翻译天堂  2016-10-30

In many parts of China, people like to start a meal with cool, salady appetisers rather than the deep-fried snacks typically offered in Chinese restaurants abroad.在中国很多地方，人们喜欢用凉拌菜当头盘，而不是国外中餐馆通常提供的油炸小吃。

In Beijing, you might be offered a bracing salad of Chinese cabbage in a mustardy sauce or some cold, spiced beef. The Shanghainese adore their drunken chicken and lotus root stuffed with sticky rice, while in Hangzhou a local favourite is Buddhist vegetarian “roast goose”, a clever trompe l’oeil made from thin, layered sheets of tofu.在北京，头盘可能是一盘劲爽的芥末酱拌白菜，或是一碟冷切酱牛肉。上海人则钟爱醉鸡，或是糯米糖藕。在杭州，最受当地人欢迎的是“素烧鹅”——用一层层薄薄的豆腐皮做出来的一道形似烧鹅的精致小菜。

In Sichuan, as you’d expect, a spread of starters usually features the twin hallmarks of the local cuisine: chilli and Sichuan pepper. You might be served cold spiced meats with a dip of ground spices, chewy semi-dried beef in a slick of chilli oil or broad beans tossed in a spicy dressing.而在四川——如你所料——许多头盘通常突出了当地美食的两大特色：辣椒和青花椒。头盘可能是卤肉冷盘，配以一碟佐料粉；或是辣油调拌的嚼劲十足的半干牛肉干；或是用辣椒酱拌蚕豆。

The following two recipes are easy to make and show unexpected sides of familiar ingredients. Aubergines are so often deep-fried that we forget that steaming can bring out a surprising gentleness of character: here, they are torn into strips and then tossed with a quintessentially Sichuanese dressing, in which spicy, tingly, sweet, sour, salty and aromatic notes are blended to delicious effect.下面这两道菜制作容易，而且把常见食材做出了意想不到的味道。我们做茄子总是油炸，以至忘了清蒸可以带来意外的温和口感，在这道菜中，茄子被撕成条状，然后拌上一种典型的四川酱汁，该酱汁融合了辣、麻、甜、酸、咸、香，味道十分可口。

The second recipe is for chicken with one of the lesser-known sauces in the Sichuanese canon: a jiao ma (“pepper-numbing”) salsa that is not hot and fiery but cool and green, with a hint of the fruity tingle of Sichuan pepper. The pepper appears here not with chilli, its usual partner in crime, but with the fresh pungency of spring onions and the fragrance of sesame oil. The sauce is rarely seen on Sichuan restaurant menus these days, but it’s one of the classic combinations of flavours, and a reminder that Sichuanese cuisine is about variety more than simply red-hot chilli heat. Typically served with cold chicken or pork offal, it would also go beautifully with warm new potatoes.第二道菜的主料是鸡肉，用了一种较少为人所知的四川经典酱汁——椒麻汁。这种酱汁与那些火红、热辣的酱汁不同，它色泽鲜绿，口味清爽，还透着一丝青花椒的清新刺激。椒麻汁只用了青花椒，没用辣椒——花椒的邪恶搭档——但加入了青葱的鲜辛，和麻油的香气。现在四川餐馆的菜单上已经很少能看到椒麻汁，但它是经典的调味组合之一，而且提醒人们川菜的精神在于丰富多样，而不是简单的火红热辣。椒麻汁通常搭配冷鸡肉或猪内脏，配温乎的新土豆也是一级棒。

While such dishes are normally served in Sichuan as the prelude to a hot meal, they also work perfectly as part of a salady lunch or a buffet. Each dish serves four to six alongside other dishes, as part of a Chinese meal.这些菜在四川通常被当做正餐的序曲，但作为午间冷餐或自助餐也很不错。一盘凉菜的分量为四到六人，加上其他热菜，凑成了中国人的一餐。

Sichuan pepper chicken salad (Jiao ma ji pian)

椒麻鸡片

Cover the Sichuan pepper in cold water and let it soak as you prepare the other ingredients. Cut or tear the chicken into bite-sized pieces and place in a serving dish. Wash the spring onions and finely slice the green parts only. Place them on a chopping board with the drained Sichuan pepper and a pinch of salt. Use a sharp knife or a mezzaluna to chop them extremely finely. Place 4 tbs of the spring onion mixture in a small mixing bowl. Add the soy sauce, chicken stock and sesame oil and mix well. Pour the sauce over the chicken. Mix well before eating. 将青麻椒浸入冷水中，浸泡期间准备其他配料。鸡肉切或撕成一口大小的小条，摆入餐盘中。青葱洗净后切下绿叶部分。将葱叶与浸泡后的青花椒放到案板上，撒少许盐，拿一把锋利的刀或半月形菜刀(mezzaluna)将它们切碎。再将4汤匙葱椒碎末放入一个小碗里，加入酱油、鸡汤和香油搅拌均匀。把酱汁倒在鸡肉上，吃前拌匀即可。

To cook a chicken for Sichuanese cold dishes: Take a 15g piece of unpeeled ginger and one spring onion, white part only, and smack them gently with the flat of a cleaver blade or a rolling pin to loosen. Place the whole chicken in a saucepan large enough to hold it but without much room around the sides. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over a high flame, add the ginger and spring onion, then turn the heat down so low that the surface of the water barely murmurs. Leave for about 30 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked through (lift it out on to a plate and insert a skewer into the thickest part of the thigh: when the juices run clear, it’s done). Remove from the liquid (which can serve as stock in a sauce like the one above, or as a soup base). Set aside to cool. 四川凉拌菜所用鸡肉制作方法：取一块15克未削皮的生姜，一根青葱（只要葱白），用菜刀刀面或擀面杖将葱姜轻轻拍散。将整鸡放入一口大小刚好的炖锅中，锅内不要有太多剩余空间，倒入冷水没过鸡肉。大火煮至水沸，加入姜块葱段，然后关小火，水面略咕嘟着冒泡即可。鸡肉煮熟需要大约30分钟。（将鸡肉盛出到盘子里，用一根烤肉叉插到鸡腿最粗部位，如果流出来的是清汤，就是煮好了。）煮过的鸡汤倒出备用，既可以用作上道菜酱汁里的高汤，又可以当做汤底。鸡肉放凉待用。

Spicy aubergine salad (Liang ban qie zi)

凉拌茄子

Cut the aubergines in half lengthways and pile them into a bowl that will fit into your steamer. Place the bowl in the steamer and steam over high heat for 20 minutes. Then tip the aubergines into a colander and let any excess water drain away as they cool. 将茄子沿纵向从中切开，堆到一个碗里，碗大小与蒸锅相配。将碗放入蒸锅内，上汽后大火蒸20分钟。然后将茄子倒入滤器，在冷却过程中滤掉所有水分。

When the aubergines are cool enough to handle, peel off and discard the skins and any clumps of seeds (it’s easiest to do this with your hands). Tear the aubergines lengthways into strips 1cm-2cm thick, and then use a knife to cut these crossways into bite-sized lengths. Place in a serving dish. 等茄子凉到可以处理时，剥下茄子皮，摘除籽块，这一步用手更方便。将茄子纵向撕成1至2厘米粗的条状，然后用刀横切成一口大小的长度，再将切好的茄子段摆到餐盘里。

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.将所有调味料倒入一个小碗。

Mix well and then pour over the aubergines. Stir gently to mix in the sauce. Before serving, scatter with the spring onion greens. Any leftovers will also be delicious the following day. 搅拌均匀后倒在茄子上，轻轻拌开。食用前撒上切碎的绿葱花。就算吃不完，放到第二天依然是一道美味。

Fuchsia Dunlop’s latest book is ‘Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China’ (Bloomsbury)

Photographs: Tamin Jones

扶霞•邓洛普(Fuchsia Dunlop)最新力作《鱼米之乡：中餐烹饪精华》(Land of Fish and Rice: Recipes from the Culinary Heart of China)由布鲁姆伯里出版公司(Bloomsbury)出版。

图片：达明•琼斯(Tamin Jones)