinese restaurants leave it whole, making
it difficult to eat with their plastic chopsticks unless you don't
mind (a) nibbling a little off the ends in public, and (b) running the
risk of it escaping your grip and caroming off the table or plate.

On Jan 21, 3:17*pm, dsi1 > wrote:
> On Jan 21, 12:39*pm, James Silverton >
> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> > On 1/21/2012 4:13 PM, Ross@home wrote:
>
> > > On 20 Jan 2012 07:04:38 GMT, > *wrote:
>
> > >> Do you use them? *For what?
> > >> Are you proficient with them?
> > >> How often? *For non-Asian foods?
>
> > > I used to use chopsticks whenever we went out for Chinese food and
> > > when we made Asian-style food at home and, I was quite proficient with
> > > them.
> > > We have a number of universities in the area and a large number of
> > > students are Asian. Several years ago I learned a great lesson by
> > > watching a bunch of these Asian students eat in a local Chinese
> > > restaurant.
> > > They were very proficient with their chopsticks, deftly using them to
> > > push the food onto their forks. Saves getting sauce on your thumb.
>
> > > Ross.
>
> > I've seen more than one elderly Chinese lady using a fork to cut pieces
> > of food in two before picking them up with chopsticks. It's really an
> > implicit criticism of the restaurant since food is supposed to be sized
> > properly for chopsticks.
>
> > --
> > Jim Silverton
>
> > Extraneous "not" in Reply To.
>
> We're a multi-utensil culture over here. If I eat out, it's pretty
> much 50-50. At home, I mostly use fork and spoon, mostly fork. My kids
> grew up using hashi but my guess is that with each generation, the use
> of 2 sticks will be on the wane.
>
> You're right that the person preparing the food should be ashamed that
> an old Chinese lady would do this. That's inexcusable. My guess is
> that the Japanese still consider Western utensils as exotic and chic.
> If they eat foreign dishes like curry or French food, they'll probably
> use a fork or spoon. I'll use chopsticks cause I consider curry to be
> Japanese food. :-)

The natural texture of the hashi restaurants give here makes using
chopsticks a breeze.

On Jan 20, 8:03*pm, Mark Thorson > wrote:
> notbob wrote:
>
> > Do you use them? *For what?
>
> I used to use them all the time,
> but not since I went to low-carb.
>
> > Are you proficient with them?
>
> Very.
>
> > How often? *For non-Asian foods?
>
> Not at all anymore, unless I'm at
> a pho restaurant.
>
> > I notice my old geezer honky friend, who uses chopsticks exclusively,
> > has mastered them to a point where it's natural. *He even does what I
> > call the scissors method --which is choreographed nowhere on the web.
>
> That's how I do it.
>
> > Instead of the narrow isosceles trianble hold, most common with
>
> I've tried that. *I don't see any advantage,
> and I don't get how you're supposed to eat
> rice that way.

You're supposed to eat rice out of a bowl, shoveling it into your
mouth with the chopsticks.

On 1/21/2012 1:28 PM, spamtrap1888 wrote:
> On Jan 21, 3:17 pm, > wrote:
>> On Jan 21, 12:39 pm, James >
>> wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>> On 1/21/2012 4:13 PM, Ross@home wrote:
>>
>>>> On 20 Jan 2012 07:04:38 GMT, > wrote:
>>
>>>>> Do you use them? For what?
>>>>> Are you proficient with them?
>>>>> How often? For non-Asian foods?
>>
>>>> I used to use chopsticks whenever we went out for Chinese food and
>>>> when we made Asian-style food at home and, I was quite proficient with
>>>> them.
>>>> We have a number of universities in the area and a large number of
>>>> students are Asian. Several years ago I learned a great lesson by
>>>> watching a bunch of these Asian students eat in a local Chinese
>>>> restaurant.
>>>> They were very proficient with their chopsticks, deftly using them to
>>>> push the food onto their forks. Saves getting sauce on your thumb.
>>
>>>> Ross.
>>
>>> I've seen more than one elderly Chinese lady using a fork to cut pieces
>>> of food in two before picking them up with chopsticks. It's really an
>>> implicit criticism of the restaurant since food is supposed to be sized
>>> properly for chopsticks.
>>
>>> --
>>> Jim Silverton
>>
>>> Extraneous "not" in Reply To.
>>
>> We're a multi-utensil culture over here. If I eat out, it's pretty
>> much 50-50. At home, I mostly use fork and spoon, mostly fork. My kids
>> grew up using hashi but my guess is that with each generation, the use
>> of 2 sticks will be on the wane.
>>
>> You're right that the person preparing the food should be ashamed that
>> an old Chinese lady would do this. That's inexcusable. My guess is
>> that the Japanese still consider Western utensils as exotic and chic.
>> If they eat foreign dishes like curry or French food, they'll probably
>> use a fork or spoon. I'll use chopsticks cause I consider curry to be
>> Japanese food. :-)
>
> The natural texture of the hashi restaurants give here makes using
> chopsticks a breeze.

Knife, fork, and spoon, have an advantage over hashi: you have to
prepare dishes for use with chopsticks. I guess that's part of the
reason I use mostly a fork at home.

On 21 Jan 2012 21:46:39 GMT, notbob > wrote:

>On 2012-01-21, Ross@home <Ross@home> wrote:
>
>> They were very proficient with their chopsticks, deftly using them to
>> push the food onto their forks.
>
>That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard and have never witnessed such
>a preposterous exercise in my life. In short, yer a lying troll!!
>
>nb

The dumbest thing I've heard lately is what you just said.
does nb stand for nutbar?

Ross.

On 2012-01-22, Ross@home <Ross@home> wrote:

> does nb stand for nutbar?

Oh chryst! ....not THIS friggin' troll, again. Toodles.

nb

--
Fight internet CENSORSHIP - Fight SOPA-PIPA
Contact your congressman and/or representative, now!
http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/
vi --the heart of evil!

In article >, Gary > wrote:

> notbob wrote:
> >
> > Unfortunately, the popularity of chopsticks seems to waning in present
> > day Japan, where it's been reported that children's training
> > chopsticks are at a shocking all time low in sales. I don't know
> > about China, where chopsticks are still the primary eating implement.
> > Perhaps they are fading, there, too. Seems the only place chopsticks
> > are still religiously utilized is on NYC produced TV programs where
> > apparently every round-eye in town is gifted from birth with the
> > ability to retrieve Chinese from a take-out box using sticks and
> > obviously everyone has a good pair in their pocket or desk drawer, as
> > you never ever see anyone using those crappy disposable "slivers"
> > (literally!) that are routinely included with every order.
>
> I agree. Normal ppl will use a spoon and fork to get the best out of their
> meal. Using chopsticks today seems to be more of a yuppie "let's try to be
> cool" thing to do.

I guess you've never seen people eat with chopsticks who grew up with
them. My brother married a woman from China. She can do things with
chopsticks that I cannot do with spoon and fork. She has been in the US
for decades, so she is a pro with forks also. My brother has gotten
very good with chopsticks. Their children are also very adept with
chopsticks. They also read and write Chinese fluently.

--
Dan Abel
Petaluma, California USA

James Silverton > wrote:
> On 1/20/2012 4:53 PM, Jerry Avins wrote:
>> On Jan 20, 2:04 am, > wrote:
>>> Do you use them? For what?
>>> Are you proficient with them?
>>> How often? For non-Asian foods?
>>>
>>> The history can be found on wiki, so I'll bypass that. I've been
>>> using them, regularly, for about 6 yrs. I still don't consider myself
>>> anywhere near having mastered them. More comfortable and use 'em more
>>> and more, but still not my primary eating implement.
>>>
>>> I notice my old geezer honky friend, who uses chopsticks exclusively,
>>> has mastered them to a point where it's natural. He even does what I
>>> call the scissors method --which is choreographed nowhere on the web.
>>> Instead of the narrow isosceles trianble hold, most common with
>>> novice/intermediate users, he crosses the sticks and pinches the food
>>> item in a backward cross pinch. This is not unusual, having seen
>>> scores of old geezers at pho houses using the exact same scissors-like
>>> method. My buddy can't even articulate what he's doing, having done
>>> it so long. But, I see the distinction.
>>>
>>> BTW, nothing ****es me off like the lame-O retard TV producers who
>>> consistently, to the point of boredom, always show ppl eating Chinese
>>> take-out from the box with chopsticks, like every single living
>>> individual in NYC is born with the inate ability to eat with
>>> chopsticks. The only exception to this insane stereotype is
>>> Christopher Noth on Law and Order, who once actually ate Chinese
>>> take-out from the box with a plastic fork, like most real ppl! Mark
>>> this day!!
>>>
>>> nb
>>>
>>> --
>>> Fight internet CENSORSHIP - Fight SOPA-PIPA
>>> Contact your congressman and/or representative, now!http://projects.propublica.org/sopa/
>>
>> At home, I use chopsticks mostly for cooking. Picking out a piece of
>> pasta to check for done, for example, or manipulating pieces 1n Teflon
>> pan. (My steel turners are smooth enough for Teflon, but my tongs
>> would scratch.) I guess I'm fairly proficient. Being mostly left
>> handed, I was eating with my right hand while I did a crossword with
>> my left. After a while, I realized that I was eating with chopsticks
>> -- crosswords can be distracting. I have eaten stiff Jello with
>> chopsticks just to show off, but that's nothing next to a Korean chap
>> who broke an egg into desert cup and picked the yolk out whole to --
>> as he put it -- "make show". I sometimes make my own version of ramen
>> that I eat with a large soup spoon abd chopsticks. If I had to use a
>> fork, I would probably use something else or break the noodles small
>> before putting them in.
>
> The egg is a real achievement but I can usually pick up cubes of jello
> with hashi (chopsticks). I only try that in Chinese buffets and I'm
> sometimes reduced to stabbing them. Japanese and Chinese do eat soup
> without a spoon by raising the cup to their lips. If there are solid
> things, like noodles and meat in Pho soup, I use hashi. (OK, let me be
> honest, I don't usually raise a large Pho bowl to my lips and I use the
> porcelain soup spoons that are provided.)
>
> Generally Chinese cooks use much oversized chopsticks as cooking
> implements. It is also easier to cut food with the large ones.


I was fortunate to have worked in a university research center. I often ate
lunch and worked with a wide variety of people. For example one group
consisted of a female Russian. A black and white girl from England. There
was the Korean from Australian dialect. Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, etc.

I was reminded eating at one place, thinking Chinese, were one of the
favorite menu items was a big bowl of soup, too big to lift to mouth. There
were several soups being offered with interesting ingredients. I think all
used spoons sitting and eating with the mixed group of people.


Greg

James Silverton > wrote:
> On 1/20/2012 11:51 AM, Brooklyn1 wrote:
>> On 20 Jan 2012 07:04:38 GMT, > wrote:
>>
>>> Do you use them? For what?
>>
>> For what do you have in mind?
>>
>>> Are you proficient with them?
>>
>> Not sure what's meant by proficient, but I can pick up whatever I want
>> and bring it to my mouth.
>>
>>> How often? For non-Asian foods?
>>
>> Rarely, for any food. I don't enjoy any food using chop sticks. To
>> me eating with chopsticks is tantamount to starting a fire by rubbing
>> two sticks together. The only plus I can think of about eating with
>> chopsticks is they are less gross than how a-rabs eat with the same
>> unwashed fingers they use to squeegee their butt hole.
>
> A method I have used to teach chopsticks to Europeans might be of
> interest. The major observation is that the upper stick is manipulated
> just like a pencil and the lower is held unmoving.


I ate a whole dish once. I watched others my table, most were oriental, and
it was not that bad. I don't do it at home. And, got to also have .saltine
crackers, made for Chinese food. Prefer unsalted tops.

Greg

"Serene Vannoy" <
> Depends. Do you have to wash a sinkful of dishes first, to find the forks,
> or do you have to go upstairs to the teenager's room and excavate?
>
LOL. Good shot, Serene. Only those of us who have survived excavation can
really understand. Polly

"spamtrap1888" When I make gai lan, I slice it diagonally across the grain
so I can
eat it with chopsticks. But Chinese restaurants leave it whole, making
it difficult to eat with their plastic chopsticks unless you don't
mind (a) nibbling a little off the ends in public, and (b) running the
risk of it escaping your grip and caroming off the table or plate.

I wear chopsticks. My hair is quite long so I wind it up on my head (
somewhere between Princess Grace and Ma Kettle) and poke a chopstick
through. It's a trick I learned from a Chinese friend who showed me that a
plain old pencil works quite as well. I sew with chopsticks. When easing
lace onto entredeux, firm guidance is required. A wooden chopstick won't
break if a sewing machine needle hits it and no trip to the ER results.
Polly

spamtrap wrote:

> When I make gai lan, I slice it diagonally across the grain so I can
> eat it with chopsticks. But Chinese restaurants leave it whole, making
> it difficult to eat with their plastic chopsticks unless you don't
> mind (a) nibbling a little off the ends in public, and (b) running the
> risk of it escaping your grip and caroming off the table or plate.

I'm willing to take that risk. Adds excitement and an element of danger
to the meal.

Bob

Dan Abel wrote:
>
> Gary wrote:

> > I agree. Normal ppl will use a spoon and fork to get the best out of their
> > meal. Using chopsticks today seems to be more of a yuppie "let's try to be
> > cool" thing to do.
>
> I guess you've never seen people eat with chopsticks who grew up with
> them. My brother married a woman from China. She can do things with
> chopsticks that I cannot do with spoon and fork. She has been in the US
> for decades, so she is a pro with forks also. My brother has gotten
> very good with chopsticks. Their children are also very adept with
> chopsticks. They also read and write Chinese fluently.

I've seen Morimoto use them proficiently on Iron Chef just as I might use a
fork or spoon to cook. It's impressive to see.

Nice that your brother's wife has taught their children Chinese too. I can
imagine that being fluent in that language will give them many extra job
opportunities after college. It would look good on a resume for say
government jobs with....State dept, Defense dept, CIA, NSA, etc.

My father worked for Dept of Defense all of his career. He can speak/read
Chinese. I think they have many variations of the language too, don't they?

Learning a 2nd language takes well if you learn it early as a child at home.

When I was in school, I had the choice of French or Spanish. I took several
years of French. In hindsight, Spanish would have been more useful to know
now. At the very least, when a phone recording said, "Press 1 for English
Press 2 for Spanish," I'd have two choices instead of one. heheh

Gary

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 07:48:14 -0500, Gary > wrote:

>
>When I was in school, I had the choice of French or Spanish. I took several
>years of French. In hindsight, Spanish would have been more useful to know
>now. At the very least, when a phone recording said, "Press 1 for English
>Press 2 for Spanish," I'd have two choices instead of one. heheh
>
>Gary

You were fortunate. I was "given" Latin. I know what they say about
it, but as a typical high school student I had no interest in learning
a dead language. Spanish would be much more useful in real life. Or
most any other language. Wish I paid more attention to Polish when my
grandparents used it too.

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:00:33 +0000 (UTC), gregz >
wrote:

>James Silverton > wrote:
>> On 1/20/2012 11:51 AM, Brooklyn1 wrote:
>>> On 20 Jan 2012 07:04:38 GMT, > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Do you use them? For what?
>>>
>>> For what do you have in mind?
>>>
>>>> Are you proficient with them?
>>>
>>> Not sure what's meant by proficient, but I can pick up whatever I want
>>> and bring it to my mouth.
>>>
>>>> How often? For non-Asian foods?
>>>
>>> Rarely, for any food. I don't enjoy any food using chop sticks. To
>>> me eating with chopsticks is tantamount to starting a fire by rubbing
>>> two sticks together. The only plus I can think of about eating with
>>> chopsticks is they are less gross than how a-rabs eat with the same
>>> unwashed fingers they use to squeegee their butt hole.
>>
>> A method I have used to teach chopsticks to Europeans might be of
>> interest. The major observation is that the upper stick is manipulated
>> just like a pencil and the lower is held unmoving.
>
>
>I ate a whole dish once.

Musta hurt like a mother****er exiting.

Brooklyn1 wrote:
>
> greg wrote:
> >I ate a whole dish once.
>
> Musta hurt like a mother****er exiting.


LMAO!@ You ppl are funny sometimes!

Jim Elbrecht wrote:
> Gary > wrote:
>
>>Later on, someone figured out that eating with a pair of sticks was kind of
>>stupid, and he invented the fork. Worked so much better except for soup,
>>etc. No problem said the next inventor who came up with the complimentary
>>spoon.
>
> Just to pick a nit here-- the spoon predated the [eating] fork by
> centuries. Forks were for grabbing stuff out of a fire-- fingers
> and knives gave way to knives and spoons-- and a few hundred years
> alter the fork made it to the table.

The fork was invented in China and then evenaully fell out of use again
in favor of chopsticks which had been used there long before the fork
was invented. Forks are one of the products Marco Polo introduced to
Europe.

Gary wrote:
> Mark Thorson wrote:
>> notbob wrote:
>
>> > Do you use them? For what?
>>
>> I used to use them all the time,
>> but not since I went to low-carb.
>
> Well there ya go! Chopsticks are evil high carbs too!

The good ones are made out of wood. Insoluble fiber. If you eat your
chop sticks you get to deduct their fiber. They come out a net zero.
;^)

On 1/23/2012 10:53 AM, Doug Freyburger wrote:
> Jim Elbrecht wrote:
>> > wrote:
>>
>>> Later on, someone figured out that eating with a pair of sticks was kind of
>>> stupid, and he invented the fork. Worked so much better except for soup,
>>> etc. No problem said the next inventor who came up with the complimentary
>>> spoon.
>>
>> Just to pick a nit here-- the spoon predated the [eating] fork by
>> centuries. Forks were for grabbing stuff out of a fire-- fingers
>> and knives gave way to knives and spoons-- and a few hundred years
>> alter the fork made it to the table.
>
> The fork was invented in China and then evenaully fell out of use again
> in favor of chopsticks which had been used there long before the fork
> was invented. Forks are one of the products Marco Polo introduced to
> Europe.

I ate at a Chinese restaurant last night because it's Chinese new year
and tried eating the fried rice with the long plastic chopsticks. I'm as
good as anybody who's used chopsticks since small kid time but it didn't
take but seconds for me to change it out for a fork. Good thing too,
otherwise we'd still be there. :-)

On 2012-01-23, dsi1 > wrote:

> good as anybody who's used chopsticks since small kid time but it didn't
> take but seconds for me to change it out for a fork. Good thing too,
> otherwise we'd still be there. :-)

Anyone who's ever watched some of the better Chinese cinema, knows
it's perfect etiquette to bring the bowl to your mouth and shovel rice
with chopsticks, as someone here in rfc has already pointed out.

nb

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On 1/23/2012 11:42 AM, notbob wrote:
> On 2012-01-23, > wrote:
>
>> good as anybody who's used chopsticks since small kid time but it didn't
>> take but seconds for me to change it out for a fork. Good thing too,
>> otherwise we'd still be there. :-)
>
> Anyone who's ever watched some of the better Chinese cinema, knows
> it's perfect etiquette to bring the bowl to your mouth and shovel rice
> with chopsticks, as someone here in rfc has already pointed out.
>
> nb
>

I'll eat it like that too - but it has to be in a rice bowl. I have yet
to see a Chinese person hold a plate up to their mouth and shovel food
in. I also drink soup that way too - if it's in the proper bowl. As it
goes, I pretty much know what the acceptable and customary way to eat
Chinese, Korean, and Japanese food.

I love Asian cinema, but don't know what you mean by "better Chinese
cinema." Here's a lesson on how not to use chopsticks by one of my
favorite directors - Takeshi Kitano

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AY8PRFro7v0

Bob Terwilliger wrote:
> notbob asked:
>
> > Do you use them?
>
> Yes.
>
>
> > For what?
>
> Eating and cooking. I use chopsticks wherever I find them more
> expedient, e.g., with all manner of long noodles or for dishes which
> don't have too-large or too-small chunks of food. I use them in cooking
> frequently, especially when stir-frying with a nonstick pan.
>
>
> > Are you proficient with them?
>
> I get by.
>
>
> > How often? For non-Asian foods?
>
> Doesn't matter to me whether the food is Asian or not. Maybe four times
> a week for eating, and that same number for cooking.
>
> Bob

My daughter prefers using chopstick. She claims she can't eat
noodle-type things any other way. I tell her she should carry
chopsticks with her.

Moi? Some things seem better with chopsticks. Little bits of
food. Or maybe it's the wood (in my case) as vs. metal.

--
Jean B.

aem wrote:
> On Jan 19, 11:04 pm, notbob > wrote:
>> Do you use them? For what?
>
> Yes, for eating and for cooking.
>
>> Are you proficient with them?
>
> Yes, after a lifetime of practice.
>
>> How often? For non-Asian foods?
>
> Whenever it's convenient. In addition to the normal eating-size I
> have a pair for cooking that are about a foot long, if not a bit
> longer, that are useful for cooking. I think of all of them as "long
> fingers". -aem
>
I wonder why I don't cook with them more? They sure would beat
other utensils for some things. I even have some cooking chopsticks.

--
Jean B.

On 2012-01-24, Jean B. > wrote:

> food. Or maybe it's the wood (in my case) as vs. metal.

There's some really nice chopsticks, out there. Everything from
beautiful enameled Japanese sticks to stainless steel traveling
sticks. I couldn't find any in my remote corner of the World, even at
our one cooking specialty shop. They always seemed to be out or had
forgot to order more, etc. Even a trip to Colo Sprngs to the one
large Asian mkt was a bust, they having only cheap disposables. Last
Summer, my patience was rewarded and I discovered a single pkg of
twisted, cured, Chinese bamboo chopsticks (4 pr) at our little shop.
Very nice sticks, being both simple, yet elegant. I use them almost
daily.

nb

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Contact your congressman and/or representative, now!
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