中華文化英文講系列（2）：帶外國朋友吃北京烤鴨

外國人來到北京，大約有兩件事情是非做不可的：一是登長城（the Great Wall），二是吃北京烤鴨（Beijing Roast Duck）。登完長城，體力也消耗得差不多了，下來正好吃一頓正宗的北京烤鴨。這樣的一天對于老外來說，真是好好體味了一把中華文化。那么，烤鴨有哪些歷史？便宜坊和全聚德的烤鴨到底有什么不同？烤鴨有什么吃法和講究？“全鴨宴”都有哪些菜品和小吃？這些內容又該怎么用英文跟外國朋友介紹呢？在本期文章中，筆者就來解答這些問題。

烤鴨的歷史以及“燜爐”與“掛爐”

烤鴨的歷史最早可以追溯到1000多年前的南北朝時期。要用英文表達這句話，重點在于“追溯”這個詞。我們先來看看英美主要新聞媒體在報道中是怎么表達“追溯”的。

①The two universities have links that date back to 1873 when settlers established the city’s cathedral. （From www.bbc.com）

②While the latter can trace its history back to the Romans， Düsseldorf’s rise came only with industrialization in the 19th century. （From www.washingtonpost.com）

③Most food historians agree that the traditional New York bagel’s origins lie in Poland， where it can be traced back to at least the 1700s. （From www.newyork.com）

由此可以學習“追溯”的三種表達方式，寫出以下三個句子。

①Roast duck dates back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties and has a history of more than 1，000 years.

②Roast duck can trace its history back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties more than 1，000 years ago.

③Roast duck can be traced back to the Southern and Northern Dynasties， and has been around in China for more than 1，000 years.

1. 便宜坊和燜爐烤鴨

說起北京烤鴨，大家最先想到的就是全聚德。其實早在全聚德出現400多年以前，在明朝永樂年間的1416年，京城就出現了以“燜爐烤鴨”著稱的便宜坊。當時，烤鴨所采用的工藝都是燜爐，而不是現在大家熟知的全聚德掛爐工藝。

要介紹燜爐的工藝，首先需要了解燜爐工藝的一些基本要素：①燜爐之“燜”指的是爐門關閉；②燜爐烤鴨不用明火，烤鴨時，爐內的火要被熄滅，將鴨坯放進烤爐以后要迅速關上爐門，以保持爐內溫度，用爐壁的熱力烘烤鴨子；③由于整個烤制過程爐門關閉，因此鴨子不能移動。綜合如上內容，可以得到下面這兩段英文表述。

The ancient technique of roast duck suggests that the chef keeps the duck inside the oven without fire. The fire is initially lit and the oven heated， but the fire is then extinguished before the duck is put inside the oven. Once the duck is placed into the oven， the door is shut immediately to retain the heat. The duck is roasted with the remaining heat. Since the door is closed， the duck cannot be moved during the whole process.

The most famous roast duck restaurant which uses this technique is called Bianyifang， meaning “a convenient and pleasant restaurant.” Founded in the early 1400s， the restaurant has a history of more than 600 years.

2. 全聚德和掛爐烤鴨

全聚德創立于清朝同治年間的1864年，因此就北京烤鴨來說，可以說是先有便宜坊，后有全聚德。與便宜坊的燜爐烤鴨不同，全聚德采用的是掛爐工藝。這種工藝據說是由一位宮廷廚師創造，主要包含如下兩個要素：①與燜爐不同，鴨子由明火烤制，整個烤制過程中火不熄滅，但鴨子不是直接由火烤熟，而是火的熱量傳導到爐壁，爐壁的熱量再反射到鴨子身上；②烤制過程中爐門敞開，鴨子要不時翻動。這些內容可以用如下的英文來表達。

Another technique of roast duck was invented in the mid-19th century by a chef who once worked in the imperial kitchen. Unlike Bianyifang， the duck hangs in the oven with the fire lit. The fire transmits the heat to the wall of the oven and the heat is reflected onto the duck to roast it. During the whole process， the duck should be moved occasionally to make sure every part of the duck has been roasted with enough heat.

The most well-known restaurant to savor the duck roasted with this technique is called Quanjude， established in the Qing Dynasty about 150 years ago. It is also the earliest restaurant adopting this technique of roasting ducks.

如何評判烤鴨的品質

中國人在判斷菜品質量的優劣時經常使用色、香、味這三個標準。對烤鴨品質的評判也基本沿襲了這三個標準，并形成了自身獨特的具體標準：外形油光發亮，顏色棗紅，有撲鼻清香和微微熱氣。

“外形油光發亮”可以說shiny in appearance，“微微熱氣”可以用hot with a slight amount of steam來表達。下面來重點看一下“顏色棗紅”和“清香”如何表達。

我們所說的“棗紅”是和棗一樣的顏色，但是棗在西方并不常見，西方人很難理解“棗紅”是一種什么樣的顏色，所以在用英文表達時沒必要體現“棗”這個概念。“棗紅”的顏色基本是一種紅色，只是紅中帶紫，所以可以說是purplish red，而purplish red的說法在英美國家也經常使用。還有一個詞與它同義，是claret （紫紅色），也可以用在這里。這就告訴我們，在用英文表達顏色時，一定要注意社會文化背景的因素，不能字對字、詞對詞死板地翻譯。

“清香”如何用英文表達呢？英語中表示香味的詞有很多，比如fragrant、scented等。柯林斯詞典對fragrant的解釋是“something that is fragrant has a pleasant， sweet smell”，對scented的解釋是“scented things have a pleasant smell， either naturally or because perfume has been added to them”。這兩個詞都可以用，烤鴨散發出的果木香味也基本能體現出來。不過，“果木香味”這一特殊的品質在英語里有一個專門的詞aromatic。柯林斯詞典對這個詞的解釋為“an aromatic plant or food has a strong， pleasant smell of herbs or spices”，可見用這個詞來形容烤鴨的清香最為貼切。

綜合如上內容，可以寫出下面這句話：“The quality of Beijing Roast Duck can be judged by four standards—shiny in appearance， purplish red （claret） in color， aromatic in smell and hot with a slight amount of steam.”

北京烤鴨的三大“看點”

北京烤鴨不僅好吃，還是值得欣賞的藝術品，這可能是外國朋友在吃烤鴨時最為關注的。北京烤鴨的“看點”歸結起來大約有三個：①烤鴨裝在大盤子里，廚師推著餐車送到客人桌邊；②廚師在客人桌邊用嫻熟的刀功片鴨；③片出的每片鴨肉都帶著酥脆鮮亮的鴨皮。這些內容可以用英文表達如下。

After ordering roast duck， diners wait for the chef to come by with a buffet cart upon which is a large plate containing a whole roast duck. The chef then skillfully slices the tender juicy meat on the spot， which is a fabulous art worth appreciating. Each piece of meat is sliced in a way so that it is edged with crispy duck skin.

吃烤鴨的講究

欣賞完片鴨肉，就該開吃了！怎么教外國人吃烤鴨呢？

1. 烤鴨的“標配”

餐桌上除了片好的鴨肉（slices of meat），還有一盤蔥絲（sliced spring onions）和黃瓜條（cucumber strips）、一盤甜面醬（sweet sauce made of fermented flour）、一盤荷葉餅（lotus-leaf-like pancakes）。同時，還有一小盤沒有肉的鴨皮（crispy skin）配一小盤綿白糖（soft white sugar）。這些應該就算是吃烤鴨的“標配”（standard companions to roast duck）了。

關于荷葉餅，筆者在此多解釋幾句。這里所說的pancake跟英美人士日常生活中所理解的pancake還是有一些區別的。筆者個人認為用美國人比較熟悉的墨西哥烙餅（tortilla）打比方可能更容易理解。不過，我們的荷葉餅比這種墨西哥烙餅更薄、更軟，是蒸制的而不是烤制的。

綜合上面這些內容，烤鴨的“標配”可以用如下一段英文來表達。

Each table is served with two plates—one with slices of meat and one with just crispy skin. The standard companions to roast duck include a plate of sliced spring onions and cucumber strips， a plate of sweet sauce made of fermented flour and a plate of lotus-leaf-like pancakes. The pancakes are similar to tortillas， but thinner and softer. They are made of flour， but unlike tortillas， are steamed， not baked， and are paper thin. In addition， a bowl of soft white sugar is also provided to be added to the crispy skin.

2. 吃烤鴨的步驟

吃烤鴨的步驟對于中國人來說再簡單不過了，但是對于老外來說是陌生的，因此得把這一來二去解釋清楚。

拿出一片荷葉餅，放在自己的盤子里。鴨肉蘸甜面醬，放入荷葉餅中，再加入蔥絲、黃瓜條。卷起荷葉餅，就可以大快朵頤了！除此以外，還有一盤烤得金黃的鴨皮，蘸著白糖，趁熱吃下去，香酥可口。這些內容可以用英文表達如下。

Place a pancake on your plate. Dip one or two slices of meat into the sweet sauce， add a few onion slices and cucumber strips， wrap the pancake and take a bite！ The plate of crispy duck skin is best eaten while still warm. Dip the skin into the soft white sugar， put it into your mouth， and savor the delicious taste.

3. 鴨架的吃法

烤鴨片完之后會留下一副鴨架，主要是鴨子的骨架，但是上面還留有不少肉。勤儉的中國人民是不會浪費的。一般來說，烤鴨店會為客人提供兩種形式的加工方法，以供選擇。一種是鴨架湯，經過長時間的熬制，湯白味香；還有一種是椒鹽鴨架，即將鴨架剁成小塊，經過油炸、椒鹽調味等工序制作而成。這些內容可以用英文表達如下。

The remaining duck bone can also be cooked into a number of dishes. It can be either stewed to make cream-white soup or fried with pepper-salt added as seasoning.

全鴨宴

除去鴨肉和鴨架，鴨的其他部位（通常被稱為“下水”）也可以被利用起來，烹飪出精致味美的各類菜品或小吃。針對不同的部位，做法通常也不一樣，比如醬鴨翅、醬鴨掌、紅酒鴨心、鹽水鴨肝、鹽水鴨胗等，不一而足。即使針對同一部位，通常也有不止一種做法。連同烤鴨、鴨架湯（或椒鹽鴨架），這一桌豐盛的宴席就叫做“全鴨宴”。英文表達可以參考如下內容。

The thrifty Chinese people will not give up any edible part of the duck， including the innards. Wings and feet are usually cooked in soy sauce and the livers and gizzards are boiled in salted-water. The heart is often cooked in red wine， and has a slight alcoholic aroma. A dinner where all of the dishes are made of a duck is called a “Full-duck Banquet.”

北京烤鴨作為享譽海內外的一道名吃，已經成為北京乃至中國的一張名片。外國友人來中國時，我們如果能把烤鴨的這些門道給他們都說道說道，那無疑是為“中國文化走出去”的大戰略做出了自己的小貢獻。

正所謂：大戰略，小貢獻，北京烤鴨道一遍；燜爐烤，挺古老，千年工藝傳家寶；及清朝，改良好，掛爐開烤不得了；吃烤鴨，要記牢，鴨肉蘸醬蔥別少；黃瓜條，有腔調，飯后去腥免煩惱；鴨骨架，有大功，湯燉骨炒椒鹽烹；鴨下水，別浪費，百般料理皆美味；華夏行，都看遍，京城一道全鴨宴！