高汤

高汤

CHINESE BROTH

Text by Guo Dan Translation by Shi Yu Illustrations by Haolun Zhang

Broth is the basis of good fl avour, yet the ways of making broth are varied throughout the world. The French use beef bones, the Japanese use skipjack and kelp, whilst in China there are various kinds of broth due to its vast territory and abundant resources; for example, pork bone broth and chicken broth. In Rudong County, Natong, Jiangsu, a house wife who is good at cooking uses clams to prepare her broth.

Rudong is rich in the fi nest clams, plump, fresh and tender beyond compare. Rudong people use clams instead of gourmet powder when frying vegetables; the fl avour that clams give to the dish is far superior to the gourmet powder. Rudong people use special tools to open the clams and take the meat, collecting the juice which will be boiled, refrigerated and voila! This will make the best broth. In Rudong, “the City Built upon Clam Shells”, even common markets have set up an exclusive sector for clams, treated similarly to meats, seafood and vegetables. That is how important the clam is in Rudong.

Clam is pronounced “Wen Ge” in Chinese, but Rudong natives call it otherwise — “Che Bie”, an ancient name, ref l ecting the long history of Rudong people eating clams. Wang Anshi, a famous poet in the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), wrote in one verse: “Che Bie is the best of all meat, boil, grill, no matter how you deal with it”.

How do I know all of this? When I was a child, the wife of my grandpa's brother used to make broth with clams, scallops and other shellf i sh, which gradually made me dislike chicken and pork broth just because they are too oily. Given this, it is truly fair to say "no other mountain seems charming after returning from Huangshan Mountain; no other clam tastes as good after returning from Rudong."

Kallen Guosenior filmmaker, socialite and bestselling author, authored Don't Fall in Love with Zurich, the winner of The Best Foreign Language Novel.郭丹资深影视人、名媛、畅销书作家。代表作包括最佳外语小说奖获得作品《别爱苏黎世》等。

高汤是真味之源，各地人做高汤的方法却不一：法国人用牛骨；日本人用鲣鱼、昆布；而中国地大，高汤花样也繁多，常见如筒骨高汤、鸡高汤……而在江苏南通的如东县，善料理的主妇则用文蛤。

江苏如东盛产文蛤，非但产量大，且质量尤佳，肥美鲜嫩为他处所不及。文蛤肉用来替代味精炒各式蔬菜，其鲜美非生硬的味精鲜味能及。文蛤用专门的工具剖开取肉，把过程中文蛤流出的汁水专门收集起来，煮沸后候凉冷冻便是烹饪用的绝佳高汤。在如东这个“建在文蛤壳堆上的城市”，就连菜市场都设有文蛤的独立分区，能与“肉类区”“海鲜区”“蔬菜区”平级。足以见得文蛤在如东的重要地位。

地道的如东人不叫“文蛤”为“文蛤”，而是称之为“车螯”——这个古词也体现了如东人食文蛤的悠远历史。北宋王安石有诗：“车螯肉甚美，由美得烹燔”，即指此。

为什么我知道这些？我小时候东方婶婆就爱用蛤蜊花甲贝壳青口做高汤——以至于我不喜欢鸡汤和猪汤，觉得油。“黄山归来不看岳，如东归来不吃蛤”是不夸张的。