Walk into any restaurant serving East Asian cuisine and one feature they share in common is the use of chopsticks instead of forks, spoons and knives.
No matter if it’s a sushi bar, a Chinese restaurant or a Korean café; chopsticks are more readily available than any other cutlery.
Chopsticks have long been used in East Asia since 1200 BC, appearing first in China, then spreading to Japan and Korea as well as Vietnam.
Millenia later, chopsticks in China, Japan and Korea are all interestingly distinct, in terms of shape, length and material.
Rich and poor alike use them for everyday meals, with the simplest chopsticks being pieces of bamboo and the most elaborate being crafted out of pure gold.
Chopsticks did not start off as eating utensils, however, as they were used for cooking at first, their length allowing cooks to reach deep and safely into hot water or oil.
Chinese chopsticks
It was only in the Han dynasty that chopsticks became eating utensils, best used with lacquerware as they were too blunt to leave scratch marks.
Due to the bite-sized portions of Chinese food, knives lost their place at the dining table.
Furthermore, the vegetarian Confucius was not fond of sharp utensils at the table in the first place, saying that they would remind diners of an abattoir and of conflict and bloodshed.
Chinese chopsticks are regarded to be an extension of one’s fingers and as befitting Confucian ideals, always have blunt ends.
Compared to their Japanese and Korean counterparts, Chinese chopsticks tend to be longer, thicker and do not taper towards the end as much.
In Chinese restaurants, chopsticks are usually made of melamine plastic, but higher-end establishments tend to use porcelain instead.
During large dinners, Chinese food tends to be served on lazy Susans and thus, having a longer pair of chopsticks makes it easier to reach for food.
Thicker chopsticks also allow for bigger portions of food to be held at one time.
Japanese chopsticks
In Japan, a great number of different types of chopsticks were made for different purposes, including for cooking, eating specific meals and during funerals.
Today, most Japanese chopsticks are either wooden or plastic, but historically, they have been made of bone, metal and even ivory.
The rough texture of wooden chopsticks is supposed to make grabbing chunks of sticky rice easier.
Japanese dining customs dictate that diners hold their rice bowls close to their mouths when they eat, meaning that chopsticks need not be long as the distance between the food and the diners’ mouth is relatively short.
The chopsticks the Japanese use can be distinguished by their sharper ends which supposedly make it easier to pick out bones from the copious amounts of seafood they eat.
The chopsticks are shorter than their Chinese counterparts’ but slightly longer than their Korean variants.
Their colours and intricate designs make them stand out from the bunch.
Korean chopsticks
Korean chopsticks are usually made of metal and unsurprisingly don’t break easily, if at all.
Because metal surfaces are slippery when wet, some have rough ends to make it easier to pick up food.
Some traditional beliefs state that pure silver chopsticks were used by the royal Korean household as silver will change its colour when in contact with poisoned food.
Unlike the Chinese or Japanese, Koreans also commonly use their chopsticks together with long spoons to eat rice.
Similarities between the three cultures
However, despite the differences, there are similar customs revolving around chopsticks in the three cultures.
One taboo shared by all three cultures is that one must never ever stick one’s chopsticks upright in their rice.
This is because the bowl of rice and upright chopsticks resemble food offerings placed at graves.
Spearing food with your chopsticks like a skewer is also considered poor form.
It is also rude to point your chopsticks at anyone else at the table.
So, the next time you dine at an East Asian restaurant, do show your refinement by remembering to hold your chopsticks properly and observing chopstick etiquette.