心靈雞湯:美味壽司源自哪裏?
Sushi has a very interesting origin that has lasted for centuries and continues to be a very popular food today. Sushi is made with a combination of shellfish, cooked or raw fish, vegetables, and seasoned rice. Although Sushi is most commonly linked to the Japanese heritage, it actually began in China during the 7th Century.
壽司有着非常有趣的起源，它流傳了數百年，直到如今仍然是非常受歡迎的美食。壽司是由貝類、熟魚或生魚、蔬菜以及調過味的米飯混合而成的佳餚。儘管壽司大都被認爲與日本有着千絲萬縷的淵源，但實際上早在7世紀時，它起源於中國。At that time, any fish caught had to be preserved. The only method possible was by fermentation. Raw fish was cleaned, filleted, and then pressed between layers of heavy salt and usually weighted down with some type of stone. The fish would remain this way for weeks at which the stone would be removed and then replaced with some type of light cover. The fish would stay in the salt layers for a couple of months until the fermentation process was complete.
在那個年代，所有捕來的魚都要被貯存起來，唯一可能的貯存方法就是發酵。生魚被清洗乾淨、切成片，然後用一層層厚重的鹽給壓起來，通常再壓上某種石頭。生魚會以這種方式被保存數週，之後，石頭被移走，轉而壓上一些較輕的覆蓋物。接着生魚在鹽層中被保留數月，直到發酵的過程完成爲止。Over time, a discovery was made that by rolling the fish in rice that had been soaked in vinegar the fish was fermented in a matter of days rather than months. The rice was then tossed out and the fish eaten. However, with drought and a food shortage, people began consuming the rice as well as the fish and thus, Sushi as we know it today was born.
隨着時間的推移，人們發現可以把魚肉卷在醋浸過的米飯中，和以往那種發酵幾個月的方式比起來，這種方法僅用數天就可以發酵完。米飯則被扔掉，留下魚肉食用。然而，由於旱災和食物短缺，人們在吃魚的同時也開始連同把米飯都吃掉，於是，我們今天所熟知的壽司便誕生了。
However, in the 1800s, a famous chef by the name of Yohei was planning a large dinner party. Finding that he had not set out enough fish to serve his guests, he took a piece of fish from the freezer that had not been fermented and decided to take his chances in serving it. What he found was that frozen fish actually retained their flavor and any bacterium was killed. From this discovery, Yohei created two styles of Sushi —one called Edo, and the second, Osaka, for the city.
但到了19世紀，一位名叫洋平的著名日本廚師正在籌辦大型的晚宴時，發現自己沒有準備出足夠多的魚來招待客人們，於是他便從冷藏庫裏取出一方未經發酵過的魚肉，決定碰碰運氣，就用它來招待客人。他發現冷凍過的魚肉居然保留住了其本身的味道，而細菌則都被殺死了。基於這一發現，洋平發明了兩種壽司：一種叫做江戶壽司，另一種叫做大阪壽司，因大阪這座城市而得名。Sushi is usually consumed with hot green tea. Gari (thin slices of vinegar pickled ginger root) is offered free and eaten between bites to freshen the palate. Two kinds of sauces are usually available: one is soy sauce, which is poured on most kinds of sushi; the other is a thick sweet sauce used on eel. Wasabe (hot, green Japanese horseradish) can be added to make it spicier.
壽司往往和熱乎乎的綠茶一起搭配食用。（餐館）會供應免費的Gari（即細條、醋醃的生薑），在每口之間食用，用來提鮮。一般有兩種醬汁佐用：一種是醬油，可以倒在大多數種類的壽司上調味；另一種是濃稠的甜汁，用於搭配鰻魚壽司食用。山葵（一種綠色的日本辣芥末）可以使壽司的味道更辛辣。Sushi has taken the world by storm and today is a multi-billion dollar industry. The popularity of Sushi continues to rise in that people are looking for healthy food that is quick and easy to make.
如今，壽司已經風靡全球，更成爲了一個銷售額達數十億的產業。壽司因其健康以及易做的特性而受到越來越多的人的追捧。With such incredible popularity as well as the health benefits of eating Sushi, it is likely that this food will continue to be a part of everyday life for many more centuries to come.
由於壽司的大受歡迎和食用它所帶來的健康益處，這種食物可能會在將來的數百年裏繼續風行下去，成爲人們日常飲食的一部分。
