@jeromechoo I've always found a way to clean my plate, though rice and peas were tricky. A fork was easier for that than chopsticks.
(Now that I have neurological problems I just use a large bowl & soup spoon for everything. Am in awe of SEA two-utensil mastery )
Some of it is just what we're taught as kids, handed down through generations. Rice was more common in mine but what I learned came from older meat & potatoes generations and what was most efficient for them, so knives & forks