春和日麗，正是啖筍好時節。

春和日麗，正是啖筍好時節

Bamboo grows all over China, and, despite its height, it is actually a grass. It is quick-growing and covers large tracts of land all over southern China.

竹子遍布我國各地，盡管竹子長得挺拔高大，但它實際上屬草類。竹子的生長速度很快，在我國南部地區，常常能見到成片的竹林。

It is a versatile material that is used in everything ranging from houses to baskets, or even to objects as small as toothpicks. Bamboo is made into furniture, such as complete sets of tables and chairs, as well as ladders, hoes, trays and mats. Its uses are legion and sometimes unexpected, and actually contribute a large portion to Chinese culture.

竹子是一種用途很廣的制作材料，可用于搭建竹樓，編制竹籃，甚至用于制作小小的牙簽。竹子也可以被制成各種家具（比如整套桌椅）以及梯子、鋤頭、托盤、席子等各類生活用具。竹子擁有多種多樣且有時令人出其不意的用途，且竹子已經成為了中華文化中不可或缺的組成部分。

Apart from its vast range of utilitarian purposes, bamboo also produces bamboo shoots, a unique Chinese ingredient seldom seen in other cuisines. Though Korean and Japanese cooking use them as well, no one prepares bamboo shoots like the Chinese chef.

除了能制造各種實用器具，竹子的幼苗，竹筍，亦是中餐中一味獨特的食材，在其他菜系中極為少見。盡管日本和韓國也烹調竹筍，但中國廚師處理筍的方法是獨一無二的。

When the spring thunderstorms come, the bamboo forests wake. As the rain soaks into the earth, dormant shoots that have lain underground all winter start swelling and poking their tips through the ground.

陣陣春雨喚醒了竹林。當雨水浸潤泥土，蟄伏地下一整個冬天的筍芽便開始紛紛蓬勃生長，從地底下探出頭來。

Bamboo shoots must be processed as soon as they are harvested, or they will quickly deteriorate once out of the ground. In Southwest China, the mountains of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region produce slender bamboo shoots that are harvested when they are only about 10 centimeters long. This is the famous suansun, the tangy pickled bamboo shoots that go into every bowl of noodles in that region.

一旦采摘，竹筍便要立即加工，否則就會因脫離泥土而迅速開始變質。在我國西南地區，廣西壯族自治區的綿綿山巒中盛產一種纖細的竹筍品種，在其僅長至10厘米左右高時，就會被采摘。這就是制作酸筍的原料，酸筍味道濃郁，由這種竹筍腌制而成，是當地人吃面時的必備佐料。

▲酸筍

In Jiangsu province and Zhejiang province, equally tender shoots are pickled whole in sugar and salt for the famous "hand-stripped bamboo shoots", or shoubosun. They are delicious eaten as a chilled snack or as an accompaniment to millet or bean porridge.

而在江浙一帶，人們會用鹽和糖腌漬整顆細嫩竹筍，制成著名的手剝筍。手剝筍味道鮮美，除了可以直接食用當作零嘴，也可作為喝小米粥或豆粥時的小菜。

▲手剝筍

The Cantonese, however, eat bamboo shoots all year round, from the fresh winter shoots to brined chunks to young fresh shoots cooked in a savory liqueur and served on a bed of shaved ice. Bamboo shoots are finely diced and used in classic dumplings to add tactile crunch and sweetness. They are also widely used in Cantonese dim sum, playing a crucial background role.

廣東人一年到頭都會吃筍，無論是冬筍，鹵水春筍，還是醬香嫩筍（這道菜往往會被放在刨冰上端上餐桌）。筍還常被細細地切成筍丁，包入云吞之中，從而打造爽脆香甜的口感。在粵式點心中，竹筍也常常作為重要的輔料得以廣泛運用。

▲紅燒筍

It takes an excellent chef to coax so many flavors from the bland little bamboo shoot, but then the Chinese chef has always had talent for creating ambrosia out of the most ordinary ingredients.

只有一位優秀的中餐廚師，才能用這平淡無奇的小小竹筍，造就多種多樣的風味；但中餐廚師似乎總是擁有將最普通的食材化腐朽為神奇的天賦。

Vocabulary

hoe: n. 鋤頭

dormant: adj. 蟄伏的

tangy: adj. 味道濃烈的

millet: n. 小米

ambrosia: n. 美味佳肴

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