How To Recycle Take Out Chopsticks

Chopsticks are an eating utensil consisting of two equal sticks usually made of wood, plastic or metal commonly associated to Asian cultures. However, with the spread of Chinese, Japanese and other East Asian cuisines, they're now used all around the world.

Chopsticks are my preferred eating utensil and an extremely useful cooking tool.

If you have a pair of take out wooden chopsticks, great choice! As a matter of fact, wood doesn't conduct the heat as much as metal. Also, they are less likely to scratch pans and pots when scrambling your eggs.

Either you’re stir-frying, grilling or eating, they are better than any other tool to handle small pieces of food. Enough with making your hands dirty with those snacks or leaving the last olive in the jar!

When deep frying, you can even use them to check the oil temperature. Just put a stick in the pan: if it starts to bubble, you'll know the oil is ready!

If you’re running out of skewers, chopsticks are a great alternative. Also, you can use them to check the ‘cooked-ness’ of your cake or baked treats.

Moreover, food doesn’t necessarily cook all at the same rate. Get your pair of chopsticks and flip that steak, take the onion rings out of the oil or drain a noodle to check if it’s cooked. Chopsticks offer way more control and precision than your forks and spoons.

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How To Use Chopsticks

If you’ve ever been to a Chinese restaurants, you will definitely know how to use chopsticks… or not.

However, those disposable paper bags in which you find these two piece eating utensil often show how to use them. (Next time you eat spring rolls, look for it!)

Using chopsticks requires experience. Sooner or later you will find your way to be comfortable with a pair of wooden sticks in your hand. Nonetheless, here is a quick guide.

1. Rest one chopstick between your thumb and forefinger.

2. Hold the other chopstick between the two first fingers.

3. Move only the second chopstick.

4. Pick something up.

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Are Wooden Chopsticks The Best Option?

In this article, I went through some of the cooking advantages of chopsticks to recycle that bunch of wooden take out utensils we all keep in our kitchen drawers. However, there are different kinds of chopsticks.

Metal chopsticks are durable and easy to clean. However, this material tends to get slippery.

Plastic chopsticks are as inexpensive as wooden chopsticks. Nevertheless, they’re slippery as well and they’re not suitable for cooking as the heat might damage them.

In Japanese culture, longer sticks (around 30cm – 12in), called Saibashi, are preferred for cooking. They are usually made of bamboo and used like regular chopsticks, but for deep frying, metal chopsticks with bamboo handles are preferred. As a matter of fact, bamboo and wood tend to get discoloured and greasy if repeatedly used in hot oil. Nonetheless, the bamboo handles protect from the heat.

Personally, I use wooden chopsticks. For cooking, I tend to recycle disposable ones until they get dirty and discoloured. Once they’re too damaged, I throw them out and recycle a new pair.

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If you have any other way to use chopsticks, tell me in the comments below!

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