Chopsticks

Chopsticks are the traditional eating utensils of China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and the Northern provinces of Laos, Thailand, and Burma. They are generally believed to have originated in ancient China and then spread over Asia with the influx of Chinese immigrants. Chopsticks are usually made of bamboo or plastic but can also be made of metal, bone, ivory and various other types of wood.


In Japan, chopsticks are called hashi and written as箸.

Types of Chopsticks

There are many different types of Chopsticks. Very long chopsticks (30-40 cm) tend to be used for cooking, especially for deep frying food and are called saibashi in Japan. Shorter chopsticks are usually used as eating utensils.

There are so many different types of chopsticks out there that it can be difficult to choose. Metal chopsticks are used in Korea and are quite good as they are durable, easy to use and clean. Japanese and Chinese will use either wooden or plastic chopsticks. Bamboo and wooden chopsticks are very cheap, low in temperature conduction and provide a good grip. In Japan disposable chopsticks or waribashi are very popular with restaurants and fast food. These come as a piece of wood that is partially cut and must be split into two by the user. Plastic chopsticks are also very cheap, low in temperature conduction and are resistant to wear, but don`t provide the grip of wooden chopsticks and can be harder to use to pick up food as they tend to be slippery.

My family in Japan prefer the wooden type which are short to medium length and are lacquered and last a very long time.

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