8 Tips On Eating With Your Hands In Southeast Asia

Eating with your hands is the norm in some countries of Southeast Asia like Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India. It might seem strange for westerners who are used to using utensils, but usually once a visitor tries “hand eating” they really enjoy it and say that the food tastes better! To best experience the proper way of eating with your hands in Southeast Asia, there are some simple rules that you should follow. It does take a little getting used to but “when in Rome…” right?

Get into the mindset

First things first. If you have always used a utensil to eat, even if just a pair of chopsticks, you might have eaten pizza or fried chicken with your hands. But pizza and fried chicken are relatively solid and have bits to grab on to. Eating with your hands in Southeast Asia is a little different. Most dishes involve rice and there are some techniques to master in order to get it all in your mouth and not spill all over the place! If eating with your hands grosses you out, just try and think that everyone is doing it and it might get a little easier.

Banana Leaf Curry is best eaten with your hands! ©John Walker / Flickr

Wash your hands

Use only your right hand

When eating with your hands, you don’t really use both hands at all. It is best practice to ONLY use your right hand. This is because the left hand is used in the toilet! This might seem difficult at first, to only use one hand but with practice it becomes easier. If you have a large chunk of meat, you can either break off a piece or bite a bit off. Your left hand’s only purpose at the table is to grab the glass of water you might be drinking.

Use your fingertips to mix the food

You will not use your entire hand to eat, least of all the palm of your hand. What you are really going to use, are your fingertips, all of them. Most of the dishes that are eaten by hand in South and Southeast Asia will consist mainly of rice and curries, vegetables and sauces. Using your fingertips, mix the rice with the accompaniments in a little section of your plate (or banana leaf) to create little morsels.

An Indian family eating together, with their right hands © Reuben Strayer / Flickr

Use the sauce to make the rice stick together

In order to not make a mess of rice falling out of your hand when you are about to put it in your mouth, it’s best to use the juicy stuff on the plate to make the rice stick together. Putting together the right size morsel will take some practice but making the rice stick together with the rest of the food will make less of a mess.

If there is any kind of bread, use it as a spoon

Some dishes will have a kind of bread on the side. It might be papadum, naan, rotti or something similar. This really helps because the bread can be used as a makeshift spoon! Using it as a spoon is not the only way to eat bread with South or Southeast Asian food, you can also use it to pinch the little mound of juicy rice and then take it to your mouth.

Lean your head in (sideways)

Once you have the perfect morsel in your fingertips, lean your head in towards the table a little sideways to grab as much as possible. Leaning in is your best bet because even if your morsel is the perfect size, some rice might still fall and better it lands on your plate rather than your lap.

Push the food into your mouth with your thumb

To actually get the food into your mouth, the technique is as follows: Place your thumb behind the morsel of food that is on your fingertips. With your face very close to your hand, push the food into your mouth using your thumb. You do not need to to stick your fingertips inside your mouth but you can sure lick your fingers if the food is yummy. Repeat and do NOT rinse until you are done!

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