It is best to use bamboo chopsticks, as plastic and lacquered ones are slippery and morsels tend to slide off them. Japanese chopsticks have a pointed end as this makes it easier to pick up pieces of marinated fish, for example. However, Chinese chopsticks are blunt because in China, it is thought unlucky to bring sharp implements to the table when eating.

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Chopsticks are used mainly to scoop up noodles and to shovel rice from bowl to mouth, holding the bowl close to the lips. Chinese people never use chopsticks to pick up rice by the grain to convey to the mouth, as falling grains symbolize bad luck.

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The easiest way to chop most herbs is with a large and sharp knife. You have much more control and it is quicker than using scissors (except in the case of chives). If you are chopping herbs in bulk, an Italian mezzaluna is a handy tool. This is a double-handed chopper with a semicircular blade that you use with a rocking motion. While these are usually single bladed, they may have up to four parallel blades that can make fast work of large piles of herbs.

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