上一期在講主食故事的時候，我們就提到了歷史上的“五谷”以及在當今中國人飲食文化中占據(jù)主要地位的“稻米”和“小麥”。水稻、糯稻所產(chǎn)的糧食經(jīng)過必要的加工分別成為大米、糯米，小麥則經(jīng)過碾皮，成為面粉。勤勞智慧的中國人民在漫長的歷史發(fā)展中，用這些糧食制作出了不同種類的主食，豐富了中華飲食文化。傳統(tǒng)上，南方主食以稻米為主，而北方則以小麥制作的面粉為主。但是，隨著時代的變遷以及物流交通和農(nóng)業(yè)技術(shù)的發(fā)展，這種分化越來越不明顯，尤其是稻米，已經(jīng)成為南北方共同的主食，在中國主食結(jié)構(gòu)中的支配地位不可撼動。

大家對大米（rice）、小麥（wheat）、面粉（flour）這些詞的英文表達都很熟悉，可是碰到糯米，就不知道用英語該怎么說了。我們知道，糯米產(chǎn)自糯稻，糯稻和水稻類似，加工出來的米粒也與大米類似，因此有時我們可借用rice這個詞表達糯米的意思。但是通常情況下，還是需要與rice作區(qū)分。糯米與大米在口感上最大的不同就是糯米更有黏性。那么“黏性”這個詞用英語如何表述？英語里有一個詞是glue，《柯林斯高階英漢雙解學習詞典》（下文簡稱《柯林斯》）對其的解釋是“a sticky substance used for joining things together， often for repairing broken things”，也就是“膠水”的意思。由glue派生出的形容詞glutinous則指very sticky （黏質(zhì)的）。因此，glutinous rice就可以指“糯米”。當然，sticky也有“黏糊糊的”之意，《柯林斯》對其的解釋是：“A sticky substance is soft， or thick and liquid， and can stick to other things. Sticky things are covered with a sticky substance.”所以，在英美國家的書籍和報刊中，也有用sticky rice來指“糯米”的。

關(guān)于英文中的flour這個詞，大家可能只是把它理解為“面粉”。其實，我們在它的英文釋義中可以發(fā)現(xiàn)flour指所有由糧食作物加工成的“粉狀”物質(zhì)?！犊铝炙埂返慕忉屖牵骸癮 white or brown powder that is made by grinding grain used to make bread， cakes， and pastry.”Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English （下文簡稱Longman）的解釋是：“a powder that is made by crushing wheat or other grain and is used for making bread， cakes， etc.”這兩個解釋里都包含了一個核心詞powder，首先flour是一種“粉末”。但是，flour并不是單指小麥磨出的粉。這一點《柯林斯》說的是grinding grain，grain包含了wheat，但并不僅僅是wheat，所有谷物、糧食都可以統(tǒng)稱為grain。而Longman則說得更為明確：wheat or other grain。厘清這個詞的內(nèi)涵和外延，對于我們介紹中國主食尤為關(guān)鍵。中國的主食里，由小麥以外的不同谷物碾磨成粉制作的食品種類繁多，如米粉、糯米粉做成的湯圓、元宵，小米面做成的黃米饃饃等。

關(guān)于主食情況的介紹，可以參考以下英文表達。

It is well-known that people in northern and southern China traditionally preferred different staple foods， namely wheaten flour and pounded rice respectively. Thanks to the progress of agricultural technology， transportation and logistics， however， the diversity of staple food preferences has weakened. Rice is now the principal staple of a Chinese diet for both northerners and southerners. Glutinous rice， another kind of rice， which is stickier than ordinary rice has also become popular on peoples dining tables， especially in the south， as it can be prepared into various kinds of delicious food. The Chinese also make flour from wheat， rice， glutinous rice and millet which can then be used in many tasty recipes.

由米制成的主食

將水稻舂出的米粒放在水里煮熟，就成就了中國人餐桌上常見的主食——大米飯。一碗米飯對于中國人來說是再平常不過了。值得稱道的是，大米除了煮飯，還能變換出多種花樣，制作成米線、米糕等非同尋常的主食。

米線就是將大米經(jīng)過浸泡、瀝干后，將米碾成面，制作成類似面條的食品。關(guān)于米線的起源，眾說紛紜，但是不可否認的是，它是南北交融的產(chǎn)物。有一種說法是，北方人愛吃面條，吃不慣米飯，但是北方人到了南方，只能用大米制作主食，因此他們就想出用大米做米線的辦法，也算是模擬出了面條的感覺。而米糕就類似于饅頭，做法是將大米和糯米混合浸泡、瀝干后碾成面，制成面團后蒸熟。

米線因酷似面條，而且它的來源與面條密不可分，所以通常被譯為rice noodle。可是，“米糕”是不是可以譯成rice cake呢？習慣上，rice cake指的是“年糕”，是由糯米制作的一種主食，而pudding更符合“米糕”的特點?！犊铝炙埂愤€專門對rice pudding進行了解釋：“Rice pudding is a dessert made from rice， milk， and sugar.”雖然中國的傳統(tǒng)米糕不用牛奶，但這個解釋畢竟很符合“米糕”的特點了。

上述內(nèi)容用英文表達，可以參考下文。

It is common for Chinese people to have a bowl of rice at the table for lunch or dinner. In addition to the humble bowl of rice， Chinese people have created a variety of other staple foods from this grain. For example， rice noodles and rice pudding. Noodles are produced by soaking the uncooked grain in water， draining it and then crushing in to produce rice flour which can then be made into noodles. Legend goes that rice noodles originated from the encounters of northern and southern people in ancient times. When people from the north， who were used to eating wheat-based products， travelled south， they couldnt get used to the taste of steamed rice. Thus they figured out an alternative way to satisfy their stomachs. The making of rice pudding is similar to that of rice noodles but with an additional ingredient of glutinous rice. The difference is that the rice flour is prepared into dough， which is then steamed before eating.

由糯米制成的主食

除了大米，南方人還種植糯米，并將糯米做成各種食品。其中比較典型的就是年糕。在南方很多地方，每到農(nóng)歷年底，四方八鄰的人們聚集在石臼旁，用特制的木槌敲打糯米面，名曰“打年糕”。打年糕已經(jīng)不再局限于制作一種食品，更是人們歡慶新春的一種娛樂方式。糯米面團裹上餡兒，還可以做成湯圓和元宵。吃湯圓和元宵也是春節(jié)里流傳很久的風俗。

上述內(nèi)容，可以參考如下英文表達。

People in the south of China plant glutinous rice as well as ordinary rice and cook it into a great diversity of foods. Niangao， meaning the New Year cake， also called rice cake in English， is a typical kind of food， specially made during the Spring Festival. People in the neighborhood all gather around the stone mortar， to help with the “strike，” striking the dough of glutinous rice， with a wooden hammer. The striking of rice cake is not only a way of making food， but also an amusement for celebrating the lunar New Year， and has been passed down through generations as a custom as well. Yuanxiao， or tangyuan， sweet dumplings made of glutinous rice flour for the Lantern Festival， are usually eaten at the end of the Spring Festival and are filled with sesame， peanut butter or even pork. Recent years have also witnessed innovation of the fillings which have now extended to chocolate， strawberry jam or blueberry jam.

每年的端午節(jié)，也就是農(nóng)歷五月初五，中國人會將糯米裹在粽葉里，再加入一些餡料，做成粽子，以紀念愛國詩人屈原。相傳在農(nóng)歷五月初五這一天，屈原因不滿當政者腐敗，不堪目睹國之將亡的慘狀，憤而投江。人們感念他的高風亮節(jié)，就在江中投下用糯米包裹的粽子喂魚，祈求魚蝦不要食用他的尸體。

關(guān)于端午節(jié)的來歷，可以參考如下英文表達。

Every year on May 5th of the lunar calendar， in memory of the patriotic poet Qu Yuan， Chinese people make zongzi， a traditional Chinese pudding， by wrapping glutinous rice with reed leaves and filling them in the middle. On that day， Qu Yuan drowned himself in the river in despair at the tragedy of the corruption and incompetency which had led to the conquering of his homeland. In appreciation of his nobility of character and exemplary conduct， people dropped zongzi into the river to feed the fish and shrimps， praying that they would not eat his body. The tradition of eating zongzi on that day has been passed down from generation to generation for thousands of years.

米粥的熬制

大米和糯米還可以同豆類以及其他谷類一起熬粥。一鍋粥可以有各種不同的食材，除了諸如谷物，還可以搭配堅果、棗等各種營養(yǎng)食品。在南方，有的粥里還會有蔬菜、豬肉、魚肉等。比如，進入臘月，迎接春節(jié)，過臘八節(jié)，喝臘八粥，這種粥就是由大米、小米、糯米配上紅棗、干桂圓、核桃等多種干果熬制成的。

需要注意的是“粥”這個詞的翻譯，我們一般就是譯成porridge。大家仔細看一下porridge的含義?！犊铝炙埂穼ζ涞慕忉屖牵骸癮 thick sticky food made from oats cooked in water or milk and eaten hot， especially for breakfast.”再看看Longman的解釋：“oats that are cooked with milk or water and served hot for breakfast.”很明顯，在英語里，porridge只是指“燕麥粥”，要表達我們的“粥”這個含義，可以借用porridge這個詞，但在前面加一個rice就不會讓外國人產(chǎn)生誤解了。

上述有關(guān)粥的內(nèi)容，可以用英文表達如下。

Rice porridge， another kind of common food on Chinese peoples dining tables， is always cooked with a variety of ingredients in addition to ordinary rice or glutinous rice. Nuts， Chinese jujubes and any nutritious food can be used in rice porridge. In southern China， even vegetables， pork， fish and offal are put in rice porridge. On Dec 8th of the lunar calendar， to welcome the incoming Spring Festival， people cook and have a special kind of rice porridge with rice， glutinous rice， Chinese jujubes， walnuts， and preserved longan.

“一條大河波浪寬，風吹稻花香兩岸”，這首膾炙人口的《我的祖國》，伴隨了幾代中國人的成長，這兩岸的“稻花香”可能也正是海內(nèi)外炎黃子孫一輩子魂牽夢繞的中國情、中國心、中國結(jié)。

上述內(nèi)容可以用英文表達如下。

The lyrics of a patriotic song My Homeland read “The waves of a great river broad， the paddies along the banks fragrant， with a breeze gently swaying.” Appealing to several generations of Chinese， the song accompanies them in their growth and witnesses the progress of a nation. The fragrance of rice must be the taste of the Chinese， the root of the Chinese， and the spirit of the Chinese.