美味新奥尔良

by Karen Zhang

Do you like Jazz？ Do you like seafood？ Do you like French culture？ Do you want to experience a unique 1）facet of American culture？ New Orleans has it all.

In early summer， guided by Professor St. Germain， who is a New Orleans native， I joined a group of classmates to visit this colorful American city down south. This was a summer course for travel writers. Over the following two weeks， we had to travel to a 2）designated location abroad or at home and experience the local culture. As a requirement of the course， we had to keep a 3）journal for our everyday adventure. And at the end of the trip we had to complete a long travel piece—that was the biggest project for this writing course.

你喜欢爵士乐吗？海鲜和法国文化呢？你希望领略美国文化的独特一面吗？这些你都可以在新奥尔良找到。

初夏时节，在圣日耳曼教授（她是新奥尔良本地人）的带领下，我和同班同学造访了这个位于美国南部的缤纷城市。这趟旅程是针对游记作者的一项暑期课程。在接下来的两个星期里，我们要到海外或（美国）国内的指定地点体验当地文化。课程要求我们必须以日记记录每天的旅程。行程将要结束时，我们要完成一篇长游记，也是这次写作课最主要的一个项目。

So I would say this 4）field trip to New Orleans was not totally for fun since we were on 5）assignment. I 6）initially chose the 7）destination because I had heard so much about the food in New Orleans. To name a few， jambalaya （a mixed dish of meats， veggies and rice）， gumbo （a soupy dish 8）consisting of 9）stock， shellfish， veggies and spices）， étouffée（a dish with shellfish over rice）， Poboy （a long 10）submarine sandwich filled with fried seafood or roast beef）， beignets （a 11）pastry dessert served with powdered sugar on top） and more.

Dont let these strange words stop you from ordering the dishes. They are surprisingly delicious！ Located on the banks of the famous Mississippi River， about 170 kilometers upriver from the Gulf of Mexico， New Orleans shares a 12）significant geographical location. French 13）colonists once 14）occupied the city in the 18th century， until the British came along. New Orleans came to the United States as part of the Louisiana Purchase注1 of $15 million from France in 1803.

However， if you are 15）observant， you will still find French 16）influences in New Orleans. The names of foods are just the start. Just like French 17）cuisine， New Orleans 18）delicacies are 19）diverse and creative. If you are afraid to say it wrong—believe it or not， some food names look French but they have lost their French pronunciation in New Orleans—just point at something on the menu that you crave most.

由于我们有作业在身，我会说这次到新奥尔良的实地考察不只是游山玩水。我当初选择这个目的地，是因为我听过不少关于新奥尔良美食的事情，举几个来说：什锦饭（肉、蔬菜和米饭一起煮的一道菜）、秋葵汤饭（由肉汤、贝类、蔬菜和香料组成的一道汤菜）、蔬菜海鲜辣炖汤（饭上面浇上贝类的一道菜）、“穷小子”三明治（一种内夹煎海鲜或烤牛肉的长型潜艇三明治）、贝奈特饼（一种油酥甜点，端上来的时候在上面撒上糖粉），多不胜数。

点餐时，不要因为这些奇怪的名字而感到不知所措哦。它们意外地好吃！新奥尔良坐落在著名的密西西比河河岸上，处于墨西哥湾上游约170公里处，地理位置十分重要。法国殖民者曾在18世纪占领过这座城市，直到英国人来到后才离开。1803年，美国以1500万美元从法国手中购买土地，作为路易斯安那购地交易的一部分，新奥尔良归入美国。

然而，如果观察入微，你仍能在新奥尔良找到法国的影子。刚才那些食物的名字只是开始呢。新奥尔良的佳肴和法国菜同样充满变化，富有创意。如果你怕说错名字，那就随便指着餐牌上最吸引你的东西吧——信不信由你，一些食物的名字看起来像法文，但它们在新奥尔良早就失去了法语发音。

On this trip I tasted three different styles of 20）oysters—raw， fried and baked. At first I thought I would not like raw oysters as Chinese always say seafood should be cooked before eaten. But 21）apparently， the raw oysters were prepared cleaner than I thought. They were served on a tin plate filled with ice cubes.

“Oysters must be 22）chilled so their original taste will stand out，” Professor St. Germain said. As she said， she 23）demonstrated how New Orleanians ate raw oysters. She took one half-shelled raw oyster in one hand， and added 24）mustard and cocktail sauce with the other. She then 25）forked out the 26）slippery oyster and 27）sandwiched it with 28）saltine 29）crackers. With one bite， she had the cracker with oyster in her 30）palate. Mmm…even an observer like me could not 31）resist the 32）temptation.

I 33）followed suit and made my own raw oysters with crackers. But I preferred the naked oyster in my mouth. So the next few tries， I gave up the crackers. With the help of a fork， I 34）slurped a half-shelled oyster. I still remember its icy， slippery feel in my mouth， its juices 35）triggering my every 36）taste bud.

在这次旅行中，我尝试了三种不同口味的蚝——生的、煎的和烤的。我最初认为自己不会喜欢生蚝，因为中国人总是说海鲜要煮熟才能吃。但显然，这里的生蚝比我想象中要干净。生蚝端上来的时候被放在装满冰块的锡盘上。

“蚝一定要冰冻，这样才能带出它们的鲜味，”圣日耳曼教授说。她一边说，一边示范新奥尔良人吃生蚝的方法。她用一只手拿起一只半壳的生蚝，用另一只手加上芥末和鸡尾汁，然后用叉子将滑溜溜的生蚝夹在苏打饼中间。一口下去，饼干和生蚝就落入她嘴里。嗯……即使是我这样的旁观者都抵挡不住诱惑。

我学着她的样子制作起自己的生蚝饼干。但我更喜欢单纯生蚝的口感，于是在接下来的尝试中，我放弃了饼干。借助叉子，我大声地嚼着一只半壳生蚝。我依然记得它那冰冻滑溜的口感，蚝汁触发了我的每一处味蕾。

After comparing the three kinds of oysters， I had more votes for the raw oysters—a new way to explore seafood. Because New Orleans is 37）adjacent to several waterways， it is impossible not to mention its other seafood cuisine. For example， 38）crawfish is well known in this city. The freshwater 39）crustacean looks like a small lobster but not many tourists like it. Many think its too small to be worth the trouble of eating it or its simply too 40）filthy inside. But the local people eat everything on the crawfish， including its yellowish brain. Professor St. Germain showed us how New Orleanians sucked the head with a real skill of 41）disassembling the little crawfish. I lacked the courage to follow the professor this time. Instead， I ordered 42）broiled catfish which was meaty and sweet.

在对比了三种蚝之后，我更倾向生吃，也是尝试海鲜的新方式。由于新奥尔良毗邻数条水道，所以不得不提那里出产的其他海鲜。例如小龙虾在新奥尔良就很出名。这种淡水甲壳动物的样子很像小型龙虾，但不是很多游客喜欢它。很多游客觉得它个头太小，不值得费一番工夫去吃，或者纯粹觉得里面的东西太恶心。但当地人会食用小龙虾的每一个部分，包括黄色的脑袋。圣日耳曼教授向我们展示了新奥尔良人是怎样吸食虾头的，她拆解小龙虾的技术实在了得。这一次，我没有勇气跟着教授做，而是点了多肉鲜甜的烤小龙虾。

New Orleans cooking is greatly influenced by the Cajuns and Creoles—the local 43）ethnic groups consisting of French speakers from Acadia注2 and people of Spanish 44）descent. African Americans also 45）contribute to the local 46）culinary arts. If you say the United States is a salad of races， New Orleans is the 47）condensed version of the salad. For example， every family has its own gumbo 48）recipe. I tried the family gumbo prepared by Professor St. Germain. It was in a meat 49）broth. When I ordered a gumbo in a restaurant， it was a seafood broth. Even another restaurant where I ordered the seafood gumbo， its taste was spicier and thicker.

So I guess I could not be a food critic in New Orleans on this trip yet—simply because its worldfamous food had too many uncertainties and surprises. But one thing I was sure of， when I was in New Orleans， I could proudly quote Scarlett OHara注3 in Gone with the Wind， “Ill never be hungry again.”

新奥尔良的烹调方式深受卡真人和克利奥尔人（来自阿卡迪亚的法语者和西班牙人后裔组成的当地少数民族）的影响。非洲裔美国人也对当地的烹饪艺术贡献良多。如果说美国是由各个种族组成的一碗“沙拉”，那么新奥尔良就是这碗“沙拉”的浓缩版。比如说，各家各户都有自己的一套秋葵汤饭做法。我尝过圣日耳曼教授家做的秋葵汤饭，里面是肉羹；我在一家饭店点的秋葵汤饭，里面却是海鲜汤；甚至当我在另一家饭店点了同一道菜，它的味道则更辣、更浓。

看来在这次旅行结束后，我还成不了新奥尔良的食评家——因为它那享誉世界的美食变化多端，充满惊喜。但有一样东西我可以确定——当我身在新奥尔良，我可以自豪地引用斯佳丽·奥哈拉在《飘》里的话：“我再也不会挨饿了。”