“秋盡江南蟹正肥”,一同抓住秋天的尾巴,來(lái)一場(chǎng)大閘蟹盛宴吧!
01.Hairy crab
大閘蟹的英文可不是 big dam(水壩) crab,而是:
Hairy Crab:大閘蟹;毛蟹;河蟹;中華絨螯蟹(學(xué)名)
顯而易見(jiàn),外國(guó)人把重點(diǎn)放在了大閘蟹的“毛”上。美國(guó)也有各種各樣的螃蟹:
Edible crab / brown crab:面包蟹;普通黃道蟹
Dungeness crab:珍寶蟹;首長(zhǎng)黃道蟹(學(xué)名)
Alaskan king crab:阿拉斯加帝王蟹
Blue crab:藍(lán)蟹
02.Comfort food
隨著年齡增長(zhǎng),人的食物喜好也會(huì)發(fā)生變化。有人因味蕾變遲鈍而更能接受刺激性食物,而有人洗盡鉛華——只想追求食物本真的味道:
Taste buds get duller:味蕾變遲鈍
但無(wú)論何時(shí),人人都能共享美食的治愈力量:
Comfort food:(通常令人愉悅但并不健康的)安慰食品
03.Seasonal delicacy
大閘蟹幾乎是 comfort food 中的特例,因?yàn)樗】?、有營(yíng)養(yǎng),是江浙人魂?duì)繅?mèng)繞的家鄉(xiāng)味道,也是現(xiàn)代人所追捧的季節(jié)特供:
Food that reminds you of home:?jiǎn)酒鸺亦l(xiāng)回憶的食物
Seasonal delicacy:當(dāng)季美食
在中國(guó),人們將秋天的陽(yáng)澄湖大閘蟹視為珍饈;美國(guó)人則會(huì)向往在夏天去到海產(chǎn)甚多的切薩皮克灣共饗“蟹宴”:
Yangcheng Lake:陽(yáng)澄湖
Chesapeake Bay:切薩皮克灣
Crab feast:蟹宴
04.Cooking crabs
美國(guó)人所說(shuō)的蟹宴,并非那么華麗。最懶的美國(guó)人會(huì)去超市買蟹肉做成的餅;第二懶的美國(guó)人會(huì)買破開(kāi)即食的蟹;少有的勤快人會(huì)提一桶蟹回家做。當(dāng)然無(wú)論如何,主要的烹飪方式還是和中國(guó)人一樣——清蒸或水煮:
Crab cakes:蟹餅;蟹肉餅
Simply steamed / boiled:清蒸的;水煮的
Oldbay:一種美國(guó)人民喜愛(ài)的海鮮調(diào)料
吃蟹的精髓大概就是原汁原味:
Hairy crab's meat has a unique taste: delicate, tender and sweet. 大閘蟹的味道獨(dú)一無(wú)二:細(xì)膩,柔軟,還有點(diǎn)甜。
Extra ingredients will corrupt the flavor:多余的調(diào)料會(huì)破壞食物本來(lái)的風(fēng)味
05.Dipping sauce
都是簡(jiǎn)單烹飪,但蘸料上依然體現(xiàn)了中美差異:
Dipping sauce:蘸醬;沾料
中西方都有吃蟹配酒的習(xí)慣,以達(dá)到去腥驅(qū)寒的效果:
The Chinese will dip the crab in a mixed sauce of rice vinegar, sugar, and ginger. 中國(guó)人會(huì)把螃蟹沾上醋、糖和生姜的混合醬料。
Americans eat crabs with melted butter. 美國(guó)人會(huì)就著融化的黃油吃螃蟹。
06.Pairing crabs with wine
中西方都有吃蟹配酒的習(xí)慣,以達(dá)到去腥驅(qū)寒的效果:
Pair Food & wine pairing:食物和美酒的搭配
Pairing crabs wine:螃蟹配酒
只是配的酒種類不太一樣:
Westerners might choose to pair their hairy crab with Champagne or white wine, but if you are going to try the local food you should make sure you do it right. The Chinese pair hairy crab with Shaoxing style Huangjiu. 西方人也許會(huì)想用香檳或白葡萄酒來(lái)搭配大閘蟹,但是如果要品嘗當(dāng)?shù)氐奈兜?,一定要入鄉(xiāng)隨俗。中國(guó)人會(huì)喝著紹興黃酒來(lái)吃大閘蟹。
07.Get your hands dirty
蟹肉固然好吃,但吃蟹可是個(gè)大工程,首先就要做好把手弄臟的心理準(zhǔn)備:
Get your hands dirty. 把手弄臟。
當(dāng)然,對(duì)于耐心為零的初級(jí)螃蟹學(xué)者來(lái)說(shuō),吃螃蟹只有這兩個(gè)步驟:
Crack the shell:把殼破開(kāi)
Take out the meat:取出肉
08.Eating skills
以下是高級(jí)蟹友優(yōu)雅從容的吃蟹步驟:
Flip the crab over and crack open the flap on the crab's belly to expose the orange crab roe inside. Remove the gills and the pale heart. 將螃蟹翻過(guò)來(lái),打開(kāi)腹部的蟹掩,露出里面的蟹黃(母螃蟹)/ 蟹膏 (公螃蟹),去除蟹腮和灰白的心臟。
Crack the body of the crab in half and you'll expose more roe and white meat in the body. 把螃蟹折成兩半,你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)更多的蟹黃和白色的蟹肉。
Pull off all the legs and claws with a twisting motion. To access the meat inside the legs and claws, you can try sucking on the legs or use the scissors,a chopstick or another crab legs to push it out. 把蟹腿和蟹爪擰下來(lái)。吃蟹腿、蟹爪的時(shí)候,你可以用嘴吸吮,或者用剪刀、筷子和另一只蟹腿來(lái)把里面的肉推出來(lái)。
一步步剝下來(lái),十八般武藝和工具都用上了,然而到嘴的就一丁點(diǎn)兒,我真的枯了:
Too much work, too little reward. 付出太多,回報(bào)太少。