The Best Chopsticks in 2019 to Get the Full Asian Cuisine Experience

Although we use them every day whenever we sit down to eat, rarely do we ponder about the kind of cutlery we are choosing as our food companion. When it comes to using chopsticks this negligence can be even more pronounced: most of us are quite likely to randomly pick up any pair of chopsticks lying around, including those disposable ones that regularly come with our Asian takeouts, in our bid to try and gain an authentic Asian culinary experience. But have you considered introducing a pair of chopsticks part-time or even full-time in your daily life so that you can derive the benefits of mindful eating practices?

Chopsticks, in essence, make less noise compared to eating with metal cutleries, giving you a more peaceful meal time. They take less space when you are packing a meal and are super easy to clean. All in all, chopsticks are a cultural icon, a piece of artwork, a great idea for a gift, a requisite meal time fixture, and make for awesome walrus impersonations.

Things to Consider Before Buying the Best Chopstick

While the consumption of Asian food, like sushi, dim sum, rice, and ramen, can no longer be considered as an obscure cuisine choice no matter where you are in the world, the use of chopsticks for the consumption of non-Asian food is actually on the rise. Now for the question of the things you should keep in mind when purchasing a pair of chopsticks, be it for yourself or for your entire family. Chopsticks may, at first glance, appear to be simple in design, but they are, in reality, a great device to eat food with.

History

Arguably chopsticks are one of the world’s oldest forms of utensils, and have probably been around for more than 5000 years. Then as now, they have been used both in the kitchen whilst cooking, as well as at the dining table as people sit together to share a meal. While chopsticks originated from China, they are now a global phenomenon and an integral component of an authentic Asian gastronomic experience.

Chopsticks were invented in China around 1200 B.C. before or during the Shang dynasty. Made of bronze and much longer than the length of current chopsticks, they were probably first used not so much for eating but cooking, that is, to reach into the pots to stir the food and to serve bits of food. Spoons were still used to eat meals. A population boom around 400 A.D. necessitated families to reduce food and fuel costs by cutting the size of food into smaller pieces so that they could be both cooked quicker and proportioned better.

At this point, a shorter version of the chopstick was introduced to help denizens to transfer the bite size food from the plate to their mouths during the Han dynasty. The now famous Chinese philosopher, Confucius, was one of the advocates to argue in favor of using chopsticks over sharp utensils like knives: he argued that the latter was unfit for the meal table, because it was bore a gruesome reminder of the manner in which the meal came to be in the eating bowl. The spread of chopsticks from China to other parts of Asia, like Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Taiwan, Laos, Nepal, Malaysia, Singapore, Myanmar, and Philippines, also led to variations in the material that the chopsticks are made of, eating etiquette, the length and design of the chopsticks, etc.

Choosing your chopsticks

One factor to consider when deciding to purchase chopsticks is your budget. How much you are willing to spend will determine whether you get cheap disposable ones, like those that come free with Asian takeaways, or if you buy silver chopsticks or even ones made of gold. A key question to ponder over here is, will your chopsticks of choice be used for that rare, one time sushi party in the year, or whether they are meant for regular and repeated usage for your oriental - and occidental - style dishes?

Even if you decide that you want to get disposable ones in your bid to extend the ‘true’ takeout experience to your home cooked meals, you can choose between bamboo and wooden chopsticks. Further, you can make a choice between the wooden chopsticks that come conjoined, which you are then meant to break apart, or bamboo ones that are already separate and, therefore, less likely to splinter.

If you end up getting a pair of chopsticks with splinters and wish to avoid getting the splinters in your mouth, one way to remove them is to rub the chopsticks against each other. Apparently, it is considered bad manners to do this at a sushi bar, because you are telling the restaurant staff that their chopsticks are cheap. But better safe than sorry.

Another question to keep in mind when investing in chopsticks is whether you are planning to use them to eat or cook. If you are hoping to use them to cook as well, then you should buy longer chopsticks that will allow you to reach deeper into extremely hot pots or pans without scalding yourself. If you are planning to use the chopsticks to serve food to your guests or to transfer the food from your own plate to your mouth, then a range of shorter chopsticks are available meeting the requirements of each scenario.

Normally chopsticks used for cooking are made of bamboo. But these ones will get discolored and greasy over time. Hence, chopsticks made of metal like stainless steel are more preferable for deep frying. They have handles that are made of different materials like wood, which will keep them from heating up.

Separate chopsticks have also been designed for men, women, and children, so you can opt for a pair that was made with you in mind.

Pointed or rounded, blunt tips also make a massive difference when it comes to selecting a pair of chopsticks. Pointy tips make picking up the smallest food item like rice easy while rounded tips are suited to food of all shapes and textures. Chopsticks with square bodies are easy to grip whereas those with rounded bodies can be a bit of a challenge as they tend to easily roll between the fingers.

Newbies should go further by avoiding chopsticks with a slick surface. Yes, they may be colorful and beautifully decorated, but they will also, firstly, hinder your ability to acquire the art of using chopsticks by making it harder for you to grip your food. The coating may, secondly, smell and, in some cases, even have a taste of their own. Thirdly, the laminate will wear away with use: the wood will become more permeable and, therefore, harder to clean, turning your chopstick into a breeding ground for germs.

Just go for a pair of plain wooden or bamboo ones instead and think of the glossy ones as your reward once you have mastered your chopstick skills.

Moving on to the ones with shiny metal ones, it may appear at first that these have no grip. Sure, the shiny metal ones are considered ‘good silverware’. They are also relatively easy to clean and sanitize. But they are also heavier than the other ones and can also heat up quicker.

Different Types of Chopsticks

Unfinished wood

Unfinished wooden chopsticks are ones that do not have a painted coating, which means that they will not have a chemical smell. While some brands are dishwasher safe, others are not, so make sure you check with the manufacturer. As with lacquered wood, unfinished wooden chopsticks should not be left soaking for too long as this will make the wood expand.

Lacquered wood 

The use of natural lacquer makes your chopsticks quite attractive as well as functional and tends to be, for the most part, reusable. They are low in heat conduction, which means that they inhibit the transfer of heat from the food to your chopstick so that your chopsticks will not heat up too much. They are also able to grip food quite well.

Titanium

Guaranteed to attract the attention of fellow chopsticks lovers, titanium chopsticks are non-allergenic, odor-less, non-corrosive, and tasteless. You are making an environmentally friendly choice every time you eat Asian food.

Bamboo

Bamboo chopsticks are mostly reusable and also tend to be the most affordable of the lot. They are ecologically friendly compared to the use of wood. This is because bamboo is a kind of grass that grows very quickly compared to trees.

Plastic

As an economical choice, plastic chopsticks tend to be BPA free, although it is wise to do your own research before making them your cutlery of choice. They may not, however, be as effective in picking up food compared to the other materials. Another issue you may face when using plastic chopsticks is that they may become damaged if they are exposed to high temperatures such as when you are cooking. 

Stainless Steel 

Stainless steel chopsticks tend to be lightweight, durable, and dishwasher safe. Another bonus is that they rarely get stained as a result of repeated contact with food.

Silver 

Apart from constituting a symbol of luxury, silver chopsticks were also believed in ancient times to change their color to black if they came in contact with poison. It was believed in the past that the use of silver chopsticks would save its wealthy users’ life. Today, silver chopsticks are still in currency at upper class tables and high end restaurants.

Gold, Ivory, Jade 

As the names suggests, these chopsticks spell luxury and eating in style.

Advantages of Using Chopsticks During Chow Time

Mastering the art of using chopsticks is not easy, compared to the spoons, forks, and knives that most of us have used all three meals each day almost all our lives. According to research, however, over 30 joints and 50 muscles in the shoulder, arm, wrist, and fingers are exercised, whereby your coordination is significantly improved, when chopsticks are used to eat. Your pair of chopsticks may just single-handedly give you stronger hands.

Chopsticks slow the rate at which you eat and make you eat smaller morsels. They are known to also enable you to focus on your food; you will become more mindful of what you consume, while also giving your brain the much needed time it needs to process and register the fact that you are already full. Spoons, forks, and knives, on the other hand, allow you to gobble up more food, and what’s more, they make you eat faster.

Chopsticks will, therefore, give you the time you need to appreciate the taste of your food, while slowing down the rate at which you digest your food intake leading to weight loss. It will aid in preventing deadly chronic diseases like high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Through chopsticks you can essentially adopt a different outlook on your eating experience, in addition to being more present, as you are less likely to use the same time to browse social media or engage in any other activity that you can and should really do without.

You will also never have to hear the hair raising screech that your knife and fork make against the surface of your plate. Meal times will become peaceful as they were originally meant to be.

Chopsticks are, moreover, much easier to store and wash, and inherently more portable, compared to the array of spoons, forks, and knives you will have to arrange for any soirée.

You will be making an eco-friendly choice that will prevent deforestation, preserve wildlife habitats, and secure your children’s future.

Conclusion

In this article, we have gone over some of the best chopsticks that can be purchased. We have also looked at the different types of chopsticks out there, the advantages of using them, and how to select a pair of chopsticks that will be a perfect match for you and your family.