How to hold Chinese chopsticks and how to eat them correctly. Why do Eastern peoples eat with chopsticks?

For most Russians, Chinese cooking is strictly associated with wooden sticks. But if everything was so boring, we would not be writing this article. The assortment of Chinese cutlery includes spoons and even scissors. And the sticks themselves are different. Interesting? Then read on, we will tell you about everything in order.

Is it difficult to eat with chopsticks?

If you have been doing this all your adult life, like the Chinese, then it is not difficult at all. It is more difficult for them to master the fork and knife than it is for us to master the sticks. What surprises many Russians most is that the Chinese eat rice with chopsticks.

There are even opinions that the Chinese deliberately boil rice to make it more convenient. But it's not. The love crumbly rice, and no one has problems with eating it with chopsticks.

If you are confident with this cutlery, then simply take a handful of rice between chopsticks (as shown in the photo on the right) and calmly send it to your mouth. Naturally, you need to confidently hold them, otherwise everything will crumble.

In Chinese cuisine, there are several categories of dishes that cannot be eaten with chopsticks. Firstly, these are semi-liquid porridges. For example, the traditional sweet rice porrige, which is prepared for . Also, in some soups, the ingredients are heavily boiled. Most often, such soups are prepared from tree mushrooms.

These dishes are eaten with Chinese spoons, which we will talk about on this page, but a little later. If the soup is solid ingredients, then they are simply eaten with chopsticks, and they drink the broth. And they drink straight from the plate. What we consider very uncultured behavior at the table is absolutely normal in China. Most of these soups are made on the basis of noodles, and they are called “noodle soups”.

The main rules of a tourist in China

In large and expensive restaurants in China you will always be given a spoon, fork and knife. But in small cafes or national Chinese fast foods have no European cutlery at all. It is unlikely that you will be able to buy disposable forks in the store. We never saw them there.

Rule one. If you are going to China and are not good with chopsticks, then the cutlery familiar to us is a must.

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Traditionally, chopsticks are used not only in China, but also in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. This means that more than a third of humanity eats with chopsticks, and that's not counting connoisseurs. oriental cuisine worldwide.

website decided to figure out how this came about ancient tradition and why is she still alive today.

tribute to the past

Metal chopsticks. Tang Dynasty (618−907), China.

Legend has it that chopsticks were invented by Yu the Great, the mythical ruler of China, who allegedly lived in the 3rd millennium BC. e. They say that once he simply broke off two branches from a tree in order to get hot meat from the boiler and not get burned by boiling water. Archaeologists, however, believe that wands were invented much earlier - near 9,000 years ago. In a unique culture, closed from the outside world, the tradition of eating with chopsticks has become so firmly entrenched that it not only remains popular in the 21st century, but also acquires new meanings.

Philosophical approach

Based on traditional Chinese philosophy, the fork and spoon are symbols of war, while sticks correspond to the teachings of zen calling for the renunciation of violence. In addition, two sticks, one of which is held and the other moves, represent the passive yin element and the active yang element.

Even appearance sticks says a lot: the narrow rounded end is the sky, and the extended square is the earth. The fingers between the two sticks represent humanity, which feeds on heaven and earth. But that's not all! The traditional length of the stick is 7 Chinese cun (about 23 cm) and 6 fan (about 2 cm) - 7 feelings and 6 desires described in Buddhist theology.

Quality of food intake

While many of us have a hard time mastering chopsticks, the Chinese believe that eating them is not only convenient, but also extremely healthy. Of course, forks and spoons simplify the process, but with chopsticks, eating can be delayed. But this is their advantage: chopsticks allow you to eat slowly and deliberately which makes it easier for the body to digest food.

In addition, this way you will get full earlier, and eventually eat less, because when spoon after spoon goes into your mouth, the body simply does not have time to understand that it has received enough and demands more.

How to use chopsticks correctly

1. Pinch one of the sticks between the junction of your thumb and forefinger. Hold it with your ring finger and thumb, and close your index and middle fingers.

2. Place the second stick parallel to the first - on the phalanx at the base of the index finger, and hold it with your thumb and middle fingers (almost like holding a pencil).

Chinese chronicles indicate that in those days only the emperor and his entourage used chopsticks, and only in 700-800 AD they entered the everyday life of the common people. There is a version that initially chopsticks were needed only during the preparation of food wrapped in leaves. It was with their help that cooks quickly and deftly carried hot stones and turned over pieces of meat, fish and vegetables. Later, sticks became a replacement for the long-handled scoop, which was called "bi". If earlier prepared food removed from the dishes with this spoon, then with the advent of chopsticks, the need for it disappeared.

From what the first chopsticks were made, you can guess from their name "kuaizi", which contains a root with the meaning "bamboo". The bamboo trunk was split in two, and its halves were folded, as a result, the sticks resembled tweezers. A separate form of kuaizi was acquired much later, and remained in this form until our times. Now chopsticks are made from a variety of materials: plastic, bone, metal (including gold and silver). But most often, wood of various species is used for their production. Among them are pine, cypress, plum, maple, cedar, willow, black or purple sandalwood. Chopsticks can be disposable, from those served in the so-called Chinese "chifanki" or reusable, which are purchased for permanent use and stored at home along with other cutlery. Such sticks can be a real work of art: they are painted and varnished, decorated with ornaments and inlaid with metal and mother-of-pearl. It was this tradition of eating with chopsticks from the Chinese that was adopted by the Japanese, Koreans, Vietnamese and other peoples of the East, but this happened only in the 12th century. In each of these countries, sticks look different. Japanese hashi are also made of wood, but they are shorter than Chinese hashi and have more pointed ends. Koreans eat a lot. thin sticks made mostly of metal.

It is believed that sticks develop fine motor skills, and it directly affects the mental abilities of the child. Therefore, from an early age, the Chinese instill in children a desire to master chopsticks: a child begins to hold Chinese chopsticks from the age of one.

Table culture.

Since Chinese sticks are part of the culture and history of the country, many conventions and ceremonies are associated with them. There are certain rules of conduct at the table.

It is indecent to prick food on chopsticks, “draw” them on a plate
or table, to transfer food with their help to another person; lick chopsticks, point them at something, put them across the plate. Before reaching out with chopsticks to food, you need to choose a piece, and then purposefully take it. When you have finished eating, put the kuaizi in front of the plate, with the sharp ends to the left, but in no case to the side of the plate. In Japan, there are special stands for hashi sticks called hashioki. Hashioki are made from ceramic, wood, and bamboo and are often of artistic value. It is also not allowed to clench both chopsticks in a fist, as this gesture is considered threatening.

Do not stick kuaizu in rice, as this is traditionally done when serving food for the dead.

And remember the main thing: chopsticks are for eating, that's what they should do. All other actions with them in hand offend the culture and traditions of the country and show disrespect for the rules of conduct at the table.

Chinese cuisine is gaining popularity in the world, but what do we know about it? Chef Yu Qiang has worked in Beijing at the Department of State Affairs Office, the Chinese Embassy in Berlin, and is now president of the Chinese Cultural Center, answering questions and debunking myths.

Myth #1: The food is very spicy. This is not entirely true. In Chinese cuisine since ancient times, 8 directions have been distinguished by region, and each has its own specifics. Spices are a particularly revered part of ki Thai cuisine. They greatly enrich the taste of food.

This is not to say that all Chinese food is spicy. For example, in Hangzhou, the food is sweet, but in the Siyuan provinces, the food is really very spicy,” he explains.

Myth #2: The Chinese combine the incongruous.

Only where it is justified in terms of taste and health benefits. For example, pork with pineapples is incompatible for a European person, and we know that pineapple softens meat, makes it juicier, allows it to reveal its taste, as well as the taste of pineapple, more richly.

Myth #3: They love to substitute flavors.

Yes, we have a tradition of using sophisticated techniques to change the taste of foods. This is due to the climate, in different regions it varies greatly. It's hot in the south good conditions for livestock and people eat a lot of meat. To diversify the diet, meat is added various vegetables to look like fish or other meat. It is very cold in the north of China, the choice of ingredients is small, so people also tend to change the taste of food, which is good for digestion.

Myth #4: Soy sauce is always and everywhere.

It's not true that the Chinese eat everything with soy sauce. There are many dishes white color, no sauce. The sauce is added to certain dishes according to the recipe.

Myth #5: Chinese food is hard to make at home. The expert admits that Chinese cuisine and really hard. Many dishes require open fire, which is not easy to provide in a city apartment.

But in Chinese cooking courses, they usually teach you how to cook dishes that can be repeated on electric stove. For example, these are mushrooms in oil, fried crispy lamb, onion pie, pork ribs in sweet and sour sauce.

Myth No. 6: Foods that the Chinese traditionally use are completely unsuitable for European understanding.

Each of the numerous peoples of our planet has its own dish, which differs both in the way of preparation and in the features of use. different nationalities prefer unequal cutlery: some like to eat with the help of kuaizi, others with spoons and forks, others generally with their hands.

Chinese medicine believes that the use of a particular product can affect the well-being of the body as a whole. Therefore, the Chinese eat in such a way as to have a beneficial effect on the respiratory organs, the digestive tract and slow down the aging of the body. In China, it is believed that if a person has a pain in some organ, then when you eat the same organ of an animal, it is restored, and the food becomes medicine. Therefore, we eat the eyes and other parts of the pig. Although, of course, food in itself cannot be considered a panacea for illness, this is wrong.

In the south, in Guangdong, they can eat snake meat. There is an opinion that the Chinese eat insects. Few people know, but such components - distinguishing feature Thai cuisine. And in China, insects are a delicacy. The Chinese do not eat cats, and the tradition of eating dog meat has remained only in some northern provinces, because their meat cools down for a long time and warms the body. These traditions were born when the country's economy was weak and people ate everything they could find in the wild. But now a lot has changed in China.

Why do Chinese people eat with chopsticks? This question torments more than one generation of the peoples of the Old World. A long time ago, at the dawn of civilization, the ancient inhabitants of the Celestial Empire ate with their hands, which is quite inconvenient: it is hot and their hands are constantly dirty. And then they took sticks in their hands, which became, as it were, an extension of the fingers. Knives and forks are considered weapons - eating weapons is unacceptable.

Alcohol is drunk in China mainly by men - beer and baiju rice vodka with herbs with a strength of 60%, as well as red wines from the Shaoxing region.

Food chopsticks – traditional way eating food in East Asia. This cutlery mainly used in Japan, China, Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. For the manufacture of sticks, traditional materials are used: wood, ivory, metal, plastic. It is known that the imperial court in ancient China used silver chopsticks to detect the possible presence of a poison in food, namely arsenic. Food tradition chopsticks originated in China about 3,000 years ago. It is believed that this method is a resourceful emperor named Yu the Great, who in this way took out meat from a hot cauldron. In China, various materials were distributed, the poor ate cheap wooden chopsticks low quality, which could bring a splinter. This is where the tradition came from when splitting sticks to rub them against each other. From China, sticks came to Japan, where they began to make them from bamboo, and these were not two separate sticks, but peculiar tongs, later they were separated. Only representatives of the aristocracy ate with chopsticks, ordinary people ate. Metal chopsticks are used only in Korea, they are mainly made of stainless steel. According to the inhabitants of the East, food chopsticks not only convenient, but also beneficial for the body. Firstly, the muscles and glands of the palm work, which are connected by nerve endings with the digestive organs. Their constant training helps to speed up the process of digestion of food and improve the body. Secondly, the technique of eating chopsticks develop fine motor skills, so they teach it with. The Japanese believe that children who started eating with this device as early as possible are ahead of their peers using traditional European devices in mental and physical development. Like everything in the life of an Eastern person, sticks have a sacred meaning, it is peculiar. For example, there is a tradition of a couple of sticks for newlyweds. This gift is their inseparability and spiritual closeness. There is also "First Sticks" which is held on the 100th birthday anniversary. A special ceremony is held with the participation of relatives, at which the baby is allowed to try rice with the help of chopsticks. With the help of chopsticks, they eat not only solid food, but even soups and noodles, especially common in Thailand. There is a special etiquette for using chopsticks, observing which, you can not only correctly hold the instrument, but also express certain intentions or thoughts. For example, it is considered bad manners to knock chopsticks on the table, “draw” on a table or on a plate, sort through pieces of food in search of the best, chop food on sticks, lick them. The biggest insult is sticking chopsticks into food, as this is associated with commemoration among representatives of Eastern peoples because of the comparison with chopsticks incense, which are placed by relatives. Also, don't hold your chopsticks in your fist, as this gesture is aggressive and could be interpreted as a threat. chopsticks constantly finds adherents in other regions of the planet. Thus, there is an opportunity not only to join the oriental culture and try exotic food, but also to feel the true oriental patience and tranquility. Indeed, in order to learn how to properly hold the device, an unusual European needs to spend a lot of effort.