By Sarah Spigelman Richter From Mashable

How some Asian cultures use chopsticks differently

If you thought people using chopsticks follow the same protocol in cultures throughout Asia, start taking notes.

For instance, in Japan people don’t stick their chopsticks straight up in a bowl of Japanese oyako don. In Thai cultures chopsticks aren’t used to poke meatballs.

Though chopsticks are traditional eating implements in many Asian cultures, the styles and uses of these dining tools are as diverse as the countries themselves.

Chopsticks were invented in Ancient China, during either the Shang (1766-1122 BCE) or Xia dynasties. Though these first utensils were likely used for cooking instead of eating, they became eating instruments during the Han dynasty and were fully integrated into daily meals during the Ming dynasty.

Since then chopsticks have evolved into a daily utensil, used to eat many dishes in cuisines around Asia. However, the culture for using them isn’t the same everywhere.

There are few universal rules around chopstick culture, though one can usually track trends by region. The culinary experience of a large city like Bankgok might be vastly different from traditions in an oceanside Thai village. Likewise, someone raised in an Asian country may have a different experience than someone connected to his or her culture but raised in the U.S.

Mashable asked a combination self-proclaimed foodies from different backgrounds about chopstick use in their respective cultures. These are, for the most part, guidelines, not universal rules.

The one thing everyone agreed upon: It is universally bad form to stick your chopsticks upright in your bowl as that position is associated with death.

Hong Kong and mainland China

Chopstick etiquette usually allows for noodle slurping.
Sam Cheng, Mashable campaign specialist who was born and spent his childhood in Hong Kong, says it’s common to use chopsticks in both Hong Kong and across mainland China for everything from noodles and rice to to classic Chinese protein-based dishes. It’s common for kids to start using chopsticks from a young age.

However, he notes, “Anything western [like bacon and eggs] is usually eaten with a fork and a knife.”

Sam warns never to stick your chopsticks straight up in your bowl, because “it looks exactly like the way the Chinese honor the dead…If you stick it in your bowl it’s considered as a bad omen.”

Vietnam

Food blogger Linh Nguyen of Indiechine was raised in Northern Vietnam and now lives in coastal Hoi An. She says chopsticks are the gold standard for many noodle and rice soup dishes in Vietnam. “Chopsticks allow us to carry out that tradition of sharing in a way that is polite and hygienic.”

Children usually learn to use chopsticks around kindergarten or first grade. Though there are “trainer” chopsticks, often imported from Japan, many families choose to teach their kids using traditional chopsticks on a smaller, shorter scale. She adds, “We also don’t allow children to tap their chopsticks on the table or bowls to make noise, because we believe that it could attract hungry ghosts, but also because it’s a bit rude to make so much noise at dinner!”

Linh says in Northern Vietnam, chopsticks are often made from bamboo, but in the south coconut wood is often the material of choice. Vietnamese chopsticks are often flat and unadorned (she says many Vietnamese people feel the aesthetic is more resistant to the country’s heat and humidity) and have a blunt tip.

Japan

Classic pork over rice and bowl with noodle soup, Japan
Maya Tanaka, Mashable creative director who is half Japanese, says in Japan chopsticks are used for “everything that isn’t hand food, really…Japanese food is often broken up into many small dishes or courses and everything is usually already cut and portioned.” She thinks chopsticks are more useful than some Western utensils, “great for picking around fish bones,” and it’s worth noting that using chopsticks for sushi is a debated topic.

Tanaka also notes many older restaurants in Japan may only offer chopsticks (in addition to spoons for soup and/or dessert), so if you can’t use them, you’re out of luck.

Tanaka’s father Toru, who was born and raised in Tokyo, adds, “When done [eating] you lay your chopstick between your thumb and [pointer] finger…and say gochisosama (delicious meal, thank you).”

In Japanese culture, chopsticks are more than utensils; they can be works of art. It is common for families to have sets made of abalone or painted gold. Painted sets, which may include designs like cranes or cherry blossoms, are usually sealed with lacquer.

Korea

Many Korean chopsticks are flat and made of metal. Annie Park, who is of Korean descent and is Mashable’s visual storyteller, says chopsticks are used constantly at Korean mealtimes. They are especially in high demand when eating traditional assorted side dishes known as banchan.

Jon Park, Mashable branded content intern, pinpoints several faux pas, including picking up the plate or holding it in your hand, holding chopsticks and spoon in the same hand simultaneously and taking food from a communal bowl when there is rice or seasoning stuck to your chopsticks.

Though some kids might practice with short, plastic versions, it’s not unusual to see children using full fledged, slippery adult chopsticks. As Annie says, “pros since birth.”

Thailand

A common misconception about chopsticks in Thai cuisine is that they are used to eat everything. Mashable employee and Bangkok native Tarn Susumpow says western utensils are by far the most common tools. Noodles (including noodles in soup) or rice porridge (known as khao tom gui) are foods most likely eaten with chopsticks. Susumpow says though some people eat straight from the chopsticks, “most use the chopsticks to pick up ingredients (meat, veggie, noodles) and assemble them on the [accompanying] spoon before taking a bite.”

If you do have chopsticks on your table, don’t bite them or use them as skewers with which to spear meatballs.

Though fancy artisan chopsticks have bee trendy in recent years, Susumpow says disposable wooden or long plastic ones are still the most prevalent.

This list is by no means exhaustive or extensive — there are 48 countries and six sovereign states in Asia, many of which use chopsticks for indigenous foods. This list is the delicious tip of the chopstick.

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