Cutleries come in numerous shapes, sizes, and types, and chopsticks are some of them. Traditionally associated with China, chopsticks are now commonly used in different places around the world for eating food such as noodles. But do Thai people use chopsticks like many other Asian people?
Chopsticks are not commonly used by Thai people when eating. This is because chopsticks are not traditional tools used by Thais for eating their locally-made meals. Besides, Thais believe that chopsticks are not suitable for eating their food.
Hence, they don’t cultivate the habit of using these cutleries for eating. However, there are a few special occasions that Thais use chopsticks. In this post, we will explain the special occasions as well as the preferred cutleries for Thais.
What do Thais use for eating?
As stated above, Thais hardly use chopsticks. However, there are other cutleries that they prefer using for eating locally-made food. Traditionally, Thais used to eat with their hands. But due to the Western influence, they switched from using hands to adopting some cutleries. As noted by Mythailand.org, Thai people prefer eating with forks and spoons. This is a bit different from the Western way of using forks and knives for eating. Of course, this is because forks and spoons are more suitable for eating Thai food than chopsticks and other tools.
Generally, Thais utilize the fork to move the food around in their plates into the spoon. Then, they will use the spoon to move the food to their mouth. The fork is held in the left hand whereas the spoon stays in the right. Notably, in a normal Thai dining setting, knives will not be on the dining table. Knives are only meant for the kitchen. Meat and other things are prepared in small sizes; thus, there is no need to use knives to cut anything.
Why Thais don’t eat with chopsticks
China, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, and Malaysia are Asian countries around Thailand. All these nations use chopsticks regularly for eating a wide range of meals. So, it can be quite surprising that Thai people don’t use chopsticks to eat. Well, there are a couple of reasons for this.
- Functionality
When it comes to functionality, chopsticks are not suitable for the majority of Thai food. Most Thai meals need to be scooped and placed in the mouth. Therefore, chopsticks are not practical for eating those meals. How do you eat sticky rice with chopsticks? So, it is not reasonable to use chopsticks for Thai meals.
On the other hand, spoons, forks, and hands are more suitable and comfortable for eating Thai food. Therefore, spoons and forks are the preferred cutleries for Thais.
- Family-style eating
Culturally, Thai people like communal dinner. In other words, Thais sit together to eat, with each person placing their meal on a small plate. It should be understood that several generations reside in the same household. Therefore, uncles, aunts, parents, grandparents, cousins, and others live and eat together.
Since the food is served together for these people, each person has to serve themselves. Unfortunately, it can be quite difficult for people to put their meals together while utilizing chopsticks. Hence, it is more reasonable for Thais to use forks and spoons to put their food together when eating.
- Western influence
In the past, all meals were eaten with only hands in Thailand. According to Thailand505.com, when Thai people started associating with people from other parts of the world, they began to learn some of their ways. During this period, Thais associated more with European superpowers such as the United Kingdom, instead of China (where chopsticks came from).
Historically, it was during the time of Rama III that Thais started using forks and spoons. The king met with several European leaders and noted how they were eating with spoons, forks, and knives. He didn’t want Thais to be considered uncivilized; hence, he declared that all classes of people in Siam (the former name for Thailand) start using cutleries for eating food.
Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that Thai people have chosen to use Western cutleries such as spoons and forks. Notably, Thais didn’t adopt the use of knives at the dining table as common among people in various Western countries.
Since this period, Thai people have continued to use forks and spoons for eating their meals.
Therefore, as a result of the reasons above, Thai people don’t usually use chopsticks for eating. They prefer more practical and culturally acceptable alternatives such as spoons and forks.
Situations where Thais use chopsticks
Although Thai people normally prefer using spoons and forks for eating in most instances, they still utilize chopsticks in a few cases. Unlike Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, etc., Thais only use chopsticks on occasions such as:
- When they want to eat Chinese-based noodles such as Kauai-tiao
- When they want to eat Korean or Japanese food that can be difficult to eat with forks and spoons
In other situations, you can rest assured that Thai people will rather use spoons and forks for eating their meals.
Dining etiquettes for Thai people
If you are eating in a Thai restaurant or home of Thai people, there are some etiquettes you are advised to observe. As stated by Lionbrand.com, the etiquettes include:
- Spoons are meant for eating food. So, don’t use forks as they are for placing food in the spoons.
- You don’t a knife for eating in Thailand. This is because Thai meals are usually in small sizes.
- Unless chopsticks are provided by the host, you shouldn’t ask for them. Chopsticks are not normally used in Thailand.
Conclusion
It should be understood that Thai people don’t usually use chopsticks to eat, except in a few cases. This is because it is not convenient for Thai people to use chopsticks to eat their locally-made meals. However, if you decide to eat with a chopstick or another cutlery in Thailand, no one will have any issue with you.
