Cooking chopsticks, or saibashi, are long chopsticks designed to keep your hands away from steam, oil, and other types of heat while cooking. With a typical length of about 33cm, a cook can retrieve fried foods or stir boiling noodles with his hands at a safer distance. Traditionally made from bamboo, some saibashi are made from hinoki cypress, which provide a secure grip when wet, and is more attractive with its wood grain pattern. The urushi coated saibashi, brushed with the famous Japanese lacquer, represent some of the finest wooden saibashi, as it provides a secure grip, lasts much longer, and has a fantastic, dark tan shade.
