Cooking with Chopsticks
I watch a lot of Food Network programming in the background (i.e. while I’m doing work, cleaning, writing, etc.). Cooks on that network have all sorts of expensive kitchenware, pots and pans, and tools, but one that is obviously missing is a good ol’ pair of chopsticks. I find chopsticks indispensable in the kitchen no matter what kind of food I’m cooking. A $0.10 tool: why hasn’t this caught on in western kitchens? Food Network kitchens have press pots, Moroccan tajnes, fat separators, garlic presses, and special scoops for fishing out pasta, but no chopsticks???!!! (They couldn’t find them at Williams & Sonoma, so they gave up?)
That’s my two cents on the humble chopsticks. On an even lighter note, here’s what I found printed on a restaurant’s chopsticks cover (verbatim, believe it or not):
Welcome to Chinese Restaurant. Please try your Nice Chinese Food With Chopsticks the traditional and typical of Chinese glonous history and cultual. Learn how to use your chopsticks.
Tuk under tnurnb and held firmly Add second chcostick hold it as you hold a pencil Hold tirst chopstick in originai position move the second one up and down Now you can pick up anything:
As you can see, someone looked at a prior version of the chopstick instructions and re-typed it in (like playing telephone or making a copy of a copy). So, “thumb” becomes “tnurnb” because “h” looks like “n” and “m” looks like “r + n.”
I still love chopsticks, nonetheless… I’ll even edit the instructions with no fee…