蘇州美食: 當地名菜_風聞

EATING IN SUZHOU: FAMOUS LOCAL FOODS

一、蘇州美食: 當地名菜

Chinese food is popular everywhere. No matter where you go, there’s probably a Chinese restaurant! However, at least in Spain, until very recently it was not easy to find a Chinese restaurant that served things different from the usual fare of fried rice, spring rolls and sweet and sour pork. Which are totally fine, but there’s so much more variety in Chinese food! Savoury, spicy, sweet or sour, every region in China has its own cuisine where one flavour prevails. In Suzhou, in case you were wondering, sweet is king! Let’s see which are some of the most famous local dishes here.

中國菜在各地都很受歡迎。無論你走到哪裏，都可能有一家中國餐館！然而在西班牙，直到最近還很難找到一家提供不同於炒飯、春捲和糖醋排骨的中國餐廳。中國食物的種類太多了！中國的每一個地區都有自己的風味獨特的烹飪方式，無論是辣的、甜的還是酸的。在蘇州，甜者為王！讓我們看看這裏最著名的地方菜有哪些。

– Sweet and sour fish, a.k.a squirrel fish 

- 糖醋魚，又名松鼠桂魚

This is the absolute star of any meal with guests. It’s a whole fish cut in a way that resembles the tail of a squirrel (or that’s what Chinese people say), battered, fried and covered in an orange sweet and sour sauce. It’s quite a sight and very tasty, but better make sure that the piece you take is well covered in sauce, you can literally taste it. (I have to say this: fish and seafood is not too good in China, at least for someone who comes from Spain. But nothing that cannot be fixed with a delicious sauce).

這絕對是與客人共進晚餐的亮點菜。這是一整條魚，切得像松鼠的尾巴(中國人是這麼説的) ，攪拌，煎炸，再淋上糖醋醬。這種魚看起來不錯，味道也很好，最好確保你吃的那塊上面塗滿了醬汁，你可以真正地品嚐它的味道。(我不得不説: 魚和海鮮在中國不太好吃，至少對於來自西班牙的人來説是這樣。但沒有什麼是不能用美味的醬汁來調配的)。

– Eel in oil 

響油鱔糊

There are many lakes around Suzhou, so many of the popular local dishes contain aquatic animals. By the way, if a shrimp from the sea is seafood, a shrimp from the lake is… lakefood? Or is it also called seafood? This dish is made with yellow eel cut longitudinally and covered with a brown sauce. When it’s brought to the table, the waiter pours hot oil on top. I always joke and say this is snake… because it looks like it!

蘇州周圍有許多湖泊，許多當地的流行菜餚都含有水生動物。順便説一下，如果從海里來的蝦是海鮮，那麼從湖裏來的蝦就是湖鮮嗎？還是也叫海鮮？這道菜是把黃鱔縱切，並覆蓋一層棕色的醬汁。端上桌後，服務員在上面倒熱油。我總是開玩笑説這是蛇， 因為它看起來很像蛇！

– Stir fried shrimp

- 清炒蝦仁

This is a very simple dish that Suzhounese love to eat. C. always orders it when we are eating with guests, and it is also served in weddings and New Year dinners. It consists of very small shrimp, peeled and stir fried with a bit of cornstarch, and then eaten with a bit of soy sauce. C. always jokes and says the shrimp are peeled by toothless grandmas who use their gums to do the job.

這是蘇州人喜歡吃的一道非常簡單的菜。我們和客人吃飯的時候總是點這道菜，婚宴和新年晚宴上也會有這道菜。它是由很小的蝦去皮，用一點玉米澱粉翻炒，然後吃的時候用一點醬油。他總是開玩笑説，這些蝦是由沒牙的老奶奶用牙齦去皮的。

– Lotus root stuffed with glutinous rice and sprinkled with osmanthus flowers 

- 桂花糖藕

I like all kinds of food and I eat my way through this list without any problems, but this is my favourite. The lotus root is crunchy and juicy at the same time, the rice is sticky and the sauce is sweet. Yummy! According to Baidu, this recipe is originally from Zhejiang, but you can find it in all the Suzhounese food restaurants.

我喜歡各種各樣的食物，我吃的時候沒有任何問題，這是我最喜歡的一道菜。蓮藕又脆又多汁，糯米又粘又甜。美味好吃！根據百度的説法，這個菜譜最初來自浙江，但你可以在蘇州所有的美食餐廳找到它。

– Suzhou-style noodle soup 

- 蘇式湯麪

It is said that northern Chinese eat noodles and southern Chinese eat rice, but even though Suzhou is considered to be south, noodles are very popular here. The local noodles are very long and thin and in their most basic version they are served only with the broth and a bit of chopped chives, but there are many other varieties with toppings added. I was googling Suzhou noodles and came across this article, in which a Shanghai fanboy discovers them. Hehe. It seems he was really impressed: “[…] right here, in Shanghai’s backyard, is a noodle culture that is as sophisticated as Japan, among the most delicious things you can eat in China, and accessible by train in 30 minutes. Suzhou”. 

據説北方人吃麪條，南方人吃米飯，蘇州被認為是南方，但麪條在這裏很受歡迎的。當地的麪條又細又長，最基本的做法是隻放肉湯和一點切碎的細香葱，還有很多其他種類的麪條可以加上配料。我在網上搜索蘇州麪條的時候偶然發現了這篇文章，是一個上海的粉絲髮現的。呵呵。他似乎真的被打動了:“就在這裏，在上海的後花園，有着和日本一樣複雜的麪條文化，在中國你可以吃到最美味的東西，坐火車30分鐘就可以到達蘇州。

– Meat mooncakes

- 鮮肉月餅

These are called mooncakes, like the ones eaten during Mid-Autumn Festival, but they have nothing to do with them. They are sold all year round and are actually very good! As their name clearly indicates, the filling is meat and, like most Suzhou food, they are slightly sweet. These are not eaten in restaurants but bought in bakeries and eaten as a snack, but I added them to the list because as far as I know they are only available in the Yangtze river delta area.

這些被稱為月餅，就像中秋節期間吃的月餅，但它們與月餅沒有任何關係。它們一年四季都在銷售，實際上非常好吃！正如他們的名字清楚地表明，餡料是肉，像大多數蘇州食品一樣，他們有點甜。這些東西不是在餐館裏吃的，而是在麪包店裏買來當零食吃的，我把它們加到了清單上，據我所知，它們只在長江三角洲地區才能買到。

You might have noticed that there’s not much “green” in these dishes. Vegetables are ordered during meals and banquets to balance the abundance of sauces and fat in other dishes, but they are usually just stir fried greens that are not considered a local speciality.

你可能已經注意到，在這些菜餚中沒有太多的“綠色”。在正餐和宴會上，人們會點蔬菜，以平衡醬汁和其他菜餚中的脂肪，它們通常只是炒青菜，並不被認為是當地特色菜。

Have you tried any of these Suzhou foods? What’s your favourite type of Chinese food?

你吃過這些蘇州菜嗎？你最喜歡的中國菜是什麼？