2020年经济学人 盘子上的移民--中餐在美国的发展(2)

 

The comfort of strangers

陌生人的慰藉

Chinese restaurants began to open in America in the mid-19th century, clustering on the west coast where the first immigrants landed. They mostly served an Americanised version of Cantonese cuisine¹— chop suey, egg fu yung and the like. In that century and much of the 20th, the immigrants largely came from China’s south-east, mainly Guangdong province.

中餐馆于19世纪中叶开始在美国出现，并集中在第一批移民登陆的西海岸。他们提供的大多是美式粤菜——炒杂碎、芙蓉蛋等等。在那个世纪和20世纪的大部分时间里，移民主要来自中国的东南部，主要是广东省。

After the immigration reforms of 1965 removed ethnic² quotas³ that limited non- European inflows, Chinese migrants from other regions started to arrive. Restaurants began calling their food “Hunan” and “Sichuan”, and though it rarely bore much resemblance to what was actually eaten in those regions, it was more diverse and boldly spiced than the sweet, fried stuff that defined the earliest Chinese menus. By the 1990s adventurous⁴ diners in cities with sizeable Chinese populations could choose from an array of regional cuisines⁵. A particular favourite was Sichuan food, with its addictively⁶ numbing⁷ fire (the Sichuan peppercorn has a slightly anaesthetising, tongue- buzzing effect).

1965年的移民改革取消了限制非欧洲移民流入的种族配额后，来自其他地区的中国移民开始涌入。餐馆开始称他们的食物为“湖南”和“四川”，尽管它很少与这些地区的实际饮食有太多相似之处，但它比中国最早的菜单上的甜炸菜更多样化，口味也更丰富。到上世纪90年代，在中国人口众多的城市里，敢于冒险的食客们可以从一系列地方菜系中做出选择。其中最受欢迎的是川菜，它让人上瘾的是让人麻木的辣(花椒有轻微的麻醉和舌头嗡嗡的效果)。

Yet over the decades, as Chinese food became ubiquitous, it also—beyond the niche⁸ world of connoisseurs—came to be standardised. There are almost three times as many Chinese restaurants in America (41,000) as McDonald’s. Virtually every small town has one and, generally, the menus are consistent: pork dumplings (steamed or fried); the same two soups (hot and sour, wonton); stir-fries listed by main ingredient, with a pepper icon⁹ or star indicating a meagre trace of chilli-flakes. Dishes over $10 are grouped under “chef’s specials”. There are modest variations: in Boston, takeaways often come with bread and feature a dark, molasses-sweetened sauce; a Chinese-Latino creole cuisine developed in upper Manhattan. But mostly you can, as at McDonald’s, order the same thing in Minneapolis as in Fort Lauderdale.

然而，在过去的几十年里，随着中国食品变得无处不在，它也开始标准化——超越了鉴赏家的小众世界。美国的中餐馆(41000家)几乎是麦当劳的三倍。几乎每个小镇都有中餐馆，而且菜单通常都是一样的：猪肉饺子(蒸饺或煎饺)；同样的两种汤（酸辣汤和馄饨）； 按主要成分列出的炒菜，用辣椒图标或星星辣椒碎的含量。超过10美元的菜肴被归为“厨师特色菜”。在波士顿，外卖通常会搭配面包，配上深色的糖蜜酱；一种中国-拉美克里奥尔菜系，在曼哈顿上城发展起来。但大多数情况下，你可以像在麦当劳那样，在明尼阿波利斯点和劳德代尔堡一样的东西。

Until recently, the prices varied¹⁰ as little as the menus—and they were low. Eddie Huang, a Taiwanese-American restaurateur turned author and presenter¹¹, recounts how his newly arrived father kept his prices down because “immigrants can’t sell anything full-price in America.”

直到最近，价格的变化几乎和菜单一样小，而且价格很低。黄艾迪是一名台湾裔美国餐馆老板，后来转行当了作家和主持人，他讲述了他新到美国的父亲是如何压低价格的，因为“移民在美国卖不出全价”。

1 cuisine   

n.烹调，烹饪法

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• This restaurant is renowned for its cuisine.这家餐馆以其精美的饭菜而闻名。

2 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

3 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

4 adventurous   

adj.爱冒险的；惊心动魄的，惊险的，刺激的　

参考例句：

• I was filled with envy at their adventurous lifestyle.我很羨慕他们敢于冒险的生活方式。
• He was predestined to lead an adventurous life.他注定要过冒险的生活。

5 cuisines   

n.烹饪( cuisine的名词复数 )；菜肴；（通常指昂贵的饭店中的）饭菜；烹饪艺术

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the different features of these cuisines? 能不能告诉我这些不同的烹调流派各自有哪些特点？ 来自地道口语脱口SHOW 高中超越版
• Ice sculptures are used as decorations in some cuisines, especially in Asia. 冰雕在某些菜肴中被当作装饰品，尤其在亚洲。 来自互联网

6 addictively   

使成瘾的； 上瘾的； 易令人沉溺的

参考例句：

• Heroin is highly addictive. 海洛因很容易使人上瘾。
• The problem with video game is that they're addictive. 电子游戏机的问题在于它们会使人上瘾。

7 numbing   

adj.使麻木的，使失去感觉的v.使麻木，使麻痹( numb的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Watching television had a numbing effect on his mind. 看电视使他头脑麻木。
• It was numbing work, requiring patience and dedication. 这是一种令人麻木的工作，需要有耐心和忘我精神。 来自辞典例句

8 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

9 icon   

n.偶像，崇拜的对象，画像

参考例句：

• They found an icon in the monastery.他们在修道院中发现了一个圣像。
• Click on this icon to align or justify text.点击这个图标使文本排齐。

10 varied   

adj.多样的，多变化的

参考例句：

• The forms of art are many and varied.艺术的形式是多种多样的。
• The hotel has a varied programme of nightly entertainment.宾馆有各种晚间娱乐活动。

11 presenter   

n.（电视、广播的）主持人，赠与者

参考例句：

• Most people think being a television presenter is exciting.很多人认为当电视节目主持人是一件刺激的事情。
• The programme dispensed with its most popular presenter.这个节目最受欢迎的主持人被换掉了。