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@ 50216 古怪食物
A 我前幾天去廣州，一頓飯吃得我到現在還是心有餘悸。
wǒ qián jǐ tiān qù Guǎngzhōu, yī dùn fàn chī de wǒ dào xiànzài háishì xīnyǒuyújì.
A few days ago I went to Guangzhou. I still have some lingering fears about a meal I ate there.
B 怎麼了？
zěnme le?
What was the matter?
A 有個客戶一個勁要請我們吃野味。他點了穿山甲、蜥蜴、娃娃魚、貓頭鷹，我之前都沒好好看過這些動物，更別提吃了。而且，我覺得這樣特別殘酷，多可愛的動物，怎麼忍心吃它們呢？
yǒu ge kèhù yīgejìn yào qǐng wǒmen chī yěwèi. tā diǎn le chuānshānjiǎ, xīyì, wáwayú, māotóuyīng, wǒ zhīqián dōu méi hǎohāo kàn guo zhèxiē dòngwù, gèng biétí chī le. érqiě, wǒ juéde zhèyàng tèbié cánkù, duō kě ài de dòngwù, zěnme rěnxīn chī tāmen ne?
There was a client who was constantly trying to take us out for game foods. He ordered pangolin, lizard, giant salamander, and owl. I hadn't even seen these animals, let alone eaten them. And, I think eating such cute animals is really cruel. How can people bear to eat them?
B 廣東人愛吃野味是全國有名的，一般來講，普通百姓吃大眾野味，比如兔子，貓之類的，可是你說的這些可都是受法律保護的野生動物，食用它們是違法的。但正是因為這樣，一些有錢人就以此來炫耀自己的經濟實力或向來賓顯示自己的誠意。我覺得這種行為特別不人道，實在應該被禁止。
Guǎngdōng rén ài chī yěwèi shì quánguó yǒumíng de, yībān lái jiǎng, pǔtōng bǎixìng chī dàzhòng yěwèi, bǐrú tùzi, māo zhīlèi de, kěshì nǐ shuō de zhèxiē kě dōu shì shòu fǎlǜ bǎohù de yěshēng dòngwù, shíyòng tāmen shì wéifǎ de. dàn zhèng shì yīnwèi zhèyàng, yīxiē yǒuqián rén jiù yǐcǐ lái xuànyào zìjǐ de jīngjì shílì huò xiàng láibīn xiǎnshì zìjǐ de chéngyì. wǒ juéde zhèzhǒng xíngwéi tèbié bù réndào, shízài yīnggāi bèi jìnzhǐ.
Cantonese people are famous all over China for loving to eat game. Generally, ordinary people eat common game, like rabbits, cats and such. But the ones you're talking about were all protected wild animals. Eating them is illegal. But it's just because of this that some rich people use this as a chance to show off their wealth, or to show their clients their sincerity. I think it's really inhumane, and it really should be forbidden.
A 其實非典以後，人們都談虎色變，野味市場受到很大沖擊。以前廣東野味飯店遍地開花。這次我去，飯店是偷偷摸摸賣給我們的。而且，現在廣東人的飲食觀念也有了很大的轉變。好多人也覺得吃野味是非法，非人道，而且不健康的行為，並不像以前那樣盲目地認為吃野味很補。
qíshí fēidiǎn yǐhòu, rénmen dōu tánhǔsèbiàn, yěwèi shìchǎng shòudào hěn dà chōngjī. yǐqián Guǎngdōng yěwèi fàndiàn biàndìkāihuā. zhècì wǒ qù, fàndiàn shì tōutōumōmō mài gěi wǒmen de. érqiě, xiànzài Guǎngdōng rén de yǐnshí guānniàn yě yǒu le hěn dà de zhuǎnbiàn. hǎo duō rén yě juéde chī yěwèi shì fēifǎ, fēi réndào, érqiě bù jiànkāng de xíngwéi, bìng bù xiàng yǐqián nàyàng mángmù de rènwéi chī yěwèi hěn bǔ.
Actually, after SARS, people were really skittish about this stuff, and the market for game was badly affected. It used to be that game restaurants were all over in Guangdong. On this visit, the restaurant sneakily sold the stuff to us. And what's more, Cantonese people's ideas about their diet have really changed a lot. A lot of people think that eating game is illegal, inhumane and unhealthy. It's not at all like in the past, where people blindly assumed that eating game was very nutritious.
B 這確實是很大的改變。其實咱們中國人吃的好多東西，比如動物內臟，生猛海鮮，外國人看起來都覺得很奇怪，甚至有些噁心和恐怖。但是好多中國人卻覺得越怪越好吃。
zhè quèshí shì hěn dà de gǎibiàn. qíshí zánmen Zhōngguó rén chī de hǎo duō dōngxi, bǐrú dòngwù nèizàng, shēngměng hǎixiān, wàiguórén kàn qǐlai dōu juéde hěn qíguài, shènzhì yǒuxiē ěxīn hé kǒngbù. dànshì hǎo duō Zhōngguó rén què juéde yuè guài yuè hǎochī.
That's certainly a big change. Actually, a lot of things that we Chinese eat, such as animal innards and live seafood strike foreigners as very strange, even disgusting or horrifying. But a lot of Chinese people actually think that the weirder something is, the tastier it is.
A 嗯，我們還有句俗話，“吃什麼補什麼”。這也是中國人這麼敢吃的重要原因。牛鞭，內臟，腦子……總之你想得到的部位，就能做成菜吃。不過有些我們中國人習以為常的食物，在外國人眼裡還是無法接受。比如鳳爪和蛇。
ng4, wǒmen hái yǒu jù súhuà, `` chī shénme bǔ shénme" . zhè yě shì Zhōngguó rén zhème gǎn chī de zhòngyào yuányīn. niúbiān, nèizàng, nǎozi......zǒngzhī nǐ xiǎngdedào de bùwèi, jiù néng zuò chéng cài chī. bùguò yǒuxiē wǒmen Zhōngguórén xíyǐwéicháng de shíwù, zài wàiguórén yǎn lǐ háishì wúfǎ jiēshòu. bǐrú fèngzhǎo hé shé.
Hmm...we still have that proverb：``You bolster what you eat." That's a big reason that Chinese people dare to eat what they do. Bull penis, organs, brain...basically, you can make food out of any part you can think of. But there are some foods that we Chinese people think nothing of eathing, such as chicken feet and snakes, that foreigners are simply unable to accept.
B 是啊，我有一次和一個外國同事吃廣東點心，他再三強調不能點鳳爪。說看了就頭皮發麻。結果搞得我們錯過了一道招牌菜。哎，你吃過最古怪的東西是什麼？
shì a, wǒ yǒu yī cì hé yī ge wàiguó tóngshì chī Guǎngdōng diǎnxīn, tā zàisān qiángdiào bùnéng diǎn fèngzhǎo. shuō kàn le jiù tóupí fāmá. jiéguǒ gǎo de wǒmen cuòguò le yī dào zhāopáicài. āi, nǐ chī guo zuì gǔguài de dōngxi shì shénme?
Yeah. I ate Cantonese dim sum with a foreign colleague once. He made a big deal out of the fact that we couldn't order chicken feet. He said that he got the heebie-jeebies just looking at it. In the end, I missed the chance to order the dish the restaurant was famous for! Hey, what's the strangest thing you've eaten?
A 四川名菜麻辣兔頭。我剛開始怎麼也不敢動筷子，可是後來看同桌的人個個吃得津津有味，也忍不住嚐了一口。味道還挺香，但是想到可愛又可憐的小兔子，我終究還是不忍心。你呢？
Sìchuān míngcài málà tùtóu. wǒ gāng kāishǐ zěnme yě bùgǎn dòng kuàizi, kěshì hòulái kàn tóngzhuō de rén gègè chī de jīnjīnyǒuwèi, yě rěnbuzhù cháng le yī kǒu. wèidao hái tǐng xiāng, dànshì xiǎngdào kě ài yòu kělián de xiǎotùzi, wǒ zhōngjiū háishì bù rěnxīn. nǐ ne?
The famous Sichuanese dish, ``hot-and-numb rabbit head." At the beginning, I just couldn't bring myself to dig in. But then I saw that everyone else at the table was really enjoying it. I couldn't take it any longer, and so I tried a bit. It was really tasty, but thinking of that poor, cute little rabbit, I couldn't bear it in the end. What about you?
B 我想想啊……唉，有道菜我自己覺得不足為奇，但是有些人就覺得不可想象。你吃過醉蝦嗎？這是道上海名菜，就是把活蹦亂跳的河蝦用高粱酒浸醉，趁蝦醉的時候吃。我一直覺得這是人間美味，不過現在這麼一說，還真是覺得有些變態。
wǒ xiǎngxiang a......āi, yǒu dào cài wǒ zìjǐ juéde bùzúwéiqí, dànshì yǒuxiērén jiù juéde bùkěxiǎngxiàng. nǐ chī guo zuìxiā ma? zhè shì dào Shànghǎi míngcài, jiùshì bǎ huóbèngluàntiào de héxiā yòng gāoliang jiǔ jìn zuì, chèn xiā zuì de shíhou chī. wǒ yīzhí juéde zhè shì rénjiān měiwèi, bùguò xiànzài zhème yī shuō, hái zhēnshì juéde yǒuxiē biàntài.
Let me think...Hah, there's a dish that I don't think is that strange, but that a lot of people can't imagine. Have you eaten drunken shrimp? It's a famous Shanghainese dish. You bathe living, jumping shrimp in kaoliang grain liquor, and eat them when they're drunk. I've always thought it was heavenly, but talking about it this way, I feel it's a little weird.
A 是啊，中國的飲食文化真是千奇百怪，無奇不有。
shì a, Zhōngguó de yǐnshí wénhuà zhēnshì qiānqíbǎiguài, wúqíbùyǒu.
That's for sure. Chinese culinary culture is truly bizarre. Nothing is too strange.
Key Vocabulary
心有餘悸 xīnyǒuyújì to have lingering fears
野味 yěwèi gamey taste
炫耀 xuànyào to flaunt
談虎色變 tánhǔsèbiàn to be frightened by danger
補 bǔ to repair
津津有味 jīnjīnyǒuwèi to do with gusto
不足為奇 bùzúwéiqí not surprising at all
活蹦亂跳 huóbèngluàntiào to frolic energetically
Supplementary Vocabulary
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