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塞西莉亚·江改变了美国人对中国烹饪的理解 By Stacey Lastoe ︱ December 18, 2019 翻译：Ray︱校对：Sally  "You know what goes well with Chinese food?" Cecilia Chiang asked as the small group gathered around to marvel at the sweet-smelling red pork simmering in a pot on her stove. The meat had begun to caramelize, its lovely aroma acting like a gentle (and silent) dinner bell. “你知道中国菜配什么好吃吗？”当人们围拢过来，惊奇地发现炉子上的锅里炖着的红烧肉香味扑鼻时，塞西莉亚 江（江孙芸）问道。肉已经开始上了糖色，它可爱的香味就像一个温柔的（无声的）晚餐铃声。 "What's that?" we asked. “是什么？”我们问到。 As we stood in the beloved culinary figure's San Francisco kitchen, Chiang swiftly produced bottles of ice-cold Sapporo. As if watching the legend herself cook and listening to her share decades worth of rich stories weren't enough, now there was cold beer. 当我们站在烹饪大师旧金山心爱的的厨房里时，江迅速地拿出了几瓶冰镇札幌啤酒。好像看传奇人物自己做饭，听她分享几十年来的丰富故事还不够，现在又加上了冰镇啤酒。 So many firsts 许多第一 Chiang is famous, a celebrity chef before celebrity chefs were a thing. And her kitchen skills -- thanks to being invited to her table to enjoy red-cooked pork -- remain intact; Chiang's definitely still got it. 江很有名，在厨师能成为名人以前就已经是名厨了。而她的厨艺——多亏被邀请到她的餐桌上享用红烧猪肉——仍然完好无损；江的手艺绝对没丢一点儿。 The owner, chef and mastermind behind the game-changing San Francisco institution, the Mandarin, Chiang is widely credited with bringing real Chinese food to America. 作为改变游戏规则的旧金山餐厅“福禄寿”（Mandarin）的老板、厨师和幕后策划者，江被大家认为为美国带来了真正的中国菜。 The 50-seat restaurant, opened in 1961 on Polk Street and later occupying a much larger space in Ghirardelli Square, wasn't like other Chinese restaurants. 这家有50个座位的餐厅于1961年在波尔克街开业，后来搬到吉拉德利广场，租用了更大的空间，并且它与其他中餐馆不同。 Its dissonance was purposeful. 有目的的不同。 dissonance：不协和和弦;不和谐;不协调;不一致 "Is this a Chinese restaurant?" Chiang says people asked her all the time. The Mandarin did not serve chop suey or chow mien, two standard dishes on every Chinese restaurant in the USA at the time. “这是中餐馆吗？”江说人们总是这样问她。当时在美国，每一家中国餐馆都提供两道菜：杂烩和炒面。而“福禄寿”则没有。 But this is exactly what Chiang wanted to avoid. In fact, her early brushes with Chinese food in America had left her unimpressed and determined to show San Francisco what Chinese food was really like. 但这正是江刻意去做的。事实上，她早年在美国接触中国菜的经历让她很不喜欢，她决心向旧金山展示中国菜的真正面貌。 Not only was Chiang a woman trying to run a restaurant in a male-dominated industry, but she was also attempting to educate diners. Changing people's minds was complicated. And, Chiang, who has been retired some 20 years, says there is still not a single restaurant comparable to the Mandarin. 江不仅是一个试图在男性主导的餐饮业搞经营的女性，而且她还试图教育食客。但改变人们的想法不是件容易的事。而且，已经退休20年的江说，现在还没有一家餐馆能和“福禄寿”相提并论。 Going high-brow 高格调 Chiang, who was born near Shanghai, was from an upper-class Chinese family. Cecilia married well -- her husband was a diplomat in Japan. She acknowledges money wasn't a concern, but she faced other, perhaps more hard-won obstacles. 江出生在上海附近，出身于中国上流社会。塞西莉亚婚姻美满——她的丈夫是日本的外交官。她承认钱不是一个问题，但她面临着其他的，也许更多须努力克服的障碍。 Convincing the dining public that Chinese food didn't have to be Thursday's cheap take-out option, Chiang had her work cut out for her. 江说服餐饮界人士，中国菜不一定非得是周四廉价的外卖食品，于是这下她有的工作做了。 "Most ABC, American-born Chinese, even they didn't know [about Chinese food]," Chiang explained. Never having been to China, this group also needed to be educated on the difference. 江解释说：“大多数ABC，就是美国出生的中国人，根本不懂中国菜”。他们从来没有去过中国，他们也需要接受差异教育。 It wasn't enough to present unfamiliar dishes to customers of the Mandarin. Chiang also insisted on showing them just how Chinese food could be elevated. 仅仅向“福禄寿”的顾客介绍不熟悉的菜肴是不够的。江还坚持要向他们展示如何提升中国菜的档次。 The restaurant's wine list was part of her strategy. Chiang says she wanted to upgrade the Chinese dining experience. To do this, she also needed to be hyperaware of aesthetics. 她的策略之一就是餐馆的酒单。江说她想提升中国人的用餐体验。要做到这一点，她还需要对美学有敏锐的洞察力。 aesthetic：美学 A common misconception about Chinese restaurants at that time (and perhaps even one that persists today to a lesser extent) is that it ought to look a certain way. Chiang remembers people telling her her restaurant didn't look "like a Chinese restaurant." 当时人们对中国餐馆的一个普遍误解是（甚至可能是今天在某种程度上仍然存在的误解）中国餐馆应该以某种方式存在。江记得有人和她说，她的餐馆看起来不像“中国餐馆” "Why?" she always asked. 她总是问：“为什么？” "Too clean," was the typical response. 典型的回答是：“太干净了。” Chiang's wearing of a traditional Chinese dress day in and day out was one way she rejected this notion. 江日复一日地穿着传统的中国服装，这是她拒绝这种观念的一种方式。 A life worth living 有价值的生活 Chiang's ownership of her success is refreshing. She shares a story about food writer Ruth Reichl telling her she wished the Mandarin was still open so she could eat there. And she reminisces about famous regulars who used to fly down via private jet every weekend just to dine at her restaurant. 江对自己成功的掌控令人耳目一新。她分享了一个关于美食作家露丝·雷切尔的故事，她告诉江，她希望“福禄寿”还开着，这样她就可以还在那里吃饭了。她还回忆起那些著名的常客们，他们以前每个周末都乘私人飞机来她家吃饭。 reminisce：回忆，追忆，缅怀(昔日的快乐时光) At 100, Chiang proudly shares these memories, but there's little sense that she's living in the past. 100岁时，江自豪地分享了这些记忆，但人们几乎没有感觉到她生活在过去。 "I just enjoy my life. I have a good time. I don't want to waste my time, especially right now," Chiang says. “我只是享受我的生活。我过得很开心。我不想浪费时间，尤其是现在，”江说。 Food continues to be a recipe for enjoyment. Whether that's flying to Tulum to eat at Rene Redzepi's Noma Mexico, or getting together in the Bay area with industry pal Alice Waters and talking about food endlessly, Chiang hasn't slowed down much. 享受食物仍然是快乐的。无论是飞往图卢姆吃雷内·雷德泽皮的墨西哥餐，还是聚集在湾区与同行伙伴Alice Waters，没完没了地谈论着食物，江的生活并没有慢下来。 And she has some advice for the rest of us: "Have fun ... you don't know [about tomorrow]." 她给我们其他人提了一些建议：“玩得开心。。。你不知道（明天会怎样）。” “我们的文化不是你的内衣！”日本人这样对美国人说。英语读头条（第560期） 被遗失的“新大陆”在欧洲下面被发现。英语读头条（第597期） 美国小学老师给孩子们的作业是 - 给奴隶定价！英语读头条（第623期） 👇 |
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