泰餐与重庆菜的距离

◇ 文图|吴 平（泰国）

Arphon Thiragun，中文名吴平，生于泰国孔敬府，本科毕业于孔敬大学，硕士毕业于西南大学，现为西南大学汉语言文献研究所在读博士研究生。专注读书，热爱旅行，钟情烹饪，痴迷花草。

Arphon Thiragun, who uses the Chinese name Wu Ping, was born in Khon Kaen, Thailand. After she graduated from Khon Kaen University with a bachelor’s degree, she studied in Southwest University and obtained her master’s degree. Now she is a doctor student studying in Institute for Chinese Language & Document, Southwest University. Not just a booklover, she is also a big fan of travelling, who loves cooking and growing flowers and plants.

我出生在泰国东北部的孔敬府，在传统泰国美食的浸淫中长大。

泰国东北菜系既有声名远扬、妇孺皆知的酸辣虾汤、椰汁鸡、泰式红咖喱，也有地域色彩浓郁、地方风味突出的青木瓜沙拉、辣肉末沙拉、炭烤猪颈肉等。再加上品种丰富的泰式小吃、饮料、水果，让我觉得泰国菜就是全天下最美味，也是最治愈系的菜肴，它是伴随我成长记忆而慢慢凝聚成的一种认同感。

机缘巧合，我在泰国念大学的时候，被选中到重庆做短期的交换学习。短暂的学习，让我爱上了重庆这座城市的美景和美食。后来，我努力学习申请奖学金，数年后再次回到重庆攻读硕士和博士学位，很重要的原因就是我真的无敌喜欢重庆菜。

01 泰国超市的新鲜榴莲和其他新鲜热带水果

02 多用于婚礼上的泰国金福糕点

Born in Khon Kaen, the northeast of Thailand, I grew up with traditional Thailand food.

My hometown is not only famous for its northeast Thailand cuisine, such as wellknow Tom Yum Khung, Tom Kha Gai, Gaeng Phet, but also enjoys a widespread reputation in the food with strong local flavor like Som Tam, Larb, Ko Moo Yang. Plus the rich variety of Thailand snacks, drinks and fruits, it makes me feel that Thailand food is the most delicious and fantastic cuisine in the world. Actually, it is a sense of identity that is gradually formed with my growing memory.

By chance, I was chosen to go to Chongqing for a short-term exchange when I was at college in Thailand. It is precisely because of the chance that I loved the beautiful scenery and delicious cuisine of Chongqing. Several years later, I worked hard to apply for the scholarship and returned to Chongqing again to study for the master and doctor’s degree. One of the important reasons behind it is my extremely fond of Chongqing cuisine.

花椒：从崩溃到喜爱的味道

How I Start to Love Sichuan Pepper from Giving It a Wide Berth

多年前的七月，当我第一次踏上重庆的土地时就惊呆了：热气蒸腾的天气，热心暖意的当地人，跟泰国很像；而更让我觉得有归属感的是，重庆有我最爱的辣椒！原来两个地方因为闷热气候，都需要食辣来化解人体内部的湿热。

重庆菜跟主打酸辣风的泰国菜在口味上最大的差别，是大量添加的花椒。

在英语中被称为Sichuan Pepper 的这种调料，据说曾经是古代皇宫的后妃居所中所必备的香料，在古代汉语里有“椒房”的美名。

后妃们一定很爱这种味道，但对于在饮食史上花椒缺席的泰国人来说，花椒一开始带给我的刺激是拒绝和崩溃的：怎么会有这样刺激舌根到麻木、让大脑都要瘫痪的调料。

我甚至知道，有个调皮的学弟，离开重庆前给家人购置回国手信，竟然买了一大包花椒，他说要让家里人都知道，他在重庆过的是如何的“麻辣人生”，让大家都来一起吃苦、感同身受。可把我笑坏了。

后来的我，慢慢地爱上了花椒这种酥酥麻麻、让食物的香味在舌尖上跳跃的感觉了。虽然偶尔咬到一粒花椒籽，还是会麻到流泪，但无形之间却拉近了我和重庆的距离。因为我自己在做泰国菜的时候，偶尔也会想着放一点花椒，变成一种改良版菜肴的新口味。

I was pleasantly surprised when I set foot on Chongqing for the first time in July several years ago: the hot weather, passionate local people are so much like Thailand; what made me feel a sense of belong is that Chongqing has peppers, which is my favorite! The sweltering weather in both Thailand and Chongqing has required spicy peppers to dissolve our hot and humid constitution.

But the biggest difference between Chongqing cuisine and Thai cuisine featured with sour and hot flavor, is the heavy addition of Sichuan pepper.

Sichuan Pepper, as a seasoning, is said to be the requisite spice for the concubines in ancient imperial palace and it enjoyed the good name of “Room of Pepper” in ancient Chinese.

I suppose that the concubines must love this flavor. However, as a Thai who had never eaten Sichuan Pepper before, I couldn’t accept the taste of Sichuan pepper at the very beginning. I was reluctant to taste such an irritant seasoning and I could feel my root of tongue numb and my brain paralyzed!

I once heard a story that a naughty school brother bought a large bag of Sichuan pepper for his family as a gift before he left Chongqing and returned home by saying that he wanted his family to know how he lived the “pungent and spicy life” in Chongqing and he’d like his family to feel what he felt. This is really interesting and it cracks me up.

03 火锅里大把大把的花椒粒，最初让我有多崩溃，后来就让我有多喜爱

Later, I gradually fell in love with Sichuan pepper for its pungent and scrumptious taste. It tastes so divine and I even can feel it spreading in my tongue tip. Though I am stung into tears occasionally when I bite a prickly ash seed, I feel I am closer to be a Chongqing person unknowingly. Now when I cook some Thailand food, I would always put some Sichuan pepper to add a new taste.

打卡：寻味“重庆美食心愿清单”

Going Every Corner to Seek for the “List of Chongqing cuisine”

现在重庆也开了很多家泰国餐厅了，我可以很容易地吃到来自家乡的味道。

但我更大的乐趣，是按本地朋友的推荐，在重庆的大街小巷里闻香觅食。

没有课的时候，我就像只小馋虫一样，在我的“重庆美食心愿清单”上去寻味。

火锅是重庆的名片，我也喜欢去本地人喜欢的防空洞、地下室、巷子口、堡坎下、山顶顶、路边边这样极具重庆地方特色的店面：配上土灶和长凳，在浓郁凝滞的牛油打底、秘门配方独家熬制的红艳香浓的汤汁中把那些牛肚、猪喉、鹅肠、鸡血、土豆、藕片、苕粉、豆芽等等迅速烫熟（很多菜品令外国人闻风丧胆，但吃过就会爱上），再放进香油、蒜泥、调味盐的小碗里翻滚一下，趁热入嘴，那味道跟泰式小火锅的温婉细腻完全不一样。

04/05 毛肚、鸭肠、脑花，这些菜品光听名字就令外国人闻风丧胆，但吃过就会爱上

我吃过知名连锁的小天鹅、德庄、刘一手，也吃过小众的莽子、大龙、黄姐，我觉得它们各有千秋。

江湖菜也是我的心头爱，虽然我对卫生环境有点担心，但仍然无法抵御江湖菜来自舌尖的挑逗和诱惑：简单粗暴的猛火急烹，一锅锅、一盘盘色香味俱全的美食三下五除二就摆在了眼前，品种丰富到目不暇接。

我最喜欢吃鸡肉和鱼肉，鸡肉已经打卡了南山泉水鸡、歌乐山辣子鸡、李子坝梁山鸡、石灰市芋儿鸡、酒鼎尖椒鸡、铁山坪花椒鸡、黔江鸡杂等，鱼肉则吃过了潼南太安鱼、綦江北渡鱼、江津酸菜鱼、璧山来凤鱼、翠云水煮鱼、大足邮亭鲫鱼、三溪口豆腐鱼等。

再加上外国人根本不敢下嘴的一些菜品，比如烤脑花。猪脑还可以烤着吃？吓！这么肥腻的食物，也就重庆人敢吃吧，把挑干净血丝的脑花放在锡箔纸内慢慢烤熟，再佐以干辣椒面、花椒面以及其它的佐料，竟然完全没有任何腥味，入口油而不腻。

对了，还有一款令很多外国人都鬼哭狼嚎的怪菜：凉拌折耳根。它以新鲜鱼腥草的茎叶为主，拌上红油、辣椒、花椒、白糖、香醋，这股鱼腥味真的是让人无法言说！

Nowadays, there are many Thai restaurants in Chongqing and I can easily eat the food with my hometown taste.

But my bigger fun is to seek for different kinds of food in the streets and alleyways of Chongqing on the local friends' recommendation.

When I am not in class, I usually go everywhere to seek the tasty food on my “List of Chongqing cuisine”, just like a glutton.

Hot pot is the symbol of Chongqing and it will be the first thing in your mind at the mere mention of Chongqing. I also like to go to small restaurants with local features of Chongqing no matter whether it is in an airraid shelter, basement, alley, under a fort, at the top of a mountain or at the roadside. Just imagine, sit on the bench in front of the mud stove, watch the strong caky beef tallow bottoming melting in the red and rich flavor cooking liquor exclusively made with secret recipe and pick up a chopstick of tripe, pork aorta, goose intestine, chicken blood, potatoes, lotus root slices, batata starch, bean sprout and put into the soup to boil it for a moment (Many foreigners may be frightened by the dish name but will love it after taking a taste of it) and then put it into the source dish with sesame oil, mashed garlic and seasoning salt to roll it over so that the source will be completely covered and then put it into your mouth to enjoy the delectable taste. It is totally different from the light Thai little hot pot.

I have ever been to well-known chain stores such as Cygnet, Morals Village, Liu Yishou, and also some niche restaurants such as Mangzi, Dalong, Huangjie. I like them all and they all have their own characteristics.

I am also fond of different folk flavor cuisines. Though I am a little worried about the sanitation, I still can’t resist its tease and tempt to my tip of tongue. Simply cooked with high firing, dishes with perfect combination of color, aroma and taste will soon be served on the table in front of you. There are of such a great variety that you feel like you want to eat them all.

My favorite food is chicken and fish. So far, I have had Nanshan Spring Chicken, Geleshan Spicy Chicken, Liziba Liangshan Chicken, Shihui Chicken with Taro, Jiuding Chicken with Chili Pepper, Tieshanping Pepper Chicken, Qianjiang Chicken Giblets, etc.; as for fish, I have had Tongnan Tai’an Fish, Qijiang Beidu Fish, Jiangjin Boiled Fish with Pickled Cabbage and Chill, Bishan Laifeng Fish, Cuiyun Poached Fish in Chili Oil, Dazu Youting Crucian, Sanxikou Fish with Beancurd, etc.

06 走世界也要品美食，新西兰生煎三文鱼和沙拉

07 我在泰国菜里创意性地添加了一些重庆菜的元素

I even have tasted some dishes that foreigners usually dare not to eat at the mere mention of the name, for example, roasted pig brain. What? Can pig brain be roasted? How scaring it is!" such questions may come up in your mind. I am afraid only Chongqing people dare to eat such rich and greasy food. They put the brain that blood streak is picked clean into the silver paper to toast it and then scatter chili powder, pepper powder and other seasonings and thus, a flavorful dish is done. You will surprisingly find that there is not any smell of blood, oil but not greasy.

Well, I can't help myself to introduce you another weird dish that frightens many foreigners: cold houttuynia cordata. With the stern and leaves of fresh houttuynia cordata as the main food material, it is mixed with red oil, chili, pepper, white sugar, aromatic vinegar. Words will fall through to describe the fishlike smell!

美食：消弭距离的世界语言

Cate is a World Language that Makes the Distance Disappear

慢慢地，我开始学着做一些重庆菜，或者在我熟悉的泰国菜里创意性地添加一些重庆菜的元素，原来也还蛮好玩的！

因为读书生活，我在重庆已经呆了好多年了，已经深深地爱上了这座重油重辣重盐的城市。虽然我博士毕业在即，很快就要踏上归程，但心里是舍不得离开的。

泰国菜对于我来说，是沁入骨髓的乡愁；而重庆菜，也迟早会化作我身心的一部分。

要我说，泰餐与重庆菜的距离，它不是2000 公里一张机票的量化，而是日渐增进了解之后的“盈盈山水间、脉脉相与语”。

食物是世界上共通的语言，就让我们用最简朴的食物文化来消弭距离——这是我们对美食的忠诚！为了把这段距离进一步拉近，回到泰国后，我想有机会也开一家小小的重庆菜馆，让来泰国旅行的重庆人，在泰渝融合菜品中发现更多的熟悉和惊喜。

Gradually, I started to learn to cook some Chongqing dishes, or creatively add some elements of Chongqing cuisine into Thai cuisine and I found it a big fun!

I've been in Chongqing for many years for my study and I’ve deeply fallen in love with this city with strong oily, spicy and salty food. I will graduate soon with a doctor’s degree and leave the beloved city, but I know I am reluctant and I love this city!

For me, Thai cuisine is the nostalgia infusing into my bone; while Chongqing cuisine will be part of my mind and body one day.

If you ask me how I feel about the difference between Thai cuisine and Chongqing cuisine, I will say it is not a mere air ticket with 2000km distance, but an appreciation of each other after mutual understanding.

Food is the common language in the world and let’s bridge the distance with the simplest food culture-this is our loyalty to cate! To draw the distance close, if there is a chance, I might run a small Chongqing restaurant after I return to Thailand so that the Chongqing people who come to Thailand for travelling will find more familiarity and surprise in the Thai-Chongqing integrated cuisine!