2020-06-18

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汪曾祺的散文，怎么少得了谈吃的呢。

汪曾祺在云南读西南联大，对昆明比较熟悉。热衷美食的汪曾祺，对昆明美食自然要遍尝一番了。不能只会吃，还要会写。汪曾祺的笔，赋予了美食、小吃以色香味，让食美了起来。

《昆明菜》载于一九八七年第一期《滇池》，包含几篇小短文，分别介绍几样昆明菜，汽锅鸡就是其一。

这里摘选其中部分，翻译为英文。

今后会陆续翻译汪曾祺的其他散文的。

昆   明   菜

汪曾祺

我这篇东西是写给外地人看的，不是写给昆明人看的。和昆明人谈昆明菜，岂不成了笑话！其实不如说是写给我自己看的。我离开昆明整四十年了，对昆明菜一直不能忘。

昆明菜是有特点的。昆明菜——云南菜不属于中国的八大菜系。很多人以为昆明菜接近四川菜，其实并不一样。四川菜的特点是麻、辣。多数四川菜都要放郫县豆瓣、泡辣椒，而且放大量的花椒，——必得是川椒。中国很多省的人都爱吃辣，如湖南、江西，但像四川人那样爱吃花椒的地方不多。重庆有很多小面馆，门面的白墙上多用黑漆涂写三个大字“麻、辣、烫”，老远的就看得见。昆明菜不像四川菜那样既辣且麻。大抵四川菜多浓厚强烈，而昆明菜则比较清淡纯和。四川菜调料复杂，昆明菜重本味。比较一下怪味鸡和汽锅鸡，便知二者区别所在。

Kunming Dishes

I'm not writing this for the locals. What ridicule to write about Kunming dishes for Kunming people! This writing is so much more for myself, a man who last left Kunming four decades ago but always keeps fond memories of its dishes.

Kunming dishes - in general, the dishes of Yunnan Province are not among the Eight Chinese Cuisine Styles - are nevertheless a class apart. Though many assume that they are cozily close to the dishes in its neighboring Sichuan Province, it is simply not that case. Sichuan dishes, the majority of them that is, are seasoned with Pixian bean sauce, pickled chilies, and generous amount of prickly ash (and surely Sichuan prickly ash at that), so typically spicy and hot. Chilies are welcome in a number of parts in China, Hunan and Jiangxi included, but prickly ash is rarely such a love in other places as in Sichuan. Around on the streets in Chongqing there are many noodles restaurants, on the white fronts of which are written: Ma, La, Tang. These words are in black, so large that you can effortlessly pick them out at a distance. Kunming dishes are different however, not that hot or spicy. Sichuan dishes are strong and pungent, while Kunming dishes are blander and natural. Sichuan dishes are sophisticated in seasoning, while Kunming dishes give more of the natural tastes of food. These dissimilarities are to be appreciated in "spiced chicken with a wonderful taste", a Sichuan dish, and "steam pot chicken", a Kunming dish.