Can you use chopsticks? Do you think it’s hard to eat with chopsticks? Well, if you hold and use them correctly, chopsticks are actually very versatile. You can even pick up things that are too small or too thin to pick up with a fork.
Using chopsticks correctly is also an important table manner. It just looks elegant. Incorrect chopstick usage is not visually pleasing to others. I have to confess — I once went out on a dinner date with somebody, and the way he was holding his chopsticks was a big turn-off!
I found a good tutorial video, which I post below. Even if you think you know how to use chopsticks, I recommend you take a look and make sure that you’ve been using them correctly.
One thing I want to add, which is not mentioned in the video, is that a common mistake is to hold chopsticks too low. You should hold them within the top half. Holding chopsticks high actually gives you a better control.
You can proudly show off your chopstick skills at a Japanese restaurant after practicing with the video, but did you know that it’s actually fine to eat sushi with your bare hand? In fact, real sushi connoisseurs would eat sushi without chopsticks! Well, there’s a whole thing about how to eat sushi with your hand with elegance. So I’ll save that topic for later…