中英雙語話中國民風民俗 第7期:對中國食品的大體說明
Introduction
The Chinese Philosopher Laotse once said:“Governing a great nation is much like cooking a small fish”He meant that governing a country required just the right "seasonings" and adjustments for successful results. This metaphor clearly iNustrates the importance of food in Chinese culture!
中國哲學家老子曾經說過:“治大國若烹小鮮。”他的意思指統治一個國家需要正確的“作料”和調節才能獲得成功的結果。這個比喻明確地闡明瞭食物在中國文化中所具有的意義！Chinese food can be roughly divided into the Northern and Southern styles. In general，Northern dishes are oily without being cloying and the flavors of vinegar and garlic tend to be stronger. Food made from wheat also plays an important role in Northern cooking;noodles，ravioli-like dumplings，steamed stuffed buns，fried meat dumplings，and steamed buns are the most common flour-based foods. The cooking styles of Peking，Tianjin，and Shandong are probably the best known styles of Northern Chinese cuisine. An elaborate，stuffed chicken symbolizes the Chinese wish for plenitude and satisfaction. Representative Southern cooking styles include:Sichuan and Hunan cuisine which are famous for their liberal use of chili peppers; the Jiangsu and Zhejiang styles which emphasize freshness and tenderness;and Cantonese foods which tend to be somewhat sweet and full of variety. Rice and rice products such as rice noodles，rice cakes，and rice congas are frequently seen in Southern style cooking.
中國食品根據烹飪方法可以大致分爲南方風味和北方風味。大體說來，北方菜的油比較重但不會讓人膩，而且一般更強調使用醋和大蒜。麪食在北方的烹飪中也發揮了重要的作用;麪條、餃子、蒸包子、肉鍋貼以及饅頭都是最常見的麪食。北京、天津以及山東的烹飪風格可能是中國北方菜餚中最爲人們所熟悉的。一隻精心烹製並塞滿餡料的雞，象徵着中國人實現富足和滿足的願望。南方風味的烹飪方法中具有代表性的則是川菜和湘菜，它們的出名之處在於大量使用了紅辣椒;而江蘇和浙江風味的烹飪方法則注重鮮嫩;廣式菜一般比較甜而且種類繁多。米飯和諸如米線、米餅以及米粥等大米食品是南方風味的烹飪手法中所常見的。
In Chinese cooking，color, aroma，and flavor are of equal importance in the preparation of each dish，in satisfying the gustatory，olfactory，and visual entree is a combination of three to five colors，selected from ingredients that are light green，dark green，red，yellow, white，black, or caramel-colored. Usually，a meat and vegetable dish is made from one main ingredient and two to three secondary ingredients of contrasting colors. It is then cooked with the appropriate method，seasonings，and sauces to make an aesthetically attractive dish. The primary methods of preparation include stir-frying，stewing，steaming，deep-frying，flash-frying，and pan-frying. A dish with a fragrant aroma will certainly whet the appetite. Among many others，some ingredients that contribute to a mouth-watering aroma are scallions，fresh ginger root, garlic，chili peppers，wine，star anise，cinnamon stick, pepper，sesame oil，and dried black Chinese mushrooms. Of utmost importance in cooking any dish is preserving the fresh，natural flavor of the ingredients and removing any undesirable fish or game odors. In Western cooking，lemon is often used to remove smells of fish;in Chinese cooking，scallions and ginger serve a similar function. Soy sauce，sugar, vinegar, and other seasonings'‘ He add richness to a dish without covering up the natural flavor of the ingredients. A well-prepared dish will be rich for those who like strong flavors，not over-spiced to those who like a blander taste，sweet to those who like a sweet flavor, and hot to those who like a piquancy. A dish that is all of these things to all of these people is a truly successful one
在中國的烹飪中，色、香、味在每一道菜單準備過程中都同樣重要，因此在味覺、嗅覺以及視覺L給人以滿足。任何一道主菜都會拼出三至五種顏色，這是選擇了淡綠色、深綠色、紅色、黃色、白色、黑色、或是醬色的配料使然。通常一道葷素搭配的菜餚要選擇一種主料和兩三種顏色懸殊的配料。然後再通過適當的方法進行烹飪、加作料、調味，以求做出具有美感的菜餚。烹飪的主要方法包括炒、燉、蒸、炸、煎。一道冒着香味的菜餚定會激起人們的食慾。有些配料可以讓菜產生令人垂涎欲滴的香味，例如蔥、鮮姜、大蒜、紅辣椒粉、酒、八角茵香、肉桂棒、胡椒、蓖麻油以及香菇幹。無論烹飪哪一道菜，最重要的就是要保持配料新鮮、自然的香味和去掉所有魚和動物身上難聞的腥味。在西方的烹飪中，檸檬經常用來去掉魚腥味;而在中國的烹飪中，蔥和姜則起到類似的作用。醬油、糖、醋以及其他作料都使菜餚更加豐富多樣，而且不會蓋住配料的自然香味。一道美味的菜餚就是對於口味較重的人來說十分鮮美，對於口味較淡的人來說不會覺得味道過重，對於喜歡甜食的人來說會覺得香甜可口，而對於喜食辣味的人來說辣味可口。如果一道菜能夠爲所有這些人做出這些口味的話，那麼就算取得了真正的成功。Tradition
傳統However, color，aroma，and flavor are not the only principles followed in Chinese cooking; nutrition is the first concern. A theory of the“harmonization of foods" can be traced back to the Shang dynasty's scholar Yi Yin. He relates the flue flavors i. e. sweet, sour, bitter, piquant，and salty to the nutritional needs of the five major organ systems of the body(the heart, liver, spleen，lungs，and kidneys)，and he stresses their role in maintaining good physical health. In fad，many of the plants used in Chinese cooking such as scallions，fresh ginger root, garlic，dried lily，and tree fungus have properties of preventing and alleviating various illnesses. The Chinese have a traditional belief that food and medicine share the same origin and that food has a medicinal value. This view can be considered the forerunner of nutritional science in China. According to this theory，a correct proportion of meat to vegetable ingredi- ents should be maintained. One-third of meat-based dishes should be made of vegetable ingredients，and one-third of vegetable dishes should consist of meat. In preparing soups，the quantity of water used should total seven-tenths the volume of the bowl. Basically，the correct ingredient proportions must be adhered to in the preparation of each dish or soup in order to ensure optimal nutritional value.
但是，色、香、味並不是中國烹飪中所需遵循的唯一原則;營養是首要考慮因素。“食物的調和”理論可以追溯到商朝時的學者伊尹。他將甜、酸、苦、辣、鹹這五味與人體五種主要器官系統(心、肝、脾、肺、腎)的營養需要相對應，然後他強調了它們對保持良好的身體健康所具有的重要性。實際上，中國烹飪中所使用的許多植物都有防治各種疾病的功能，例如蔥、鮮姜、大蒜、百合幹以及樹菇。中國人傳統上認爲食物和藥物具有共同的起源而且食物具有藥用價值。可以將這種觀點認爲是中國營養科學的先驅。根據這一理論，應當保持正確的葷素搭配比例。如果是以葷菜爲主的菜餚，那麼三分之一的配料應當是素菜;而以素菜爲主的菜餚應當三分之一的配料是葷菜。在做湯的時候，所用水的量應當佔碗中總量的七成。基本上說，在烹飪每一道菜或湯的時候都必須遵循正確的配料比例，以便確保理想的營養價值。The Chinese have a number of traditional rules and customs associated with eating. For example，food must be eaten while seated. Also a set order of who may be seated first among men，women，old，and young exists. Furthermore， one must eat main courses with chopsticks and soup with a spoon.
中國人有許多與吃有關的傳統規定和習俗。例如，食物必須坐着吃。而且對於男女老幼的人座順序也是約定俗成的。此外，吃主菜的時候必須用筷子，而喝湯的時候要用勺子。The Present
目前In this cosmopolitan world，Chinese food is available in practically a major and many other cities of the globe. In fact, either in any large city or little village in China，you do not have to walk very far to find a restaurant. Even in home cooking，food is prepared with sophistication and variety. Northern style dishes include Peking duck, smoked chicken，chafing dish with sliced Iamb, fried fish slices in sauce，beef with green pepper, and dried scallops with Chinese white radish balls. Representative of the Southern style of cooking ore duck smoked with camphor and tea，chicken baked in salt，honey glazed ham，flash-fried shrimp，braised egg plant in soy sauce，and Sichuan style bean curd.
在世界各地，人們實際上在全球所有主要城市以及其他許多城市中都能品嚐到中國食品。其實，在中國，不管是在大城市還是小村莊裏，無需走上多少路就可以找到一家飯店。即使是在家中烹飪，食物的製作也十分精細、多樣。北方風味的菜餚有北京烤鴨、燒雞、羊肉火鍋、醋煙魚片、青椒牛肉以及乾貝蘿蔔丸子。南方風味的烹飪中具有代表性的有樟茶鴨、鹽水雞、蜜炙火腿、幹蝙蝦、燒汁茄子以及麻婆豆腐。
