Reddit mentions: The best chopsticks & chopstick holders

Poor ass anime fan's guide to cooking episode 4

Shokugeki no Soma is one of my favorite anime of all time, if nothing else because it showcases the amazing art of cooking to weebs like us. However, it isn't a guide, and it seems that too many of you guys here need a good lesson on how to get stuff done. Trust me, it's worth it and you'll feel much better about yourself after each episode, and maybe even want to try some stuff in the show out!

Lesson 2: Anybody can master a recipe dish 100% It's the step beyond (plus ultra spoilers) that makes a great cook and chef

Remember the steps I taught you in Lesson 1? By following everything I tell you to do in these comments, you'll master step 2 (execution, turning ingredients into food), and by the end of the rewatch, you will be able to pick up any decently written recipe and replicate the dish to perfection. I guarantee it.

Now this is a noteworthy achievement, but I'm not here to make you dream about becoming recipe drones. That's not The Saikyou Cooooool (Fate/Zero Spoilerz). We want to be Souma Marui and get all the girls dammit. Too many decent cooks stop at this step though, and you probably know a few. Now to the episode...

Souma illustrates his skill at Step 1 (planning out ingredients) perfectly to create a test passing meal. This requires a fundamental understanding of what the ingredients are and how they interact when combined. An essential skill to badass home cooks like our future selves, it lets us whip up a delicacy out of limited supplies due to whatever is cheap at the store, expiring stuff that needs to be cooked, or away games where you need to assert your dominance in another man's kitchen.

Interestingly it's also an essential professional idea, as this is where ideas for new dishes are born.

How do you do this? One thing is to understand the ingredient/skills/recipe tidbits I link below. Another way is to... well I've written enough for today. Tune back tomorrow.

Ingredients/Spices of the day (one ingredients, two spices)

Prelude: remember dem eggs? Told you they are versatile. Oh and the soup ideas too

Fish and Wild Game

I gave myself a pat on the back for summarizing the mighty egg in a single paragraph, how the hell am I going to take on this? OK, I'm not going to tell a full summary since fish and game are waaaaay too diverse for the Reddit word limit by themselves. But I want to introduce their one huge disadvantage. They are stinky. Fumio mentioned it too, but fishiness is a big turn off, and the same can be said for game meat. This has to be masked somehow, usually through spices and such that enhance the fish's good flavour and texture but restrain the nastiness. In this case, Soma drained all liquid from the canned stuff, and added the sweetnes and flavor of onion, and a generous amount of saltpepper.

Freshness is paramount, else the stinkiness will increase. Avoid keeping for more than a few days.

Potato Startch or 片栗粉 katakuriko in Japanese

Purified white powder, it is a thickening agent for sauces. It adds a unique semi-jelly-ness that's really hard to explain in words. You gotta try it out. Dissolving it directly into sauce results in ugly useless clumps, so you must add little bits of water to the powder until you form a paste (or slurry), then add it to the sauce. This is called water broken potato starch or 水溶き片栗粉 as Souma uses in the episode. This is a secret weapon in western cuisine, and a sure way to add a twist to recipes to wow your non-weeb non-cooking friends. I used it to make terriyaki pork chops that to reduce my wannabe cook British roomate into submission.

Soy Sauce

Asian's favorite sauce. Some say the smell of it in the air is one way of knowing you have arrived in Japan after an overseas flight. Actually the juice of fermented soy beans, it can offer very complex flavour to any dish. The saltiness is very important as well, and many Japanese dishes use soy sauce as a substitute for salt. Very savory, use in small amounts as it easily overpowers more delicate flavors. In fact, too much is used too often in mainstream faux asian food. A good rule of thumb is, it should rarely if ever define the dish, becoming the main spice you taste.

Skill/Gear of the day: Pan Frying and Steaming

When cooking a hamburg steak, pork chops, steak, whatever, the goal is usually the same. You want a crispy exterior and a juicy interior for the meat.

Pan frying accomplishes the first of this. Add an oil, say vegetable oil or olive oil, to barely coat the bottom of the pan. Heat it up on med/high heat and add the meat so that it sizzles well when you do. You can test this by poking the oil with a wet chopstick and seeing if it reacts. The frying chars the outside of the meat, leaving a light brown then dark brown surface. However the insides are still undercooked. So now, you can either cook on low heat for a long time on both sides, or do what Soma did this episode and steam the dish.

To steam, add a bit of water (or broth) to the pan and cover with a lid. The super hot water vapor is stuck inside the pan and heats the meat from the outside. This prevents water from escaping from the meat as well, leaving it juicy as hell while it cooks. If you were to leave it frying without the lid, water would escape leaving a dry tough abomination.

A final step of removing the lid and searing the outsides again will recrisp the outside for a nice finish.

Gear time now (this will be short): Long wooden/bamboo chopsticks

The most essential tool in a Japanese kitchen, they are basically two fingers that you can use while cooking. If you ever think "I can do that with my fingers" you can do it with chopsticks. Mixing, frying, flipping, moving to serving dish, etc etc.

Poor Ass recipe of the day

Presentation of the day: Color Theory

Lots of color is good. Contrast is good. If you make sure to have a diverse representation of color on the dish, it will be so much more visually appealing. And since eating is an experience for all the senses, we can't ignore this rule. An easy trick is to add green to the dish through a garnish of fresh herbs where so little is used that the flavor isn't really that changed but the visuals get a great bump. Bell peppers and carrots can provide red/orange. Cauliflower is a brilliant white side dish.

And this is color theory, dishes and tablecloths count too. If you are buying these, make sure you have different colors. If the cooking lacks color, add to a colorful dish. If the dish has lots of green, avoid a green dish etc to avoid ugly overlap. Also same for dishes and tablecloths. Don't have them awkwardly overlap either.

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Tell me what improvements I can make to this guide! I hope that by episode 10 I won't be seeing any more cereal comments in these rewatches!

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I saw someone on here had a HP themed wedding, and they made wands out of stained chopsticks. Sounds like work, but also sounds pretty cheap. Someone at the hardware store could maybe recommend something that is easy but not fully opaque (like spray paint is). You could color the tip with glitter (or not), or you could make a base and people could personalize their own (if your friends are crafty).


On a personal note, this is super cool of you. I am having a tough time myself right now, like your GF did, and Harry Potter is so full of reminders about how important it is to stay focused on bravery and love. It is really doing a lot for me too. Good luck!!


Edited to add: These seem pretty good!

I rehabbed a bird like this, had him for 15 years until he passed from a heart issue. He was awesome after rehabbing, except he still suffered from occasional night terrors.

Rule 1. No hands in the cage until he fully trusts you. Even then be careful, that's his "safe space" and he's learned to defend it.

Work on coaxing him out of the cage with a target. I recommend using individually wrapped chopsticks with the paper on. Like these or similar: https://www.amazon.com/Shirakiku-Disposable-Chopstick-Bags-Pair/dp/B002FML4S8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1484009118&sr=8-5&keywords=wrapped+chopsticks

Additionally I recommend getting a box of organic almonds still in the shell. Dr. Fosters and Smith and Windy City Parrot often have deals on these. You want to encourage fun chewing. As an "incentive payment" for coming to the drop-off point.

Work on establishing an agreed upon transition point. Him coming out to the top of the extended cage door is a good goal. You can achieve this by leaving your "gift" there for him to come get. Once he's there give him time to enjoy it, and approach him to step up. If he recedes back into the cage, let him do that and don't proceed after him.

Work on creating an atmosphere of, there's a bunch of really cool stuff going on out here, join if you want, it's no big deal to me. In my case this took about 3 weeks with the bird rehabbed, trusting and social over the course of about 10 weeks. He would pluck on and off and was a lifelong plucker, and, of course, the heart issue didn't help--poor circulation makes it harder to grow feathers.

You can view some of my older posts for advice on dealing with pluckers and problem greys. Hope this helps. The main thing is to take it slow. Good luck!

Lightsaber Lamp or chopsticks are pretty cool. This apron, this thermos, these playing cards, this bottle opener, and this ice cube tray are also pretty sweet!

There's a variety of cat tote bags but I personally love this one or this one. I also love these coasters, this plush, this game, this cup, and these magnets.

This camping first aid kit looks super useful, as does this multitool, and you can never have too many torches. An inflatable pillow, or a funky backpack cover might be cool too.

I'm not great at looking for stuff for kids yet, so I can't really cover that aspect, but I hope you like some of these suggestions!

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These would be awesome for my daughter. She's getting ready to start solid foods and I love using chopsticks, and have taught my son, and now it'll be time for her to learn as well! I have been in love with Japan and the culture for years. Raised my son on Miyazaki, Pocky, and taught him Japanese (not that I retained any!) when I homeschooled him.

Question for you! Do you find it odd how many people say "I love Japanese culture!"? I've often wondered, since most people really do find it different and interesting. I don't have many people say to me "Oh hey! I love the American culture!" heh

Thanks for this contest! How awesome!

edited: to add a question

I am absolutely in love with Panda's. They are abso-freakin-lutely neat-o !

Seriously though, I am in love with those little buggers. They are just cute and rolly polly. They look like something that would be great to cuddle with. Such loving little munchkins and of course, who doesn't love the video of the panda's climping up and sliding down the slide over and over and over again? Or the short clip of the baby panda sneezing and scaring the poop out of it's mommy?

I should also mention that my husband's nickname for me is his "panda bear" and he went as far as to buy me a black and white diamond panda necklace for one of our anniversaries. I never take it off. :)

If I win, I would love these beautiful chopsticks to go with my new bento box that I just purchased.

Thanks for the contest!

So I met this guy named Donovan. He was in some special branch of the military. He told one of my friends and I some of the military secrets he knew. Here they are:

You remember the Miami zombie? At first, the media was saying that he was on bath salts, but Donovan knew the truth. You see, when humans are born, they have something called the hox (hawks? I've never seen it spelled) gene. It shuts off after a few minuets after birth. This gene makes sure the baby grows correctly in the womb, but more importantly, It inhibits the deterioration of DNA. As you may know, as people get older, the ends of their DNA strands start to unravel. This is why people are less healthy when they get old. So if the hox gene remains active, it prevents aging.

The military started doing experiments on the hox gene and were able to turn it back on. Just as they had suspected, it did prevent aging. However, there was a side effect. When a person with an active hox gene enters a fight or flight response, their body undergoes a change. They grow many inches taller, and change into one of six different archetypes. Donovan never told me what they are, but he did say that one archetype has thick fur and claws and another has feathers, a beak and talons. So you can imagine that the others have something to do with animals. Anyway, this change occurs within just a few minutes. In the process, the body uses up all of its stored nutrients and fat, leaving the person starving. Because of this, the only thing the person can focus on is eating. And they will eat anything around them. So the Miami zombie was actually an escaped test subject from the secret underground military base Fort Patrick.

Another thing he told us was about the reason for the gulf war. The oil thing was actually a cover up. What the military was really after was something they found buried deep underground in Iraq using satellite imaging technology. They had to go over there to find out what it was. When they dug down to this thing, they found that it was a room miles long with hieroglyphs covering the walls. This room was holding a massive creature 14 miles long and a mile high at its highest. It was covered in bone plating with openings all along the sides. At these openings, there were large sphincters that would open up when approached. Inside, there were what appeared to be hallways and living quarters. It had many pairs of legs along its side, but also gills and fins. It also had a special set of organs which could create gravity wells used to allow the creature to fly. So they secretly transported this thing back to Fort Patrick to study it more.

They found out that this creature was called a leviathan, and that there were two others. One is very famous and is known as Atlantis. The other is at the bottom of the Mariana trench. When James Cameron went to the trench, he was actually on a top secret government mission to find this other leviathan. Anyway, when studying this creature in Fort Patrick, they found what looks like a cockpit. However, try as they might they could not open it. They tried forcing it open, but it didn’t work. They also tried shocking it with giant cattle prods, but all that did was make it angry. In retaliation, it used its special gravity well making organs to alter the climate above where it was being held. This change created a tropical storm which grew larger and became Hurricane Katrina. Just when they had run out of ideas, they found out that the leviathan would only open it for the person it chose to be its pilot. They finally found the chosen one, who just so happened to be Donovan.

Inside the cockpit, there were more hieroglyphics and a command chair thing. After deciphering the writing, they found out that it was instructions for piloting the leviathan. They also discovered that in the process of becoming the pilot, Donovan’s brain and spinal cord would be removed and assimilated into the leviathan. You may be asking how it could assimilate a human nervous system into a leviathan body. Well, the answer is that the DNA of the leviathan is identical to the DNA of humans. So Donovan decided that he wanted to keep his body and declined the position of pilot. The military did not like this and tried to force him, but he escaped. Even now, he and the leviathan communicate through dreams.

Is any of this true? The only thing I can be certain about is that I did meet Donovan and he did tell me these things. I will let you decide about the rest.

This is the thing I want! I hope you liked my tale.

Your friends music is very interesting.The start of the song sounded like something out of an epic fantasy movie. It was actually moving. The only issue I had with the song, was the waver of the digital voice. I think if it was straight through it would fit the music much better. Overall it was greatly done.
Thanks for the chance of entering. I have been keeping my eye on this. Please tell your friend that I really enjoyed his music. He already has one fan.

Well, if you guys are big book nerds, this is a cool option for Doctor Who fans! Also, this shirt has always stood out to me despite not knowing much about the series. :)

If you guys are fun foodies too these chopsticks are pretty rad! Also, this mug is super dorky but kinda adorable. It took me a second to figure out, but Yoda is "youre the" haha they have it in mugs too. :)

Maybe one of those things would work :)

These Joyce Chen brand are pretty easy to find, I've bought them in grocery stores but they tend to be more expensive there. I like them because they are not too expensive, comfortable to use (which is the real thing to consider), and I find I can clean and reuse them for a while before they need to be thrown out (I only reuse for myself, never for guests). This sort of depends on what you eat with them, they are unsealed bamboo so they do absorb sauces, etc.. You can buy ornate lacquered chopsticks which are both nicer to look at and probably last longer but cost more of course, they are more like artwork than anything else. Koreans use stainless steel chopsticks but I find them hard to use.

YAY good mood!!! Can you feel the love? I feel the love! Sushi makes me happy, but I'm the only one in the house with real chopsticks D=

This makes me unreasonably happy.

http://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Steel-Vacuum-Chopsticks-Pairs/dp/B003J4NF24

Not manga, but he needs a set of these if he really loves all things Japanese. A nice set of chopsticks. I wouldn't mind having a set like this either, SS, if you're reading this. ;o

Birthday Bot sings Happy Birthday to you.

I've been married for more than 5 years and we still do not have any kids. Most people think that's interesting (or weird).

These would be great or you could surprise me.

I see you have chopsticks on your list. I recommend these. They were gifted to me a little while ago and I love them. :o Easy to clean, no splinters, very sleek looking, and you can use them as wolverine claws!

I think these are pretty nifty, especially if you decide to have company over, or even want to make a night of takeout for a little more classy. Not bad for three Dolla bills!

I'm only going onto Reddit for a minute....

Link

Thanks for the awesome contest :)

totoro 17.53 + chopsticks 4.55 = $22.08 best I can do. :-) Thanks for the contest Kalanz

This is what I use: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B018H6TKXQ/ref=psdcmw_13220831_t2_B01NAEP534

I know having titanium kitchenware seems silly, but they're way lighter than steel chopsticks, and I'm sure they'll last forever. They also come with a great travel case, which is why I got them.

Why don't they just use chopsticks? I think I saw that as LifeProTip here once, and I can't go back. It makes it so easy to reach into the bag and grab a chip without getting oil or cheese-dust onto your hand.

I even bought stainless steel chopsticks on amazon so I could just keep washing them and reusing them.

Edit: OK, I realize OP meant "french fries" and not "crisps" you crazy Limeys.

They have beginner's chopsticks to help you learn quicker.

As a chopstick user I can honestly say I wish I had these growing up. Actually I wouldn't mind having them now. I have moments where I completely forget how to use them. (not a good thing to forget when you're asian)

Personally, I usually have a titanium spork, chopsticks (you could find similar ones cheaper) and I usually have a knife of some sort on me (like a swiss army knife or something). in case I need to cut up something a little tougher than the spork could handle.

Titanium is nice because it's super light and antibacterial. If you look in an outdoor store you'll find lots of lightweight options that should be easy to carry/store in your car.

Use something like these. My 5 year old students use the kids versions of these if they can't use normal chopsticks yet. You use your thumb on one chopstick and your index and middle finger on the other. Eventually, you'll get the hand motions down and can use normal chopsticks. If you want to use a different brand, make sure you search for adult training chopsticks otherwise the finger holes will most likely be too small.

IVE BEEN GOOD I SWEAR! Especially since this would be for my fiance, not me. I'm that good of a wifey.

Good rule of thumb:

If it's a restaurant serving non-Japanese food (ie: family restaurant, Italian, Indian, burgers, etc.) then forks will almost always be available and, in some cases, the only utensil offered.

If it's a restaurant serving Japanese food, a fork will certainly be hard to come by.

As others have said, large (chain) Japanese restaurants in tourist areas might offer forks, but you'll never see a fork at, say, a ramen-ya.

A good idea might be to purchase your SO a pair of training chopsticks to practice both before the trip and to bring on the trip itself. You can bring them in your purse/backpack in a case and use wherever you go. Most parents have these for their kids, so it wouldn't be too weird. (There are quite a few options online, so just search around.)

IVE BEEN GOOD I SWEAR

Edit: the above item is more than 5.00, sorry this is more like it!

We could use some chopsticks! Enough left over to gift someone else, too~

Thanks for the contest! :D

I use stainless steel chopsticks. Specifically, this style of Korean chopsticks. What can I say? I doubt I'll ever have to replace them. You can also get long chopsticks for cooking, but these will do just fine if you're not using a non-stick pan. I guess the like one advantage of wooden chopsticks is that you can use them in a non-stick pan.

/u/Elric-kun

hi contests are fun! this tardis would be amazing but eating with chopsticks is also cool.

These are under $5 not sure if this contest is still ongoing but i jumped in anyways hahaha

CROCHET THIS FOR ME!

Chopsticks to match your bamboo sushi roller

I would like a Jayne hat in purple and blue.

Thank you for the contest!

I just got these for my son and he loves them. The chopsticks pop out of the top animal part so you can throw them in the dishwasher or whatever.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B078SS88MJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_60wSCbH913J7K

I love short work weeks

stainless steel chopsticks!

you could always add this or this or maybe this. Or maybe you could add these or you could always add these to one of your other lists.

Hope I helped. We do not sow

Was there a fourth piece? Looks almost like just metal chopsticks that break down to fit in a smaller profile.

Edit: Confirmed: https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Sales-HSTC-SSTC01-Stainless-Chopsticks/dp/B002MBINHM

I grew up eating with Chinese chopsticks since I'm Chinese, and I think they stopped mass producing the normal household wooden ones about 20-30 years ago, so almost all the ones you'd use eating at grandma's house would probably be plastic nowadays.


You can still get them like here, but damn these are expensive especially compared to picking up a pack of a shitload of plastics ones at the store for a few bucks.


The fancier ones with a lacquer finish or whatever, you'd usually save for fancier meals like some family gatherings kind of like using the nice silverware when guests come over. However in Japan, your everyday Japanese chopsticks are fancier than the everyday Chinese ones, and are used more frequently. School kids even carry them to school in little fancy boxes for lunch everyday.


Using the disposable chopsticks you'd get at fast food restaurants (or normal American Chinese food restaurants) is similar to using disposable plastic forks and spoons, so it'd be kind of weird to have at home normally.


So if you have wooden Chinese chopsticks at home for everyday use, it probably was either 1) way overpriced, 2) the equivalent of the "fancy silverware", which is weird for everyday use, or 3) actually disposable (even the fancier disposable ones that are nice are still disposable), which are all kind of weird, but you can do whatever you want.


Or you're using Japanese or Korean wooden chopsticks, then also whatever. Just know that those chopsticks would be foreign to Chinese whenever you're eating Chinese food with them.


More information here:
http://aminoapps.com/page/k-pop/2120015/difference-between-chinese-japanese-and-korean-chopsticks


So in a way /u/ElfmanLV isn't totally wrong, but not totally right, because you can do whatever you want.

Stainless Steel Vacuum Chopsticks, 5 Pairs. Five bucks on the nose & free s/h.

Closest I've got is 3$! lol http://www.amazon.com/pair-Japanese-Chopsticks-Gift-Scenery/dp/B001J286C2/ref=wl_it_dp_o_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=1ZPRS4VAUWWSE&coliid=I1BFZ526UL1GSB

Seconding! I quite like the Korean style stainless chopsticks: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JM0MKF2/

I think this is my cheapest it's on my under 10 sublist :)

Years ago I used to be in a Land Rover club (back when the D2 was the newest model), and your lunch description is on point. I realized what I was getting into when I saw them eating sushi on the trail with Snow Peak chopsticks, which at the time were about 80 bucks. Looks likes they are 46.00 now

I got fed up with doing that for both kids, so I ordered a couple of reusable silicone/melamine practice sets - pretty much like these. We haven't had a chance to try them yet, but the kids are totally stoked about having chopsticks of their very own.

They look like standard Korean metal chopsticks

I was going to get these for my girlfriend for her birthday since they have the best rating and she really wants a new pair of wooden chopsticks :) but unfortunately, I don't have an order of $25 dollars :'(
Patrick Kane is our hero.

I'm trying to drop a few more pounds and these can help. Eating slowly helps people to lose weight... So I've read.

My cat at eight months... He's a champ! He is now 15.

Thanks.

Amazon Titanium Chopsticks with case $16.99

https://smile.amazon.com/finessCity-Titanium-Chopsticks-Aluminium-Case/dp/B018H6TKXQ/ref=sr_1_15?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1540124274&sr=1-15&keywords=korean+chopsticks

Otters hold hands to keep themselves from floating away. Here's a picture


Here's something


"I see trees of green and red roses too"

I need to train for my Japan trip, so I need these or i'll go all Bubbles.

i've had these for over two years now, they get used at least once/week, and have held up to international travel https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018H6TKXQ/

Meow~

White people sticks

Chopsitcks! Because I eat a lot of Japanese food and forks are for philistines.

$50.85 +$15.23 shipping to the UK https://www.amazon.com/Snow-Peak-Bamboo-Carry-Chopsticks/dp/B001VH0NLW

I keep travel chopsticks [like below] in my bag almost all of the time and pack a spoon when I make something that needs it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002MBINHM/ref=psdc_13220831_t1_B00OTSYTK6

Head scratcher dealie, which is actually for my doggies

Chopsticks

Not 1, not 2, but 3 Boondocks books

Doggie treats

Mustache iWhatever button covers, notepad, and face decorations

Hahah cute! We can rob the place with our sticks! https://www.amazon.com/Happy-Sales-HSCH85-Chopsticks-Scenery/dp/B001J286C2/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?crid=N88FYEW343PG&keywords=sushi+chopsticks&qid=1550686636&s=gateway&sprefix=sushi+chop&sr=8-5

> The problem with wood ones is that you can't soak them in water, you may also need to oil them to keep them from cracking, and the break kind of easy.

I have wood chopsticks that are over 25 years old. Never took care of any of them. Never oiled, leave them in the sink for days, etc. The only damage they receive is if I'm cutting with them and they get hit by the knife.

Edit: Pretty much these:

https://www.amazon.com/Authentic-Chinese-Natural-Chopsticks-Lightweight/dp/B01985K8I6/ref=sr_1_7?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1474162057&sr=1-7&keywords=chopsticks

Except they don't look so nice as they've been used and abused daily for multiple decades.

Wood is good because it grips well. It doesn't melt when you cook with it. It's cheap. It's got a bit of flex unlike plastic which snaps.