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How to Use Chopsticks. Like skiing and speaking a foreign language, chopstick use is a skill
ideally acquired in childhood. But with a little perseverance, adults tired of feeling
boorish in Asian restaurants can become adept. You will need Chopsticks and patience. Step
1. In your right hand, traditionally used even by the left-handed, rest the thick end
of one chopstick on the webbing between your thumb and forefinger so that about an inch
of it sticks out beyond your hand, and rest the other end on your ring finger. Keep your
fingers loosely curled. Successful chopstick use depends on stabilizing this bottom chopstick,
which doesn't move, to leave your thumb and forefinger free to maneuver the top chopstick,
which does. Step 2. Grip this bottom chopstick with the bottom of your thumb so it is immobilized
and sits firmly on your ring finger. You can use the tip of your middle finger to stabilize
the ring-finger end of the chopstick. Step 3. If you're holding the bottom chopstick
correctly, your entire index finger and the top joint of your thumb are free to move around.
Grip the top chopstick between the tips of these fingers so that its tip lines up with
the bottom chopstick's tip. Step 4. To pick up a piece of food, maneuver the top chopstick
to grasp it with the tip and brace it against the bottom one. Etiquette requires that you
use chopsticks neither to chop nor to stick. For that, use knives and forks. Step 5. Now,
carefully lift a piece of food with your chopsticks, taking care not to let it slide out. Sweet
success. Did you know Many sushi aficionados insist that sushi should be eaten with the
fingers—an excellent fallback position if you have trouble mastering chopsticks.