The chopsticks should be placed in the hand in this order:
First, grab both chopsticks with one hand.
Next, line up the chopsticks with the other hand.
Then, shift the first hand to the correct position.
There you go!
Let's practice using the chopsticks:
First, hold the upper chopstick like a pencil, about one-third of the way from its top.
Next, place the second chopstick against your ring finger, holding it with the base of the thumb. It should be pointing the same way as the first chopstick.
Move the upper chopstick with your thumb, index, and middle fingers. Grab food between the lower and upper chopsticks.
1. Rice bowl
Hold the rice bowl in your hand to eat from it.
2. Soup bowl
Hold the soup bowl just like the rice bowl, and sip the soup directly from it.
3. Other dishes
Flat plates used to hold meat or fish are not usually lifted from the table. Grab a good-sized bite of food from the plate with the chopsticks and then eat it.
When people eat a Japanese meal in a fancy restaurant, all kinds of foods are brought out in courses, and rice comes at the very end of the meal. But when eating at home, it's considered just fine for people to eat their rice right along with the rest of the dishes. This isn't only a matter of proper manners, though - it's actually more delicious to eat rice together with the other parts of a meal!
After taking a bite of meat or vegetables, you take a bite of the unseasoned rice before the other flavors fade from your mouth. It's a bit like eating a sandwich, where the flavorful fillings are eaten right along with the bread. A sandwich is often more delicious with some kind of sauce on it - ketchup or mayonnaise, for example. Rice, too, is tastier when eaten along with things that give it a bit of flavor.
All kinds of food go well with rice. Even hamburger or steak, when prepared with a splash of soy sauce, are good dishes to eat with a bowl of rice. With a little effort, traditional Western foods can be a part of a Japanese meal.
Soon, we'll be showing you how to prepare some Japanese dishes on your own!
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