Nowadays, an exotic dish called “sushi” has become commonplace. According to tradition, sushi, rolls, and other oriental dishes are eaten with chopsticks, which are also called hasi. An ordinary Russian person is faced with a problem - how to hold a khasi correctly. It looks easy, but in practice, as it turned out, it is not so simple. First, let's get acquainted with the history of oriental cutlery.

Historical facts

It's hard to believe, but the Khasi are over 2000 years old. The exact time of their creation is not known. Many researchers of Chinese culture associate the appearance of the Khasi with the Shan-Yin dynasty. And this is 1764 - 1027 BC. e. In those days, only rich and respected people could eat with chopsticks. All other layers of society were able to use them already in the 800s. e.There is a legend that these sticks were originally used for cooking, not eating food. They were used to turn over hot food and the stones on which it was fried.

After some time, chopsticks gained popularity in many countries such as Korea, Vietnam, Japan, etc. For residents of these regions, Khasi is not only cutlery, but also part of a millennia-old culture.

The first sticks were made from bamboo. Now you can see khasi made of wood, metal, animal bones and even glass and porcelain. Very often they are decorated with ornaments.

How to use sushi chopsticks?

Having familiarized ourselves with the history of the creation of chopsticks, we will learn how to use them. Even the most dexterous Chinese once did not know how to eat using hasi. But the training did its job. And now the inhabitants of eastern countries know how to use chopsticks better than we use forks or spoons.

In just 3 steps you will learn how to hold and use a hasi.

How to hold chopsticks?

And now in more detail:

Table manners

Even the fact that you know how to use chopsticks will not save you if you behave incorrectly at the table. Residents of eastern countries have strictly adhered to their traditions for more than three thousand years and do not intend to break them. But as they say, they don’t interfere with someone else’s family with their own rules. So we write down:

1. You can't put food on sticks.
2. You can't stick hashi into rice, for example. This is what they do at funerals.
3. Under no circumstances should you create patterns at the table using these cutlery items.
4. Khasi are individual chopsticks. There is no need to put food on someone else's plate with them. This is unhygienic and uncivilized.
   
   
5. Do not move sushi around on a shared plate.
6. Don't wrap food around hashi. Especially noodles or spaghetti.
7. You can't lick chopsticks. This is not a spoon.
8. Do not place chopsticks across the plate after eating.
9. You cannot point at something or someone using hashi.
10. Holding chopsticks in a fist is a sign of aggression for Easterners.
11. If you want more, first put the chopsticks on the table and only then contact the hostess.

The history of the appearance of Chinese chopsticks

Let's go back a little and find out how and when they were invented. Chinese chopsticks appeared more than 2,500 years ago, and initially they were used only by the emperor and some of his entourage. Only many years later they began to be used for food in Everyday life ordinary citizens. Every year, chopsticks became more and more popular, and gradually they began to be used in Japan, Vietnam, and also Korea. Traditional Chinese chopsticks were made from bamboo and were called “kuaizu”. Outwardly, they looked like tweezers.

Today, split-type sticks, which can be made from various materials, are very popular. Wood remains the most common, but you can find sticks made of metal, bone or plastic. The wood from which the sticks are made can vary, and their processing can also vary significantly. Chinese chopsticks can be varnished, inlaid with various stones, with a wide variety of designs applied. Despite them appearance, it is important to know how to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly. Only in this case will you be able to use them successfully.

How to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly

Conventionally, the sticks can be divided into lower and upper. The lower one is fixed in the hand in such a way that it always remains motionless. Only the top stick moves, and with its help pieces of food are captured and held. If you still don’t know how to use this attribute, then from this article you can learn how to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly to make eating convenient.

In order for the lower stick to remain motionless, it is placed in the recess between the index and thumb of the right hand, and also rests on the half-bent ring finger. The upper stick should be parallel to the lower one and located 15 mm higher. There are two options for holding the top stick, and everyone can choose the one that is more convenient for themselves. The first involves holding the top stick like a ballpoint pen used for writing. In the second option, the stick must be pressed against the middle and index fingers, which should be located at the same level. How to eat with chopsticks? After you have taken the chopsticks using any of the methods indicated above, you need to adjust their length with your left hand so that when they touch, they touch each other only with their tips. In order to bring them together and grab a piece of food, it is enough to bend your index finger.

Using chopsticks while eating

In order to learn how to properly use Chinese chopsticks, you need to familiarize yourself with the provisions of etiquette. You should know that putting food on chopsticks is prohibited. If the food is in a common dish, you should not poke around in it, choosing the piece you like best. If the stick touches a piece, it must be eaten. Chinese chopsticks should not be stuck into food. And clenching them in a fist is perceived as a threatening gesture. Now you know how to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly and how to use them. We hope you will greatly enjoy your introduction to Eastern culture.

Chinese chopsticks are used not only in China, but in many eastern countries. And more recently, they have begun to be often used when eating food in the West. It's all because of Chinese exotic cuisine, which has received Lately wide use. And especially such a popular dish as sushi, which is difficult to eat without using chopsticks. Often people learn to use Chinese chopsticks for the first time when they encounter rolls, or if they are planning a trip to a Chinese restaurant (to feel more comfortable and confident there).

There is nothing difficult in learning to use this cutlery. You just need to understand how to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly and how to pick up food with them. It's really simple. This is no more difficult than learning to use ordinary cutlery: a spoon and a fork. Even when using these familiar devices for the first time, many may experience slight difficulties. You can even see this in a child when he scoops up food with a spoon a little awkwardly. The same will happen with Chinese chopsticks. But gradually you will get used to it. And if you often eat Chinese food with them, then after 1000 times of using them you will become a real ace in this matter. In this article, in addition to the question of how to properly hold Chinese chopsticks, we will look at their history, learn about what they are, what they are made of, and also get acquainted with some rules of etiquette.

The Chinese themselves begin to teach their children to hold chopsticks at the age of one, because such fine motor skills contribute to better development of the child’s mental abilities. And scientists even managed to derive one formula, which says that if an inexperienced person is given 1000 meals to eat with Chinese chopsticks, then he will learn to use them as well as using his own hands.

1. The hand in which you hold the chopsticks should not be tense. Otherwise, using them will become real hard labor for you. Remember this and relax your hand. Next, straighten it to right hand index and middle fingers, and slightly bend the little finger and ring finger.

2. Chinese chopsticks are placed in the hand parallel to each other. One is at the top (let's call it the top), and the other is at the bottom (bottom).

3. Place the bottom stick between the thumb and ring finger. Its thin edge should rest against the ring finger. The lower stick is fixed in this position. When taking food, it always remains static, that is, motionless.

4. But the upper stick, on the contrary, is movable. When capturing food, all movements are made by it. The upper stick should be positioned parallel to the lower one and held in the same way as we usually hold a pencil or pen. It is located between the thumb and index finger.

5. With the help of slight bends of the index finger, you can both bring the chopsticks together and pinch the food you want to put into your mouth with them. And even if you get caught too big piece food, then it can be carefully separated with chopsticks.

This cutlery began to be used in everyday life before our era - approximately 4000 years ago. At that time, Emperor Zhou used Chinese chopsticks made of ivory to eat with. At that time, chopsticks were only used when eating food. high circles society (the emperor and his entourage), and in 700-800 AD they came into use among ordinary people.

There is also a version that says that previously Chinese chopsticks were not used for meals, but, on the contrary, for cooking food wrapped in leaves. Thanks to them, cooks deftly and quickly turned over pieces of vegetables, meat and fish, and also carried hot pebbles. Later, sticks replaced a device called a “bi” (a scoop with a long handle). If initially cooked food was removed from the dish using a “bi” scoop, then with the advent of chopsticks it was no longer used.

Well, on this moment Chinese chopsticks are a very fashionable cutlery that everyone knows about.

Chinese chopsticks - their varieties and the material from which they are made

Chinese chopsticks are called “kuaizu”, which translates as “bamboo”. It was from this material that the first sticks were made. The bamboo trunk was split into two parts, and then these two halves were folded. Therefore, in appearance the sticks looked like tweezers. Later, kuaizu began to be divided. They are still used separately today.

Chopsticks are made from a variety of materials: bone, plastic, metal (sometimes even silver and gold are used). But most often wood is used for their production: cypress, maple, plum, pine, willow, cedar, purple or black sandalwood.

There are Chinese chopsticks for disposable use, and there are reusable ones. Disposable ones are most often served in restaurants. And reusable ones are purchased for permanent use and sometimes represent real works of art: they are painted, painted, varnished, decorated with stones and mother-of-pearl. It is a pleasure to eat with such magnificent chopsticks. There are even cases when semi-precious and precious metals are used to make them.

Sticks are distinguished by appearance: flat, with thin or thick ends, pyramidal in shape. Their cross-section can be square, oval, round, or with rounded corners.

In the 12th century, the tradition of eating with chopsticks was adopted from the Chinese by the Koreans, Japanese, Vietnamese and other eastern peoples. Sticks in each of these countries look different.

In Japan, chopsticks are called “hashi” and wood is also more often used to make them. They differ from the Chinese kuaizu by their more pointed ends and shorter length. There is a type of disposable “hashi” - these are broken sticks - “varibashi”. During production, such sticks are not completely separated from each other, but are delimited only by a cut in the middle. The person must divide them himself. Stands called “Hashioki” were invented for Japanese chopsticks. The sticks are placed in this stand with their thin ends, turning them slightly to the left. Hasioki are created from wood, bamboo and ceramics, and most often they are of artistic value.

Most often, sticks are made from wood in Vietnam. But in Korea, some kind of metal is usually used to make them and they are quite thin in appearance.

Etiquette rules for using Chinese chopsticks

Follow these simple rules etiquette and you won’t have to “blush” for your behavior in any Asian establishment. Good, correct manners and you will look like a cultured person in such places.

1. How to eat sushi with chopsticks? To do this, grab the sushi with them, clamp them with chopsticks and dip them in soy sauce. You need to put the whole piece of sushi in your mouth, and not bite off pieces.

2. If the food is in a common bowl, then dig around there, looking for best piece You cannot eat food with your chopsticks. You need to choose a piece and take it. If the stick touches a piece of food, then you should eat it.

3. It is prohibited to place food on chopsticks, stick them into food, or poke pieces into them. Only at funerals is food put on sticks.

4. Clutching chopsticks in a fist is perceived by the Japanese as a threatening gesture.

5. Do not knock the kuaizu on the plate, table or other objects so that the waiter will come to you.

6. Do not use chopsticks as pointers, do not wave them or move them around the table.

7. Do not shake chopsticks in hopes of cooling a piece of food.

8. Do not lick the kuaizu and simply hold it in your mouth.

9. Do not pass food to another person using chopsticks.

10. Do not pull the plate towards you with chopsticks; to do this, just pick it up.

11. Before asking for more food, first place the chopsticks on the table.

12. Never stick chopsticks into the rice. This is prohibited. This is done only before the funeral.

13. Do not place Kuaizi across the cup.

14. You should not bring the bowl very close to your mouth or put your face in it, and then use kuaizu to stuff food into your mouth.

15. If you do not use chopsticks, then place their thin ends to the left.

16. After finishing the meal, place the kuyazi on the hashioku (stand) lengthwise, but not across.

Now you know all sorts of nuances in using Chinese chopsticks, which will certainly come in handy if you start using this cutlery often.

The theme of etiquette in the land of the rising sun is one of the most important points of Japanese culture, which has not changed for centuries. Asians do not part with their traditions, and willingly introduce them to the world community, where the ritual of eating and chopsticks is of particular importance. At first glance, only a magician could master this cutlery, but everything is not so difficult if you familiarize yourself with all the rules of Japanese nutrition.

Chopsticks are an important everyday element in the life of the inhabitants of the land of the rising sun. They are selected individually for each person, and special attention is paid to their storage. So, special stands and elaborately decorated cases are purchased for these cutlery. Most Japanese even in cafes and restaurants prefer to use personal chopsticks.

History and geography

In general, the ancestors of this amazing kitchen attribute are the Chinese.

It was in China, 3 thousand years ago during the Shang era, that a certain Yu first used two wooden sticks to pull a piece of meat out of boiling oil. Subsequently, these cutlery was dubbed kuaiji, which translated means “dexterous object.”

After some time, Chinese bamboo kuaizi, which looked like tongs, came to Japan, where they were called hashi - “chopsticks” and were used in religious rituals.

Already by the 7th century AD, all the nobility and imperial family land of the rising sun.

In general, chopsticks are mainly used in 4 countries: China and Korea, Japan and Vietnam, however, even in Thailand, these devices have a place in serving, for example, for eating noodles and stews.

From what and for what...

There are incredibly many varieties of hasi. Some are used for desserts, others for noodles and soups, and others for culinary products.

These serving items also differ in material. Mostly, sticks are made from willow or bamboo wood, but the most popular are still those made from ivory, which acquire an amber color over time.

Often such individual devices are covered with elaborate designs or carvings. For celebrations, they use lacquered pointed hashi, from which food tends to escape. Yes, this is the whole charm of oriental cuisine with all its traditions and subtleties.

Today, plastic chopsticks have also become common, which are often offered in expresso cafes and sushi bars, but metal ones are increasingly used in cooking.

By the way, with regards to silver, chopsticks made of this noble metal were the main serving item on the imperial tables of China, because it was with their help that the presence of poison in food could be determined.

The art of hashi

The skills of using chopsticks in eating can be considered a real art, which goes hand in hand with a whole list of rules of Japanese etiquette. However, we will leave the rules for later, and now we will learn a lesson on how to hold chopsticks correctly, which we will also support with a visual video instruction.

How to hold chopsticks correctly

Japanese etiquette rules

In addition to the skillful use of hashi, the Japanese meal has many instructions, if not followed, it is easy to be considered ignorant among the inhabitants of the land of the rising sun. Here we will present a set of prohibitions, that is, what you should not do in a Japanese restaurant.

1. Wave hashi in the air;
2. Poking around in a bowl of soup, sorting through food on a plate, looking for pieces of a tasty treat;
3. Put the chopsticks on the table. For this purpose, a special stand is provided - hasioki;
4. Dragging chopsticks across the table is considered bad manners;
5. Lick hashi and hold them in your mouth;
6. Move, push dishes using chopsticks;
7. Stick hashi into food, such as rice or noodles;
8. Pass food with chopsticks from one eater to another;
9. Allow the sauce to drip from the piece of food in the chopsticks;
10. Dropping food from chopsticks.

In addition to taboos, the Japanese eating ceremony also has some regulations. For example, they are extremely annoyed when the eater, wielding chopsticks in his right hand, leaves his left indifferent. Many tourists, without realizing it, caused anger and indignation among Asian culinary specialists. According to the rules of etiquette left hand must hold the bowl during libations.

One more point. If you ordered noodle soup, then first of all you should eat the grounds, raising the bowl higher to your mouth, and only then drink the broth.

There are also rules in Japanese etiquette that would cause a flurry of indignation among Europeans. Slurping while eating certain dishes is considered by the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun to be something like praise to the cook. If the client does not make smacking sounds, loud sucking sounds and other similar sounds during the meal, then the culinary master may be offended by such “silent” behavior.

Also on the menu of Japanese cafes and restaurants there is a dish - sushi, which is more advisable to eat with your hands rather than using chopsticks. This is neither forbidden nor condemned

Japanese cuisine is a true art, which lies not only in amazing dishes, but also in observing all the nuances of food culture.

One of the most ancient devices for eating food is Chinese chopsticks. They began to be used several thousand years ago. Nowadays it is exotic, so many people are interested in how to eat with them and how to properly hold Chinese chopsticks while eating. They can be used to eat any solid food, and this skill is especially useful if you are going to a Chinese or Japanese restaurant. Let's figure out how to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly to feel comfortable.

How to hold chopsticks?

First, you should hold them in the hand with which you eat. There are no rules here - it doesn’t matter which hand you eat with, but what matters is how exactly you hold the chopsticks themselves. First you need to take one stick a third from its end from the bottom and place it on your middle finger, holding it with your ring and thumb.

Second, another stick must be placed parallel to the first at a distance of up to 2.5 cm. Less is better, otherwise more will be inconvenient. You will have to bend your index finger and thus bring the chopsticks together, hooking the food with them.

As you can see, everything is simple, but it will take time to use Chinese chopsticks comfortably. It's better to buy a couple of chopsticks to take home and practice before going to a Japanese or Chinese restaurant.

Rules for using chopsticks

In the East, there is a certain etiquette for eating with chopsticks. It is strictly forbidden to stick them into rice, since this is done exclusively at funerals. You cannot lick them, as this is bad manners, and if you touch some food with a chopstick, you must eat it. Also in Eastern culture it is forbidden to hold chopsticks in a fist - this will be considered a manifestation of hostility. Of course, you shouldn’t wave them either, especially in a restaurant when trying to attract the waiter’s attention.

Some people are so fascinated by the use of Chinese chopsticks that they use them in everyday life. This is not surprising, because with their help you can stretch out your lunch time to get the most out of every bite of food.

Be prepared that even if you have learned how to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly, your first practical attempt may be unsuccessful. If at first you find this very difficult, then try using an elastic band to prevent the sticks from falling out of your hands. It needs to be put on top. The main thing is not to get used to it. As soon as you feel that it has become easier to hold them in your hand, remove the elastic band. Relearning is always more difficult than learning from scratch.

Video. How to hold Chinese chopsticks correctly