On the other hand, forks and knives, which are optimized for eating steak, are not suitable for eating wakame (seaweed) or natto (fermented soybeans).
Japanese food is currently enjoying a boom in the West. More and more people are reaching for more in-depth dishes, not just the classic Japanese dishes such as sushi, sukiyaki, and pork cutlet, as in the past. However, for such people, eating with chopsticks is quite a hurdle. Many can grab a piece of sukiyaki meat or sushi, but cannot grab a potato, onion, or green pea topping with chopsticks.
Michel Ina from Nicaragua has developed and patented in the U.S. "StikChops," chopsticks that can be used by such people.
To use the chopsticks correctly, the lower chopsticks are held in place by the ring finger and thumb. The upper chopsticks must be pinched between the middle and index fingers and moved up and down. However, for people from other countries who have grown up in a culture where the only thing in the right hand is a knife, it is much more difficult than Japanese people imagine to control two sticks with one hand.
It's like training to play a musical instrument," said one American.
StikChops" is a chopstick that solves this difficulty of manipulating two sticks with one hand. The top and bottom chopsticks are connected by the top part, so it is impossible to drop either chopstick. In addition, the top part is spring-loaded, so the most difficult action for foreigners, "pinching the top chopstick and moving it up and down," is simplified to "pushing the top chopstick down. This would be easier to learn than with ordinary chopsticks.
Also, if you practice using regular chopsticks after using "StikChops" for a while, it will be much easier to learn how to use chopsticks than if you try using regular chopsticks from the beginning. StikChops" may also be suitable as a practice device for Japanese people who have trouble using chopsticks correctly as adults.
