sharlag
Drama Llama
I like my artsy with a little bit of fartsy.
Posts: 6,574
Location: Kansas
Jun 26, 2014 12:57:48 GMT
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Post by sharlag on Mar 16, 2023 23:26:06 GMT
I can't use chopsticks.
To be fair, I haven't tried hard to learn.
Am I the A$$hol for not trying hard to learn?
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Post by ExpatBackHome on Mar 16, 2023 23:31:10 GMT
Not an a$$hole! My 9 year old learned to use them last year and everyone is impressed when they see him eating his ramen 😂. (We have a large Asian community here)
ETA: He can even pick up dumplings with chopsticks now!
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Country Ham
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,313
Jun 25, 2014 19:32:08 GMT
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Post by Country Ham on Mar 16, 2023 23:32:20 GMT
90% of folks use forks at various asian restaurants around here. I use chopsticks and always have to ask for them.
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lesley
Drama Llama
My best friend Turriff, desperately missed.
Posts: 7,179 
Location: Scotland, Scotland, Scotland
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Post by lesley on Mar 16, 2023 23:33:40 GMT
I was taught to use them by a Japanese student who lived on the same floor as me at university. I always remember him stressing it was all about the fulcrum, and that’s what I think about every time I pick up chopsticks. 😊
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Post by finsup on Mar 16, 2023 23:33:55 GMT
Every year it’s my New Year’s resolution to learn to use chopsticks. I’ve been failing for over 20 years now. I don’t feel guilty asking for a fork; I feel shame. 😄
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Post by Delta Dawn on Mar 16, 2023 23:37:06 GMT
I suck at them and give up. Broken fingers and wrists.
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Post by ntsf on Mar 17, 2023 0:03:59 GMT
I think I would use anything I wanted to use.. here everyone uses chopsticks and the kids learn early how to use them. but no shame.. part of the trick is to hold the bowl near your face..
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Post by katiekaty on Mar 17, 2023 0:43:07 GMT
Sometimes I will use (30% of the time) them but I prefer my fork and please give me a knife too as I don’t like picking at a huge chunk of something and nibbling at it!
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Post by lisae on Mar 17, 2023 0:47:45 GMT
Here you would have to ask for chopsticks. They only provide forks by default.
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Post by canadianlinda on Mar 17, 2023 0:49:17 GMT
I’ve tried to use chopsticks several times but I just can’t get it.
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Post by lesserknownpea on Mar 17, 2023 0:53:10 GMT
I love using them and wish it wouldn’t be weird to use on non Asian food.
I tend to eat to fast, first as a child I wanted done and away from that table and the abusive atmosphere. Later, I was always in a hurry, multitasking, so I never broke the fast eating habit. Chopsticks help me slow down a little.
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Post by tryingtobewise on Mar 17, 2023 1:38:19 GMT
Here in the Seattle area I am embarrassed not to use chopsticks. I can get by but it isn’t very pretty!
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Post by crazy4scraps on Mar 17, 2023 1:43:31 GMT
Not the a-hole to ask for a fork. I’ve tried and tried and I can’t get it either.
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Post by cadoodlebug on Mar 17, 2023 1:44:01 GMT
No, I never use them either. My sister did a demonstrative speech in high school where she had each student use two pencils and she taught them how to use chopsticks. Naturally she got an A. When I was a freshman, I had the same speech teacher and he told me she had set the bar VERY high.   I did well but not as well as she did. |
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Post by Scrapper100 on Mar 17, 2023 1:51:45 GMT
I have tried but never mastered them. Now I have trouble with my hands snd the thought of trying and then dropping or worse winging food at someone it’s not worth the risk.
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Post by katlady on Mar 17, 2023 2:13:10 GMT
There are certain dishes I need a fork - fried rice, and any bowl dish where the rice is soaked in sauce and I want to eat all the rice. Some places will even give you those Asian soup spoons when you order certain rice bowl dishes.
P.S. I am Asian.
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snyder
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,950
Location: Colorado
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Post by snyder on Mar 17, 2023 3:11:35 GMT
I have a Vietnamese friend and we go to lunch at Asian restaurants often. She uses chopsticks, I use a fork and never feel bad asking if they are not automatically offered.
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Post by cmpeter on Mar 17, 2023 3:59:44 GMT
I can’t use them either and have given up trying. Everyone else in my family can. Both kids were taught in 5th grade in. The whole class spent a week eating with them and then took a field trip to a dim sum restaurant and Asian market in Seattle.
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Post by workingclassdog on Mar 17, 2023 13:15:56 GMT
Nope... I can kinda use them but get to frustrated and don't want my food to be cold before I get the hang of it. I mean it's my mouth I'm feeding, I just need a fork. lol
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Post by liya on Mar 17, 2023 13:22:54 GMT
I use chopsticks but I hold them incorrectly. They work for me so I guess that's okay. I definitely eat slower when using chopsticks-I like that. LOL.
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Post by smalltowngirlie on Mar 17, 2023 14:02:35 GMT
I watched my friend cook over easy eggs with chopsticks. I should ask her for lessons. I have tried, but do not have enough opportunities to master it.
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Post by Tearisci on Mar 17, 2023 14:17:50 GMT
I, too, suck at using chopsticks!
On a trip to Japan, I was at a nice teppanyaki restaurant and the server could see that I was struggling with my chopsticks. She leaned over to me and said "you want fork?" I was mortified but took the fork gladly!
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Post by smasonnc on Mar 17, 2023 14:18:24 GMT
NTA. Chopsticks are hard and you lose your touch if you don’t use them all the time.
I moved to Hong Kong and didn’t think to master chopsticks beforehand. 🤷🏻♀️The first two meals we had, each time the waiter casually deposited a fork as he passed by. I was so mortified that I went back to our apartment and practiced picking up things with chopsticks until I got it. I was picking up pebbles out of the plants, peanuts, anything I could find to practice on. 🤣
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amom23
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,331
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Post by amom23 on Mar 17, 2023 14:37:59 GMT
I've never been to a Chinese restaurant that didn't offer forks 1st and you have to ask to find the chopsticks.
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pilcas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,919
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Post by pilcas on Mar 17, 2023 14:51:07 GMT
I always ask for a fork because they probably would not be happy with me taking up a table for 3 hours as I painstakingly try to get the rice into my mouth and not everywhere else on the table.
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Post by HelenaJole on Mar 17, 2023 15:26:08 GMT
I don't think anyone would think badly of you for it!
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StephDRebel
Drama Llama
Posts: 6,665
Location: Ohio
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Post by StephDRebel on Mar 17, 2023 15:46:32 GMT
Use a fork if you want. If you want to practice start using them at home. I eat popcorn with chopsticks because I don't like my hand getting all buttery but it's a great snack to practice with
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Anita
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,646
Location: Kansas City -ish
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Post by Anita on Mar 17, 2023 15:57:35 GMT
You shouldn't feel guilty. I'm horribly uncoordinated, yet I can use them pretty easily. It's odd.
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pilcas
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 2,919
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Post by pilcas on Mar 17, 2023 16:25:50 GMT
I've never been to a Chinese restaurant that didn't offer forks 1st and you have to ask to find the chopsticks. We have a large Asian community in NYC so you get chopsticks unless you ask for forks, unless you are in a very touristy area. |
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Post by ~summer~ on Mar 17, 2023 16:31:22 GMT
I use chopsticks sticks seems everyone else does too - but I don’t think it matters what you use. Personally I find it kinda fun and adds to the experience to use them.
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I did well but not as well as she did.
