Diversity when it comes to eating goes far beyond the most representative dishes and foods of each culture. Elements such as chopsticks, widely used in most Asian countries, are also symbols of particular gastronomic identities. And although it seems that all the countries of this continent use the same type of chopsticks, they actually pose important differences depending on the type of food and culture to which they belong.
The use of chopsticks depends on how the act of eating is carried out according to the culture in which we find ourselves. If, for example, we are in China, where food is usually shared at the table, the chopsticks will be long because “the tables are round, and on that table they have another table that rotates and the dishes are placed there,” he explains in a video the tiktoker Juancho Coreano (@juanchocoreano). In addition, he clarifies that the Chinese chopsticks are made of bamboo and have a square shape.
In Korea, there is also a culture of sharing food, but in this country, chopsticks are usually made of metal. The use of this material relies on the fact that, in Korean cuisine, it is usually eaten with many banchans or small portions that accompany the main dish, which are usually fermented vegetables such as kimchi. “To pick up a banchan you need a more delicate movement. That’s why the metal stick is very good, because since it weighs a lot, you can use the force of your hand more efficiently,” explains the tiktoker. These chopsticks are also characterized by being flatter, which allows for easy grasping of small foods.
These utensils also vary if we go to Japan, where usually people tend to eat individually, so chopsticks in this country are shorter compared to Korean and Chinese ones. “His dishes are closer, so they don’t need long chopsticks,” Juancho Coreano clarifies. In addition, the tip of these utensils tends to be thinner in Japanese culture, where fish plays a fundamental role in the cuisine of this country: “it is easier to bone a fish, that’s why pointed chopsticks are used in Japan” , assures the user when closing the video.
