Someone stated to me recently that “the knife and fork are clearly superior tools for eating” which while this maybe technically true, it doesn’t appreciate the core cultural reasons for chopsticks and the fact that they don’t disadvantage you when eating in the traditional Chinese style.
I went on to explain that in preparing food in China you consider the use of chopsticks, and most things that need cutting are cut before serving. Eating meals in China is about a community family spirit and sharing. To this end you might get a personal dish of rice / noodles and your own dishes, but rarely do you get the meal to yourself in the way that we commonly do in the west. When you order dishes in a restaurant or eating at home, they get served after they get cooked, so the dishes don’t all come at the same time. They all get put in the centre of the table and everyone shares. Chopsticks are used almost as extensions to your fingers, you pick and mix as you like. You sometimes transfer items to the plate in front of you, you sometimes eat directly from the master dish, sometimes you go from a master dish to a bowl of sauce to your mouth, or to a personal bowl of sauce to your mouth.
It all just depends on the food you’re having, as indeed China is a large place with many different cultural dishes as diverse and more so than between a sandwich and a haggis. But the culture in China is about sharing and master dishes that you share from, in a more direct way than in the west.
There’s my 2 cents in this matter, and I in fact quite enjoyed this less formal way of eating. If you have anything to say please comment below.
Recent Comments