I see the “instructions” for eating with chopsticks, and they always seem to stop with holding the things.
But I can do that. I can eat a fair amount of things, but there’s always something that won’t work.
Snow peas and water chestnuts seem to resist picking up, and then can slip out of my grip and shooting across the plate.
Fried rice seems to just fall through the cracks, so only a couple of grains stay with the sticks.
And lemon chicken is just too big to pick up, but there are no knives to cut it.
How can I eat these things?
The way I approach these items is: Slippery, round items get special attention. Just pick spots on opposite (exact) sides and apply gentle pressure. Fried rice needs a little sauce, then use the two sticks side by side as a scoop. I’ve found that with bigger items, you can either pry the food apart with the sticks, or bring it to your mouth and bite off a piece.
But remember, chopsticks are made to be used with a small bowl held close to the mouth, not plates in a restaurant. There are times you should just break down and ask for a fork! 
you can also use the soup spoon and shovel food onto it with chopsticks. Seriously, a few slippery things are difficult but anything else comes with practice. Strength test - eat a chicken leg. Dexterity test - pick up two shelled peanuts at a time
Finesse test - pick up jello.
The same way you get to Carnegie Hall.
Practice, practice, practice!
Control test - pick up a shelled peanut and throw it at a target across the room, and hit the target.
Black Belt - pick up two shelled peanuts and throw them at a target across the room, and hit the target with both peanuts.
I’ve discovered the PERFECT ANSWER
The perfected chopsticks http://tinypic.com/jg15z8.jpg
I’ve been told by a Korean that that’s their police’s drunk-driving test - no, not walking a straight line; picking up 2 peanuts at a time with chopsticks. Apparently any sober Korean can do that without trouble.
With fried rice, I often use the chopsticks as a “scoop.” I hold them rigidly, about a quarter of an inch apart, and scoop up a bite. With peas and water chestnuts, it’s just a matter of controlling the pressure.
Food is supposed to be cut to “bite size”. It is improper to serve large chunks of meat which cannot be eaten without additional preparation. That said, I have, on occasion, dined in Asian resturants which seem to ignore that principle. I use my chopsticks to poke-cut the food into manageable bites.
Damn me if I’ve ever figured out how to eat noodles without looking like a pig.
Take a pencil sharpener with you, and put a point on one or both of the sticks. That’ll help.
I throw away the chopsticks and use a fork
Seriously, what’s the appeal of chopsticks? They are clearly inferior to a fork, yet people still use them. I suppose if I went to a traditional fancy Asian eatery, or I was dining with the Emperor of Japan I would use them, but 90% of the time I’ll use a fork. Saves me worlds of frustration.
I love chopsticks! We use them all the time at home. The wait staff at one of our local Korean restaurants always comments on how well I use chopsticks. (One of the myriad of diets that my mom put me on as a kid was I could eat anything I wanted, as long as I used chopsticks. Now I’m like a chopstick-savant.)
What about meat that is on the bone? I’ve been several places that serve chicken or duck hacked to pieces and cooked in a sauce. Delicious, but I’m never quite sure what to do with it. At the types of place I’m talking about you generally get some combination of chopsticks and/or fork and spoon, but never a knife. Are you supposed to try to get the meat off somehow, or just pick up a piece with chopsticks or fork and gnaw on it?
I once saw a demonstration on Japanese TV of the proper way to eat noodles with chopsticks, as modeled by a smiling young woman:
- Hold bowl up near mouth.
- Pick up some noodles and put the part the chopsticks are holding into your mouth.
- Release chopsticks, move down the noodles, and shovel another couple inches into your mouth.
- Repeat until noodles are competely shoved into your mouth.
- Talk cheerfully with your mouth open the entire time you’re doing this.
Clearly, table manners have wide cultural variation…but seriously, minus #5, this works really well. In fact, I still prefer to eat spaghetti with chopsticks; I actually make less of a mess than I do with a fork.
When I was a kid, my sister and I wanted to learn to eat with chopsticks. Our father proclaimed it “stupid” to use chopsticks to eat Western food. So for the next several years, every time he was not home for a meal, out came the chopsticks, until today my sister and I are both seriously proficient. Two shelled peanuts? Sounds easy. I don’t have any peanuts around or I’d go try it just to prove to myself I can.
Do the peanuts have to be side-by-side between the peanuts or can they be stacked vertically along the length of the chopsticks? Because if it’s the latter, though I am no expert at all, I can do that. Can’t say I’ve tried the former, though.
I have to completely disagree. In their milleu (stir-fried food, dim sung, noodles) chopsticks are very much superior to a fork, for a user that can handle them adroitly. An experienced user can pick up small or slick objects like snow peas, water chestnuts, and peanuts with ease. A fork, on the other hand, requries a stabbing motion which often sends the wielder chasing around the plate in order to ensure a grip on the food, and often leads to the dreaded “finger block”, or worse, the use of bread as a backstop, both of which are hideous table manners in both Asian and most European cultures. The consumption of noodles in broth is best done with the bowl to the mouth, of course.
Not only do I often eat with chopsticks–even nontraditional fare like salads–but I find them very useful for cooking, especially stuff like sauteed spinach or pan-steamed kale, as they allow me to grab and turn or move small clumps of material without scraping around the pan. I keep a couple of pair in the utensil holder just for that purpose.
As Madd Maxx says, it just takes practice. I used to amaze coworkers by eating with chopsticks in both hands. But then, my coworkers are easily amazed. Rocket scientists don’t have the highest standards of entertainment.
Stranger
I was able to impress my co-workers by mastering the “fake tongs”, two-spoon in one hand serving technique that all Chinese waiters use.
One spoon held in forefinger and thumb, the other in with the last three fingers, middle and pinky on outside and the other finger on the inside.
The perfected chopsticks http://tinypic.com/jg15z8.jpg
I practiced with popcorn. Just pop up a bag, and eat it with the chopsticks. Do that a few times, and you should see a marked increase in your mastery of other foods.
Side by side, they told me.
side by side. The shelled peanuts are usually cooked in oil, so a little slippery. It just takes some practice, ditto with eating a chicken leg. The popcorn trick sounds like a good way to practice, and after you pick up one easily then start with two.