第十五届成都国际美食节正如火如荼，这是一场属于成都的美食狂欢。撇开“成都土著”，那些远道而来的歪果仁，对成都美食又有着怎样的味觉体验？今天，小布就带你们来认识一位来自马耳他的“中国通” Victor，他正要展开一场“豆瓣体验之旅”。
The 15th Chengdu International Food Festival, a carnival for gourmets, is now in full swing. Aside from the locals, what about the food experiences of foreigners in Chengdu? Let's hear from Victor, a China Hand from Malta, who is about to embark on a "Douban Experience Tour".
个人简介
About the Author
来自马耳他的Victor曾旅居六国三大洲，过去12年间，他多数时间居住在亚洲。如今，Victor常往返于欧洲和中国，并在多个国家发表旅行文章以及摄影作品。
Victor Paul Borg is from Malta. He has lived in six countries on three continents and spent much of the past 12 years in Asia. He currently spends his time in Europe and China. His travel articles and photographs have been published around the world.
令人惊讶的是，被视作川菜灵魂和精华的豆瓣酱是如此简单。这种浓稠丰厚的红色酱料，口感辛辣又有层次，使各种川菜增色不少。我常常会想，什么样的异国香料才会产生这样的味道。然后我发现它实际上只包含了四种基本材料：蚕豆、红辣椒、小麦粉和水。我开始去理解一个道理：简朴成就精妙。中国其他地区也有各自的豆瓣酱，但往往是用大豆和许多其他材料做的。如今的四川豆瓣是国内外广泛认可的最好的豆瓣酱之一，尤其是产于成都西北郊区的郫县豆瓣。
For a paste that's celebrated as the soul or essence of Sichuan cooking, the chilli bean paste (in pinyin doubanjiang) is surprisingly simple. The paste itself looks arcane with its densely substantial and rich reddish colour - its pungent, textured flavours enhance a variety of dishes in Sichuan - and I often wondered about what exotic spices might account for such flavours. Then I found out that it's actually constituted of four basic ingredients - broad beans, red chillies, wheat flour, and water - and I began to understand its paradox: simplicity makes wonder. For other regions in China also have their douban pastes, but these tend to be constituted from soy beans and a dozen of other ingredients; only Sichuan's douban is made from broad beans (or fava beans). And yet Sichuan's douban, especially the douban made in Pixian on the northwestern outskirts of Chengdu, is widely considered in China and beyond as China's best doubanjiang.
那么，要如何制作才能使它产生这样丰富的口感呢？靠的是细致的准备和长期的发酵。首先，将蚕豆剥皮、煮熟之后，晾干并拌上小麦粉，这样能够刺激某种真菌的生长，这种真菌能够使豆子在六个月的时间里充分发酵。接下来，把剁碎的新鲜辣椒、盐、水混合搅拌至黏稠状，然后至少再发酵三个月——放得更久也没关系，因为存放越久，味道越厚重。
So what it is that infuses it with such textured flavours given the basicness of the ingredients that goes into its making? It's the technique: the fastidious preparation and long fermentation. It starts with peeling and boiling dried broad beans, which are then drained and tossed in wheat flour. This spurs the growth of fungi, something that comprehensively ferments the beans over a period of six months. Then fresh chillies are chopped and mixed in together with salt and water to produce a chunky consistency, and the mixture is allowed to continue fermenting at least for another three months. It can even be aged for longer - the longer its age, the more profound the flavours.
但这并不是全部，天气也是其中一个因素。郫县豆瓣被认为是品质最优的豆瓣酱，得益于当地的气候，以及岷山的水、长期潮湿阴冷的气候条件、高湿度——这一切都有利于郫县豆瓣更好地发酵。
But that's not the whole story. The climate also lends a hand. And the reason why Pixian's douban is considered the best is thanks to the micro-climate. Making use of the fresh water coursing out of the Min Mountains, and having the works within the prevailing moist and overcast conditions and high atmospheric humidity - all of these are said to contribute to superior fermentation process in Pixian.
郫县豆瓣的制作者在几百年间不断完善技术流程。他们将豆瓣装在大陶罐里，盖上塑料盖，放在院子里发酵。许多厂商还要天天搅拌每一罐豆瓣酱，使其充分接触空气，促进发酵，使不同层次的味道融入豆瓣酱中。
Makers of douban in Pixian have perfected the technique process over hundreds of years. They ferment the douban in large earthenware jars covered by plastic lids; these are placed in yards amidst the elements (hence the plastic lids). Many of the manufacturers go through the rigmarole of mixing the fermenting paste in each crock every day - this aerates the mixture, enhancing the fermentation, and blends the flavours within different strata of the paste in the jars.
你可以去郫都区一日游，参观豆瓣酱的制作过程。郫都区距成都市中心车程不到两小时，可以乘坐地铁然后转乘出租。参观郫县豆瓣的制作过程的最佳地点，就在川菜博物馆。这里占地广阔，还有很多有趣的景点：一所展示川菜发展相关手工艺品的博物馆,一座古老的寺庙,一个制作、发酵豆瓣酱的大院子,一处中式古典园林,和一家有开放式厨房的餐馆。
You can see the douban being made on a day-trip to Pixian (it takes less than 1 hour to get to Pixian from central Chengdu, travelling on subway and then taxi). And the most accessible place in Pixian where you can see the douban being made, is at the Museum of Sichuan Cuisine. This is a sprawling site that holds several interesting attractions within its grounds: a museum with artifacts associated with the development of cooking in Sichuan, an old temple, a large yard where douban is made and left to ferment in dozens of earthenware jars, a garden in traditional Chinese style, and a restaurant with an open kitchen.
而这一开放式厨房的看点在于观看菜品的准备过程，尤其是那些使用了豆瓣酱的菜品的烹饪技巧。这里的厨房不是指字面上的开放，而是整个厨房处于玻璃隔间内！如果是开放式的，那么大火爆炒豆瓣和辣椒产生的油烟将到处弥漫。豆瓣酱主要用于炒菜，其次是炖菜；它能丰富爆炒菜品的味道。在家里，我最喜欢的菜肴之一就是加了两勺豆瓣酱的辣炒莲白。用大火炒菜，首先要将豆瓣放进热油爆香，然后根据烹饪时间依次放入其它材料。据说40%到60%左右的川菜都要放豆瓣。
The point of the open kitchen at the restaurant - the kitchen is not literally open, it's enclosed within glass partitions; if it had to be open the fumes from frying the douban and chillies on high flame would be overpowering - is to see how dishes are prepared, particularly the cooking techniques in the dishes which feature douban. It is mostly used in stir-fries (famously, it is used in mapodoufu for example), less commonly in stews, and it can give simple stir-fries a depth of textured tastes. At home, one of my favorite dishes is chopped cabbage stir-fried in a two spoonfuls of Pixian douban. In stir-fries, the douban is tossed in hot oil in the wok, and then the other ingredients cooked in stages, depending on cooking times. It is said that douban is used in 40 to 60 percent of Sichuan dishes.
今天，超市里能找到各种各样的辣豆瓣酱。它们通常都添加了许多香料来提味，也会放炸牛肉屑、炒芝麻、干虾米等材料；其中许多还会再放辣椒油作进一步调味。虽然这些酱料丰富了厨房里的选择，但没有什么能比得过真正的郫县豆瓣所带来的四川风味。
Nowadays many other types of chilli bean paste are found in supermarkets. These usually feature a range of spices that are added to enhance tastes, as well as other ingredients such as deep-fried slivers of beef and roasted sesame seeds and dried baby prawns; many of these are further flavoured with chilli oil. And although these can add variety to a kitchen, nothing beats the authentic Pixian douban for a true taste of Sichuan.
川菜博物馆位于郫都区古城镇荣华北巷8号（郫彭大道上，彭州以南9公里）。
电话：028-87918008, 028-87919399
网址：www.cdccbwg.com
The Museum of Sichuan Cuisine (also known as Chuancais Museum) is at 8 Ronghua North Road, Gucheng Town, Pixian County (it's on the main road between Pixian to Pengzhou, only 9km south of Pengzhou).
Tel: 028-87918008, 028-87919399
Website: www.cdccbwg.com
更多阅读
Editor's Pick
摘自《HELLO Chengdu》杂志
Excerpted from HELLO Chengdu magazine
撰稿 | Victor
By Victor
编辑 | 雕刻时光
Edited by J. Tarkovsky
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