Stop stabbing and pinching your meats like a savage and get acquainted with saibashi, Japanese cooking chopsticks. Like bamboo extensions of your fingers, a pair of saibashi is the perfect tool for delicately handling your food as it cooks.
Saibashi are different from regular chopsticks, or hashi, in two key points: length and material. Hashi are made of various materials and are generally not much longer than 20 cm (9 in), whereas saibashi are usually made of bamboo or wood and around twice as long as hashi. The heat-resistant bamboo/wood and added length make saibashi well suited for handling food during high-temperature operations such as frying and simmering. Tempura chefs can often be seen using saibashi to pluck their fried delicacies out of pots of scaldingly hot oil and gingerly plate them in Japanese fashion.
These giant Japanese chopsticks are commonly used when preparing dishes that involve a lot of heated liquids and fire. Saibashi are especially good for vigorous cooking in non-stick frying pans since their wood construction and rounded tips won't scratch the coating. Also, if you're a granola-munching naturalist, you can rest easy knowing that no creepy chemicals will be leaching off your 110% bamboo saibashi.
The beauty of the saibashi lies in their simplicity. There are countless ways to use a pair of tapered wooden sticks, limited only by your imagination. Use one to unclog a bottle of ketchup. Keep a pair by your grill instead of tongs. Assemble a make shift drum kit out of pots and pans, using your saibashi as drumsticks. Sometimes I use mine as a back scratcher.
Saibashi can be had at any kitchenware store with an Asian section. Failing that, Amazon.com has a decent selection as well. Needless to say, you shouldn't pay more than $5 for a pair of saibashi, and even that's a tad expensive. I picked up 3 pairs from my local supermarket for less than 300 yen.
Saibashi are different from regular chopsticks, or hashi, in two key points: length and material. Hashi are made of various materials and are generally not much longer than 20 cm (9 in), whereas saibashi are usually made of bamboo or wood and around twice as long as hashi. The heat-resistant bamboo/wood and added length make saibashi well suited for handling food during high-temperature operations such as frying and simmering. Tempura chefs can often be seen using saibashi to pluck their fried delicacies out of pots of scaldingly hot oil and gingerly plate them in Japanese fashion.
These giant Japanese chopsticks are commonly used when preparing dishes that involve a lot of heated liquids and fire. Saibashi are especially good for vigorous cooking in non-stick frying pans since their wood construction and rounded tips won't scratch the coating. Also, if you're a granola-munching naturalist, you can rest easy knowing that no creepy chemicals will be leaching off your 110% bamboo saibashi.
The beauty of the saibashi lies in their simplicity. There are countless ways to use a pair of tapered wooden sticks, limited only by your imagination. Use one to unclog a bottle of ketchup. Keep a pair by your grill instead of tongs. Assemble a make shift drum kit out of pots and pans, using your saibashi as drumsticks. Sometimes I use mine as a back scratcher.
Saibashi can be had at any kitchenware store with an Asian section. Failing that, Amazon.com has a decent selection as well. Needless to say, you shouldn't pay more than $5 for a pair of saibashi, and even that's a tad expensive. I picked up 3 pairs from my local supermarket for less than 300 yen.
About the Author:
There is a reason why Tokyo has more Michelin stars than Paris. The Japanese Kitchen is a fascinating product of centuries of culinary heritage. If you want to learn more about Japanese Kitchens, recipes, and techniques, check out my blog at fareastcoastkitchen.com.
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