Hey guys! What's up? It's Mike Chen!
Today let's talk about something that most Asians use every single day: chopsticks.
Now, chopsticks are super useful. You can use it to eat, obviously,
or you can also use it to keep your hair up, you can cook with it,
and they're super convenient because you can basically find them anywhere.
Say you're on a camping trip and you forget utensils.
Then just break off a couple of branches, and you're set. Can't do that with a fork.
Anyway, the Chinese have been wielding chopsticks since at least 1200 B.C.,
but they were mainly used for cooking
until around 400 A.D., when people started to eat with them,
and by 500 A.D., they were spread across Asia to places like Korea and Japan.
Now, I have to admit something.
I've eaten at countless Chinese, Korean, Japanese restaurants, and
I'm ashamed to say, although thinking about it now, I see it, but,
at the time, I really did not notice the differences between
Chinese, Korean, and Japanese chopsticks,
and, yes, there are differences.
First, let's talk about Chinese chopsticks.
Chinese chopsticks are typically made with bamboo, plastic, or ivory.
They are much longer and thicker than Korean and Japanese chopsticks.
The reason they are long is because Chinese foods are often served on rotating tray tables, or Lazy Susans,
and these tables are typically larger, so you need longer chopsticks
if you were to have any chance of reaching for that fish dish that your uncle is always hogging.
And if you'll notice, Chinese chopsticks do not taper toward the end as much as Korean and Japanese chopsticks.
Also, they are thicker because Chinese people typically eat family style,
and the bigger chopsticks allows you to pick up more food.
Now let's talk about Japanese chopsticks.
The Japanese people developed chopsticks for different types of use.
They have chopsticks for cooking,
for eating sweets,
for funerals.
Japanese chopsticks are shorter than Chinese chopsticks,
and much pointier at the ends.
And the reason behind that is supposedly because
the Japanese diet consists of large amounts of whole, bony fish,
and the pointed ends makes it easier to remove small bones from the fish.
And, finally, the Korean are much tougher than the Chinese and Japanese ones
because they are often made with stainless steel.
This is because in ancient Korea, and China as well,
they believed that silver chopsticks could detect poisonous foods.
That's why all the chopsticks used by the emperor were made out of silver.
Also, typically Korean chopsticks are always paired with a spoon,
because Koreans actually used a spoon and not the chopsticks to eat the rice.
Now, all these chopsticks have their pros and cons.
For example, the Korean chopsticks may be heavier,
but it's more hygienic, and it offers a better workout while eating.
The Japanese chopsticks are shorter and pointier at the tip,
which makes it easier to pick up all the small amounts of food that they give you,
and trust me, you're going to need every bit of it.
And the Chinese chopsticks are great where you're competing for food against your hungry friends.
So use the Chinese chopsticks to grab all the food,
use the Japanese ones to pick out the fish bones and the peppercorn,
and use the Korean ones to reflect light into your enemy's
I, I mean your friend's
eyes, so you can distract them from the last piece of Peking Duck.
Okay, I'm just kidding, don't do that.
But I've got to say, I am super envious of girls,
because, if I want to carry chopsticks on me...
And guys, you should always have a pair of chopsticks with you at all times.
Super useful if you want to eat foods like Cheetos
but don't want the orange fingers.
Anyways, if I want to take the chopsticks with me,
I'm gonna have to put it in a case or something.
It doesn't really fit into my pockets.
But, ladies, all you gotta do is put your hair up,
you stick your chopsticks in there any way you need it,
you whip it out, you get to do a dramatic hairstyle change, which is awesome,
and you're ready to eat.
Just remember, after eating, make sure you clean off your chopsticks before sticking it back into your hair,
or you're gonna walk around smelling like Chinese food all day.
Which, you know what, actually sounds pretty good.
Somebody needs to go and bottle those scents, like,
"Chanel Fried Rice,"
"Calvin Klein Kung Pao Chicken."
Alright guys, let me know in the comments below which chopsticks do you like to use the most.
Thank you all so much for watching this video. See you later.