In the chopstick cuisines, is there a dish that the way to eat it was not immediately intuitive to you?

Question

Answers from persons not of Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese cultures, please.

This is for a part of a project about cross-cultural exploration. It is natural to people of a culture how to eat every dish in their own cuisine. However, what is natural to them may not always be intuitive to people of other cultures who are used to different utensils and protocols. Has there been such a dish in your experience?

Please list all relevant dishes.

Vietnamese spring roll (the deep fried roll) is an example, because you actually eat it with your fingers, wrapping it in a piece of lettuce. Another one is Japanese miso soup, which you use chopsticks to hold down the seaweed and tofu as you drink the soup directly from the bowl. Miso soup was even less intuitive to me than Vietnamese rolls; I thought you would just use a spoon for the soup.

Answer 1

Steamed whole fish (eyeballs, tails and all).
When I first moved to Taiwan, we had a lot of large "Family Style" meals with a whole steamed fish in the middle of the table. I didn't know what to do with it, and a pair of chopsticks. But I learned the fish meat seperates from the bone fairly easily. So you sort of dig through the skin, get to the meat and place a chunk on your plate.

Soup. As a westener, it did not seem intuitive to put the whole soup bowl up to your mouth.

All meat with bones. The Chinese usually just put the whole thing in their mouth, and whatever doesn't fit, just sorta hangs out and is controlled with the chopsticks until the last morsel of meat is sucked from the bone and the bone is spit on the side of the plate.

Answer 2

My theory is that the chopstick came around because they wanted a utensil that would essentially replace the fingers. Many things are very useful for picking up with chopsticks, and in tradtional chinese culture, chopsticks were considered humane and civil utensils. Forks and knives were considered weapons around the table. I think it also has alot to do with habit and plain tradition. Once you start going with something, you adjust accordingly. I found it very very difficult to eat rice with chopsticks, but once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature and you almost immediately grab for the chopstick. It's all a matter of personal preference. Indians in fact eat with their hands.

I believe in some way, the chopstick is an artform, an experience that even affects taste to a certain point. I find that eating rice with chopsticks rather than a spoon allows me to taste the rice more, to feel the individual grains in my mouth, to appreciate every biteful rather than a spoon, where you shovel everything into your mouth. It's very delicate, and you wouldn't wanna go eating sushi with a fork, where the rolls and shapes form with the rice are very fragile.

I believe nowadays, people are adjusting to westernized standards. I eat with a fork and knife more often than not. But I believe that the chopstick will never die out. There is just something about it that makes the eating experience more exciting. Plus if you can't scoop up stuff with a chopstick, use a spoon with it! Yes, usually a large spoon and chopstick go hand in hand in every meal.

Answer 3

Chinese food (or any "chopstick" cuisines) eaten in India are always eaten with western utensils. But Indian food is usually eaten with our right hand, so that's the norm over there.

I mention this because a few years back I was eating at an upscale Chinese restaurant in Mumbai. There was a set of chopsticks on the place setting, so naturally when the food arrived I started using them. They were so surprised that I knew how to eat with them, everyone was almost fascinated (the waiters, other patrons....). Apparently, they were just part of the decor & ambiance of the restaurant.

It was just funny, eveyone at my table now wanted to learn how to eat with them. The waiters even came by and alot of other patrons did too to see how to hold them. They were very surprised to learn that most people in the US, knew how to eat with chopsticks! They found it very funny that "white Americans" used chopsticks.

But then I noticed that everybody in India uses a fork & spoon to eat Chinese, Thai, Malay.... so the chopsticks on the place settings are just decor.
Funny, they are neighbors with China but dont use chopsticks and Indians LOVE eating Thai, Chinese,
Malay, Singaporean, Indonesian....

For me, eating sushi was a learning experience. This was years ago, but I went with a friend who explained the whole meal & showed me how to eat sushi properly. It was not intuitive & all the sushi choices (sashimi, rolls...) was overwhelming. Now I am a pro!

Answer 4

Even Asians have soup spoons, so all you are doing is making your self seem like a idiot. But if you'll be able to consume whatever with chopsticks, you are doing a lot bigger than I am. So I bet I'd be inspired, only for the truth that you attempted.

Answer 5

For me, it doesn't seem right to eat Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, ect. food with something other than chopsticks. Chopsticks made with plastic are a little hard for me to use, and sometimes noodles are a little hard to eat since they tend to slip out.

Answer 6

just rice was hard in the beginning---
until i learned to bring the rice bowl closer to my mouth
that was the only food i had a little trouble with

i love eating with chopsticks

Answer 7

i think sushi rolls is an example. know why? because they're like finger foods. you could eat it without using any chopsticks or fork.