# Fork or Chopsticks? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 24, 2000, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134 "2000-03-24T03:51:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/1 "2000-03-24T03:51:00Z")
How do you eat Chinese (or other Asian) food? Me, I always use chopsticks when they’re available. Don’t ask me why, but I think Chinese food actually tastes better when using the “proper” utensils than it does when eaten off of stainless steel. * * * “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank ---
**Author:** ![crackwise](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/22d042/32.png) [@crackwise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crackwise)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/2 "2000-03-24T03:53:00Z")
Chopsticks. I like 'em and it makes me eat slower. * * * ~handcrafted signatures since 1975~ ---
**Author:** ![Bluepony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Bluepony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bluepony)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/3 "2000-03-24T03:56:00Z")
Yeah, it probably does taste better with the proper Oriental utensils. However, after dropping that piece of sesame chicken for the 26th time and launching the moo goo gai pan into the next booth— it can get real old. I use the good ol’ fork to keep me from looking like a complete imbecile. * * * _…send lawyers, guns, and money…_ ``` Warren Zevon ``` ---
**Author:** ![MadPoet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8c91f0/32.png) [@MadPoet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MadPoet)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/4 "2000-03-24T04:01:00Z")
Chopsticks… I shovel the food in fast enough with sticks, with a fork I’d polish off a plate of General Tso’s and Fried Rice in no time. (from another thread) Chopsticks take getting used to. Hold the first stick like you would a pencil, only with your index finger straight. You should have it resting on the webbing between thumb and index and on the last joint of your middle finger. The second is held with thumb and index finger to form a pincer. To eat rice, don’t just pick at it, hold the bowl to your mouth and shovel. 🙂 Sushi is my biggest chopstick challenge (or was… now I use my hands). * * * [http://www.madpoet.com](http://www.madpoet.com) “I never meant to hurt you,” you said, And buried yourself in lies instead. Next time I would rather be slain, Than forced to bear your mercy again. ---
**Author:** ![TVeblen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@TVeblen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TVeblen)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/5 "2000-03-24T04:18:00Z")
Shayna, you rock! I’m so glad you picked up on the “eating klutz” reference in the other thread. And thanks to MadPoet; that helps. Somehow or other I just can’t keep that “anchor” chopstick motionless. It ends up scissoring around the other one and flinging my dinner in directions I don’t want it to go–namely my mouth. Slight hijack: I was watching a Chinese family in a restaurant there. They were giggling helplessly, trying to use the forks etc. offered as place settings. They were having so much fun with it the whole place ended up coming over and making friends. (When the mother pulled some chopsticks out and her toddler effortlessly ate a salad–well, it was a pretty great moment.) I just hope I carry off my chopstick klutziness with as much panache. Veb ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/6 "2000-03-24T04:27:00Z")
Chopsticks for everything except egg rolls. I am not adept at breaking those tough critters up. (If I open them, I can eat the innards with chopsticks, of course, but finding the appropriate method to open them and break the roll leaves me feeling clumsier than usual.) * * * Tom~ ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/7 "2000-03-24T04:33:00Z")
[blushing]Thanks, Veb.[/blushing] I meant to also ask someone to please provide you with instructions on chopstick use, but I forgot before I clicked post. But I knew someone would come along, as MadPoet did, even without the directive. (Thanks, MadPoet!) If it makes you feel any better, I’m not that great with them either. It’s just more fun to try, even if I’m lame. 🙂 ::: Off to practice my spaghetti twirling ::: * * * “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/8 "2000-03-24T04:36:00Z")
Tom, eggrolls are definitely finger food, as are wontons and crab rangoon. Just don’t try that with spaghetti. 🙂 * * * “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” - Anne Frank ---
**Author:** ![Catrandom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@Catrandom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Catrandom)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/9 "2000-03-24T04:40:00Z")
I’m a fairly proficient chopsticker, though I didn’t get the hang of them until I stopped trying to learn to use them from directions and just watched people for a few meals. Now I can handle most things, but rice on a plate, rather than in a bowl, tries my patience (since one can’t really pick up the plate and shovel.) Catrandom ---
**Author:** ![Sylence](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b19c9b/32.png) [@Sylence](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sylence)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 5:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/10 "2000-03-24T05:17:00Z")
I use the fork. God knows I throw enough on the floor as it is. . . – Sylence * * * “Excuse me, are you reading Torah and eating crayons?” ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/11 "2000-03-24T05:18:00Z")
I use chopsticks until I get tired of dropping food, then switch to a fork. * * * Your Official Cat Goddess since 10/20/99. _Hey, I like that hat, man. They sell men’s clothes where you got that?_ ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/12 "2000-03-24T05:33:00Z")
I _can_ use chopsticks, with ease. But, I prefer a fork. ---
**Author:** ![billehunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c37758/32.png) [@billehunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billehunt)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/13 "2000-03-24T06:55:00Z")
I have a friend who carries chopsticks with him and uses them in all restaurants, not just Chinese ones. The scary thing is that this guy is a judge by profession. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/14 "2000-03-24T10:49:00Z")
Chopsticks. Only way to eat sushi. If I’m eating Chinese, and the restaurant doesn’t provide them as a matter of course, sometimes I’ll let it go and use ordinary Western flatware. But for sushi, there is no other choice. - Rick ---
**Author:** ![Girlbysea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Girlbysea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girlbysea)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/15 "2000-03-24T11:07:00Z")
Not aloud to say Chinese food in this house. The chief hates it!! But, when he’s not looking, I grab the fork… * * * * * * Girlbysea (AKA: ChiefScott’s GBS) ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 11:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/16 "2000-03-24T11:08:00Z")
Chopsticks suck. They make a simple activity difficult and frusterating. I’m all about the forks and spoons for maximum efficiency in food eating. If a meal takes longer than seven minutes to eat, it’s not worth eating. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/17 "2000-03-24T12:42:00Z")
For some reason I can’t get used to eating Asian food with flatware. Gotta use the sticks. But if I’m eating at my desk, trying to work at the same time, I’ll use fork on the fried rice. ## I think it’s about time to get my co-workers together for a run down to Little Saigon. Getting the urge for some _tam cam bi_ or _bun cha hanoi_. “I must leave this planet, if only for an hour.” – Antoine de St. Exupéry Are you a turtle? ---
**Author:** ![Globe-trotter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cab0a1/32.png) [@Globe-trotter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Globe-trotter)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/18 "2000-03-24T12:51:00Z")
I use the fork. I am simply too chopstick-challenged to eat with them. I’ve tried but really, I’m just too damn clumsy. * * * “I thought: opera, how hard can it be? Songs. Pretty girls dancing. Nice scenery. Lots of people handing over cash. Got to be better than the cut-throat world of yoghurt, I thought.” - Seldom Bucket ---
**Author:** ![TheUnforgiven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@TheUnforgiven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheUnforgiven)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/19 "2000-03-24T17:52:00Z")
If I’m at a Chinese buffet I’ll ask for chopsticks, too. I just find it more satisfying to eat with them. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2000, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134/20 "2000-03-24T17:57:00Z")
I use chopsticks for almost everything I eat. As far as rice on a plate goes, it’s uncommon to see that- rice is usually eaten out of a bowl, and the accompanying meat or veggies are placed on top before eating a big hunka rice. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fork-or-chopsticks/15134.md?page=2)