10 Best Ways to Use Chopsticks (No Take-Out)
Chopsticks are the best choice when eating Asian dishes, but they can do much more than just pick up noodles. Check out ten other reasons to have a pair of chopsticks with you.
10. Cook with great control
Thanks to their thin and long design, chopsticks give you more control than other larger cookware. Julia Child showed us, for example, that chopsticks are great for beating eggs . You can also use them to move food more safely while frying , as the long chopsticks have a long reach and protect your hands from oil. You can also tell when the oil is ready for frying with a wooden chopstick, as if you were using a wooden spoon .
9. Make spring-loaded or learning chopsticks.
Speaking of control, kids and other chopsticks newbies can benefit from a chopstick training kit. Instead of buying, make your own practice chopsticks with an elastic band and paper chopstick wrapper or clothespin spring . These spring loaded chopsticks not only help toddlers to use chopsticks, they also act as handy tongs or tweezers for more control when cooking (as mentioned above) or other precision kitchen tasks .
8. Use chopsticks to clean your gadgets and other tricky items.
Disposable chopsticks easily penetrate small spaces. Wrap the end with a paper towel and you can use it to clean between keyboard keys, analog game controller stick, and other small dust-collecting gadgets. This Old House even recommends keeping chopsticks by the door to brush off dirt between the rungs of your boots or sneakers before tracking it around the house.
6. Turn the chopsticks into an iPad stand or tablet stylus.
A DIY chopstick iPad stand will be very appropriate in the kitchen, and if you order a lot of Japanese takeaways, you should have the 13 chopsticks you need to make a wooden stand in no time. Couple this with the stylus for the tablet with chopsticks for food , and you get a full plate with chopsticks.
5. Divide food into small freezer portions.
It is wise to pre-portion the food you are about to freeze so that it is easier to separate and defrost individual portions. The chopsticks will help you separate the minced meat quickly . I can use this for other foods that you might want to bake in separate portions, such as cookie dough (if you only want to bake one or two). Likewise, you can use the chopstick as a sharp blade for other things, such as dividing dough.
4. Cherry bones, catching bones.
Chopsticks + bottle = a convenient way to seed cherries and clear out the clutter. The picture above speaks for itself.
3. Protect yourself from water explosion.
Wooden chopsticks may also be safe tool in boiling water in a microwave oven: insert the wooden chopstick (or other stick suitable for use in a microwave oven ) in a cup, to prevent the “overheated” explosive water .
2. It is better to pour liquids with a chopstick.
We all make a mess from time to time by pouring something out of large containers. A chopstick (or any other rod-shaped object) helps prevent clutter by causing the liquid to roll down the chopstick straight into the desired vessel. Likewise, insert the chopstick into the soap dispenser as you fill it to help the soap flow into the dispenser more easily and pour the last few drops of soap out of the refill bottle.
1. Keep your hands clean when eating dirty food
Finally, as utensils, chopsticks are designed to keep your fingers clean (and possibly make you look civilized). However, they’re perfect for snacks like potato chips , Cheetos, and other dirty or greasy foods you want to eat on your computer – and they help you get to the bottom of the bag without greasing your hands. Don’t like snacks? Chopsticks are also handy for eating salads , especially those tricky, hard- to-make croutons.
There are several other creative uses for chopsticks (like using them to replace the handle with a Swiffer Duster), but first things first: learn to use chopsticks properly .
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