The Nostalgia Behind Your Favorite Chinese Food | Vincent Yeow Lim | TED

翻译人员: Yang Yang 校对人员: Yu Xie

My grandfather was a restaurant owner.

我的祖父是个餐馆老板。

My father was a restaurant owner.

我父亲是个餐馆老板，

My name is Vincent Yeow Lim.

我的名字是林耀。

I'm a chef, content creator and restaurant owner.

我是一个厨师、内容创作者 还是一个餐馆老板。

Owning and running a Chinese restaurant

拥有并经营一家中餐馆

is one of the hardest and most valuable things I think you can do.

是最困难也是令人 最有价值感的事情之一。

当我们刚到澳大利亚的时候 我爸爸开了一家中餐馆。

When we first arrived in Australia, my dad opened a Chinese restaurant.

I would go there every single day to help him out.

我每天都 会去那里帮忙。

That was my way to spend time with him.

这是我与他相处的方式。

And slowly I developed my love for cooking.

在此期间我也逐渐发现了 我对烹饪的热爱。

At the age of 15,

在15岁的时候，

我就能够使用 炒锅来为顾客做菜。

I was able to use a wok to cook and to serve customers.

Now I’m running a 100-seater Chinese restaurant.

现在我正经营着 一家100座的中国餐馆。

The hard work that I saw my dad put into Chinese food

我看到了父亲在中餐上 倾注的心血

makes me feel really proud.

这让我感到非常自豪。

自豪我足够幸运能跟着 一位大师学习。

Proud that I was lucky enough to learn from a master.

When I tell people that I'm a chef cooking Chinese food,

当我告诉别人 我是一名中餐厨师时，

I want people to value it the same way that I do.

我想要人们 像我一样重视它。

So what is the value of Chinese food?

那么中餐的价值是什么？

Is it the taste?

是味道吗？

是辛勤的工作和训练吗？

Is it the hard work and the training?

Or is it the dish's history and the nostalgia it makes us feel?

还是因为这道菜的历史 抑或是被它引发的思乡之情？

To me, it is all of those things.

对我来说，以上都是。

But being in the restaurant industry,

但是，身处餐饮业

我可以告诉你 食物最直接的价值。

I can tell you the most obvious value of food.

And that is the price at which we choose to set it at.

即餐厅对 这道菜的定价。

The perception of Chinese food is that it is indulgent,

人们对于中餐的印象 往往是多样的，

yet cheap.

同时也是便宜的。

But the value of Chinese food is so much more than that.

而中餐的价值远 不止于此。

There is no formal culinary school to train to be a Chinese chef.

这里没有专门培养中餐 厨师的烹饪院校。

And after the pandemic,

而在新冠之后，

there was a shortage of Chinese chefs in Australia.

澳大利亚的中餐界 出现了厨师短缺期。

Now the cost of ingredients,

中餐原料、人工的成本以及 中餐的烹饪要求是很高的。

labor

and demand for Chinese food is high.

The amount of skill required to cook the first dish that I ever learned

我学会的第一道菜 所需的技术含量

doesn't match up to the price.

和它的价格并不相称。

The first dish that I ever learned to cook was the fried rice.

我学会的第一道菜是炒饭。

Fried rice is the easiest dish to cook, but also the hardest dish to get right.

炒饭是最简单但 却是最难做好的菜之一。

I actually wasn't allowed to serve customers

实际上我得先做好这道菜

until I got this dish right.

才能去服务食客。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The oil goes into the wok first,

油先下锅，

but only when the wok is hot enough.

但下油之前得充分热锅。

The egg goes in next.

接着放入鸡蛋。

This creates a nonstick coating

这一步骤能够在下入米饭前形成 一个不粘锅的保护层。

for when the rice hits the hot wok.

（炉子嘟嘟声）

(Stove beeps)

From experience, you can tell when the rice is too wet

你可以根据经验判断 米饭是否水分过多

or if the wok is too hot or too cold.

锅的温度过高或过低。

All these small factors will create a different end result.

以上细节都会 影响餐品最后的味道。

If the rice is too wet, you lose the smoky aromatic flavor.

如果米饭的水分过多 你就会失去烟熏的芳香味道

But if the rice is too dry,

但如果米饭太干了，

you're basically eating pebbles.

你基本上是在吃石头。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Now we add a little bit of yum, yum.

现在我们施加一点美味魔法

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Now we add the cooked meats and vegetables.

加入煮好的肉类和蔬菜

I'm tossing it to combine the flavors of the meat and vegetables with the rice.

我通过翻炒将肉和蔬菜的 风味与米饭的风味结合到一起。

Even if we were to remove all the meat and vegetables,

即便我们之后去掉 所有的肉和蔬菜，

your rice should still have all the flavor.

炒饭里仍拥有 全部食材的风味。

(Sizzling)

（食材发出的嘶嘶声）

From years of experience,

经年累月的经验，

I can tell you the difference between a good fried rice

让我可以不用品尝而 仅通过感官和嗅觉分辨出

一份炒饭的好坏。

just from the feel and from the smell,

without even having to take a bite.

(Applause)

（掌声）

And I thought --

在我以为这 已经够好的时候，

I thought that was enough.

But I realized cooking with one wok was way too slow.

我发现用一只炒锅烹饪 实在是太慢了。

So I took the knowledge from my dad

于是我借鉴我父亲

and taught myself the dual wok cooking technique,

自学成了 “无敌”双锅炒菜法，

using two woks to cook two different dishes at the same time.

同时用两个锅 炒两个不同的菜。

This requires coordination,

这需要协调能力、 统筹能力以及多年的训练。

organization and years of training.

可更难的是 出餐的组合。

What makes it harder is the combination of dishes coming up next.

不同的菜品的出餐时间不同。

They have endless possibilities.

Chow mein, sizzling garlic prawns,

炒面、蒜蓉大虾、 芙蓉蛋。

egg foo young.

一个菜正在做，另一个菜就装盘了

When one is cooking, the other is served.

When the other is cooking, the next is served.

那个菜在做的时候，下个菜就装盘了

The goal is that no matter the combination,

反正目标是 不管这些菜如何组合

all the dishes get to the table at the same time.

所有的菜要在同一时间 端上餐桌。

People expect this in a Chinese restaurant.

人们希望 中餐馆这样做。

People expect variety.

人们期待多样性。

In a Western restaurant, you open the menu,

在西餐厅， 你打开菜单，

there's 20 items.

上面有二十道餐点。

When I first started, I had 300.

我入行的时候，上面有300道中餐。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

在西餐厅，

In a Western restaurant,

you can often judge the food by the decor,

你可以通过装饰来评判食物，

the plating of the dishes

或者是菜肴的装盘

甚至是每道菜 搭配叉子的数量。

or even by the number of different forks for each course.

但在中餐馆， 评判标准就有些不一样了。

But in a Chinese restaurant, it's a little bit different.

比如你可以通过坐在 第一桌做作业的孩子来进行判断。

You can often judge it

by things like the kids sitting on the first table doing their homework.

That's when you know a Chinese restaurant will have amazing food.

这时你就会知道这家 中餐馆的味道不错。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

I was that kid.

我曾就是那个小屁孩。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

对很多创办了自己餐馆 的中国移民来说，

To a lot of us Chinese immigrants who started our own restaurants,

饭店不仅仅是一门生意。

the restaurant isn't just a business.

It's a part of our lives.

它是我们生命的一部分。

We eat almost three meals a day there,

我们经常会在餐馆里享用一日三餐，

and often we just use our homes as a place to sleep.

而家往往只是一个 用来睡觉的地方。

We dedicate our lives to these restaurants and to making delicious food.

我们把自己的生命献给了这些餐馆 以制作美味的食物。

In Chinese cooking, we use a lot of strong flavors

在中餐烹饪里， 我们使用很多重口味的调味品

like ginger, garlic, chilies

像生姜、大蒜、辣椒 甚至虾酱。

and even shrimp paste.

The different flavors, I think, are why people like Chinese food,

我认为，这些不同的口味正 是人们喜欢中国菜的原因。

because every bite is different, and you never really get bored.

因为每一口都是不同的， 你永远不会感到厌烦。

But flavors, flavors are also built with the tools we use.

但是口味也是通过 工具创造的。

When you use a wok, you get wok hei,

但你用炒锅时，菜会有锅气

known as "breath of the dragon."

人们称之为“龙之吐息”。

Wok hei is the reason why noodles and rice always taste better at a restaurant

锅气使得餐馆的炒面和炒饭 永远比在家里做的更加好吃。

than when you try to cook it at home.

Wok hei is the combustion of oils in the air

锅气是食用油在空中 燃烧产生的

that make that smoky aromatic flavor.

它能制造出那种烟熏香味。

But wok hei also tastes like nostalgia.

但锅气也有家乡的味道。

在马来西亚， 厨房是像这样放在外面的。

Growing up in Malaysia, the kitchens are outside, just like this.

You can smell every ingredient that goes into the wok.

你可以闻到放入锅中的 每一种食材。

The air is thick with humidity,

空气充满了湿气 和食物的香味，

and the fragrances of the food, they linger around so much longer.

它们的留存时间会很久。

Those memories, they become nostalgic.

那些记忆，它们染上了家乡的颜色。

The sense of home is what I feel when I taste Chinese wok cooking.

当我品尝中锅炒菜时， 家的感觉就出来了。

乡愁让一道好菜味道好上十倍

Nostalgia is what makes a good dish taste ten times better

and that much more valuable.

也让一道菜更有价值。

But the value of Chinese food

但中餐的价值常常 和快餐放在一起作比较，

is often compared to fast food, quick and cheap.

因为两者都是快速且便宜的。

Although we've spent years developing skills to cook faster,

虽然我们花了多年 开发出了更快的烹饪技巧，

Chinese food isn't fast food.

但中餐可不是快餐。

It requires skills, mastery of ingredients and nostalgia.

它需要技巧， 对食材的掌握以及对家乡的思念。

In 2017, my dad passed away.

2017年，我父亲去世了。

I looked up to him.

我一直将他视作偶像。

He was my best friend.

他也是我最好的朋友。

When he passed away, I realized --

他过世时，我记起了我 一直以来对烹饪的热爱。

I realized my passion of cooking dishes from my childhood.

当时，我正在一家航空公司 头等舱休息室担任主厨，

I was working as a chef at an airline’s first class lounge at the time,

but I didn't have any memories of the dishes I was cooking.

但那时我所做的菜式 都全被我忘记了。

I wanted to feel closer to my dad.

我想要在心里与父亲更近。

So I quit.

所以我选择了辞职。

I dropped out of university on my last semester.

我在大学的最后一个 学期退了学。

I hopped onto a plane, and I flew over here to Sydney.

然后我登上飞机， 来到了悉尼。

And I took over the restaurant that I own today.

我接手了我父亲的饭店 直至今日。

I wanted to record everything that my dad taught me,

我想要记录下我父亲 教给我的所有东西，

so I shared it on social media.

所以我在社交平台上分享它们。

It went viral.

接着我就火了。

Hundreds of millions of views.

成千上万的观看量。

A lot of people related to the recipes that I was cooking

很多人对我 所做的菜感到共鸣

because it was what they grew up eating with their parents.

因为那是从小到大 他们和自己的父母吃的东西

I remember this one fried rice he made.

我记得在我八岁那年

I was eight years old at the time.

我父亲为我做的那一碗炒饭

It was the first time I recall my dad stepping into the kitchen cooking.

那是我记忆中父亲第一次 走入厨房做饭。

He made this fried rice

他做了一份炒饭， 有火腿，海鲜和豌豆

with spam, seafood, peas

and a little bit of dark soy sauce.

和一点点的老抽。

It was a little bit salty,

味道有一点咸，

but it was the best fried rice that I've ever had.

但我觉得那是我吃过 最好吃的炒饭。

I cook and I've always cooked because it was a way to connect to my dad.

我喜爱做饭，也一直在做饭。 因为这是我缅怀我父亲的方式。

It was something that we shared.

这是我俩的共通之处。

Cooking represents all the hard work and memories that we had,

烹饪蕴含着我们所有的 努力和记忆，

learning the art, mastering the skills

学习这门艺术，掌握烹饪技术

and understanding the history of Chinese food.

以及理解 中餐背后的历史。

To me, the value of Chinese food

对我来说，中餐的价值远远超过 你在菜单上看到的标价。

is so much more than the prices you pay at my restaurant.

So the next time you visit a Chinese restaurant,

所以下一次 你到访一家中餐馆时，

just remember.

请记得这一点。

It's not just a plate of fried rice.

那不仅是一份简单的炒饭，

It's so much more than that.

其中还包含着比饭更有价值的意义。

谢谢大家。

Thank you.

(Applause)

（掌声）