查梅因·莫　王冰/譯

A boom in the production of caviar over the past decade has seen its popularity skyrocket， making it now “more fashionable than elitist”. The pandemic caused a brief dip in sales of the luxury fish eggs， but now “black gold” is piled atop everything， and has found fame on social media. 過(guò)去10年間，產(chǎn)量的激增使魚(yú)子醬的受歡迎程度飆升，也讓其成為當(dāng)今的“時(shí)尚”食材而非“精英”食材。雖然疫情曾導(dǎo)致奢侈魚(yú)子醬的銷量短暫下滑，但現(xiàn)在無(wú)論吃什么都要在上面加一坨“黑金”，它在社交媒體上也聲名鵲起。

We just cant seem to get away from caviar.

我們似乎離不開(kāi)魚(yú)子醬。

It doesnt matter whether its being served with vintage Krug or piggybacking pricey tuna belly sushi， the unbridled abundance of “black gold” piled high represents a level of affluence that is still out of reach for the average diner.

無(wú)論是搭配優(yōu)質(zhì)的克魯格香檳，還是摞在昂貴的金槍魚(yú)腩壽司上，毫無(wú)節(jié)制地高高堆起的“黑金”代表著普通食客仍不可企及的奢華程度。

As much as food bloggers these days enjoy waxing lyrical1 about humble ingredients such as tofu， yams and rice， heaping spoonfuls of caviar on everything and anything still seems to be the last word in2 status symbols.

盡管現(xiàn)在很多美食博主都喜歡熱情談?wù)撝T如豆腐、山藥和大米等不起眼的食材，但在每種食物上一勺勺地澆上魚(yú)子醬似乎仍是最有力的身份象征。

Like taking a bottle of expensive Lafite wine to a traditional Hong Kong dai pai dong food stall， its all the rage3 on social media—and diners are lapping it up4.

就像帶一瓶昂貴的拉菲去傳統(tǒng)的香港大排檔攤位一樣，澆魚(yú)子醬的做法在社交媒體上風(fēng)靡一時(shí)——而且食客們也都在大快朵頤。

Whereas once youd see ostentatious offerings such as a whole tart filled with sea urchin and a blanket of caviar， or mooncakes with the lotus seed paste replaced by dark roe， the ultim-ate culinary flex recently has been this “high-low” trend， contrasting “l(fā)uxury” caviar with fast or ordinary food： think chicken nuggets， crisps， soft serve ice cream.

你可能曾經(jīng)見(jiàn)過(guò)招搖的菜品，例如盛滿海膽再蓋上厚厚一層魚(yú)子醬的餡餅，或者用黑魚(yú)子代替蓮蓉作餡料的月餅，而最近烹飪領(lǐng)域的終極變化正是這種“高低對(duì)比”熱潮——將“奢華”的魚(yú)子醬與快餐或普通食物進(jìn)行對(duì)比，例如雞塊、薯片、軟冰淇淋。

Ive seen it decorating slices of ruby red steak， topping tacos al pastor and， more recently， har gow shrimp dumplings.

我見(jiàn)過(guò)魚(yú)子醬裝飾著一片片鮮紅的牛排 ，澆在墨西哥烤豬肉玉米餅上，最近還見(jiàn)過(guò)用它來(lái)點(diǎn)綴蝦餃。

The last irks me the most， but then Im a har gow purist. As the ultimate expression of the subtle delicacy and difficulty of executing traditional Cantonese cuisine， the deceptively simple dumpling deserves respect—and caviar piled on top does not “elevate” an already superior creation （unless your har gow comes frozen and microwaved from the nearest 7-Eleven）.

最后一個(gè)最讓我惱火，畢竟我是一個(gè)蝦餃純粹主義者。作為傳統(tǒng)粵菜烹飪技藝精巧性以及難度的終極體現(xiàn)，看似簡(jiǎn)單的餃子值得尊重——堆在蝦餃上的魚(yú)子醬并不能“提升”這道已經(jīng)很高級(jí)的菜品（除非你的蝦餃?zhǔn)菑淖罱?-11便利店里買的速凍蝦餃，微波爐加熱后才可食用）。

Others have joked about caviar being “high-end MSG”， which is a more delightful way to reframe it. But were not seeing it being used sparingly.

還有人曾調(diào)侃魚(yú)子醬是“高級(jí)味精”，這是一種更令人愉悅的表達(dá)方式，但我們并沒(méi)有看到人們像使用味精一樣節(jié)省地使用魚(yú)子醬。

Caviar is ubiquitous. It has seen something of a boom over the past dec-ade， with production growing in leaps and bounds5. For one， most caviar is now farmed and eggs are extracted from female sturgeon using more humane “milking” methods， rather than pillaging the poor fish for their briny bounty and discarding them.

魚(yú)子醬無(wú)處不在。過(guò)去10年間，魚(yú)子醬經(jīng)歷了某種程度的興盛，產(chǎn)量增長(zhǎng)突飛猛進(jìn)。舉例來(lái)說(shuō)，現(xiàn)在大部分魚(yú)子醬都來(lái)自養(yǎng)殖漁業(yè)，而且魚(yú)子經(jīng)由更人道的“擠奶式”方法從雌性鱘魚(yú)體內(nèi)取出，而不是掠奪完咸味寶藏，就把可憐的魚(yú)拋棄。

China， not Russia， now leads the way in caviar， according to a 2021 study by the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products， accounting for up to 84 per cent of global sturgeon production.

歐洲漁業(yè)和水產(chǎn)養(yǎng)殖產(chǎn)品市場(chǎng)觀察機(jī)構(gòu)2021年的一項(xiàng)研究顯示，現(xiàn)在魚(yú)子醬產(chǎn)業(yè)處于領(lǐng)先地位的是中國(guó)，而非俄羅斯。中國(guó)的鱘魚(yú)產(chǎn)量占全球總產(chǎn)量的84%。

After a brief dip during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic， when high-end restaurants， hotels and cruise lines suspended operations， creating a domino effect in the demand for caviar， its back on the rise.

新冠疫情初期，高端餐廳、酒店和游輪暫停運(yùn)營(yíng)，對(duì)魚(yú)子醬需求產(chǎn)生了多米諾骨牌效應(yīng)。經(jīng)歷短暫下滑后，魚(yú)子醬需求又開(kāi)始回升。

This has led to notable trends.

由此掀起一系列熱潮。

According to a bemused editorial in The New York Times in June 2022， caviar “bumps”—a hedonistic way of indulging in mounds of caviar off the back of your hand—are all the rage among millennial diners. It is post-Prohibition6-style revenge dining at its finest.

根據(jù)《紐約時(shí)報(bào)》2022年6月一篇語(yǔ)氣困惑的社論，魚(yú)子醬“隆塊”——一種沉迷于從手背上舔食大量魚(yú)子醬的享樂(lè)主義做法，正在千禧一代食客中風(fēng)靡。這是后禁酒時(shí)代式報(bào)復(fù)性飲食行為的絕妙體現(xiàn)。

Brands such as Nomad Caviar， founded in 2020—at the beginning of the pandemic—by hospitality veteran Jason Cohen， have been trying to change the perception of the fish eggs from an occasional luxury to an everyday indulgence.

很多魚(yú)子醬品牌，如酒店及泛服務(wù)業(yè)資深人士賈森·科恩于2020年疫情初期在香港創(chuàng)立的“游牧人”，一直在努力改變?nèi)藗儗?duì)魚(yú)子醬的看法——從偶爾的奢侈轉(zhuǎn)變?yōu)槿粘５南硎堋?/p>

He points out that the economics of caviar have changed drastically in the past decade， with the price point coming down significantly， allowing him to bring caviar to the masses.

科恩指出，魚(yú)子醬經(jīng)濟(jì)在過(guò)去10年間發(fā)生了巨大變化，魚(yú)子醬的價(jià)格大幅下降，這使他能夠?qū)Ⅳ~(yú)子醬帶給大眾。

For a time in 2020， as diners shifted from dining out to entertaining in， Cohens relatively affordable supersized tins of caviar became the hottest table topper among Hong Kong gourmands. A whopping 85 per cent of Cohens business is direct to consumers.

2020年的一段時(shí)間里，隨著食客從外出就餐轉(zhuǎn)為在家享受美食，科恩公司相對(duì)實(shí)惠的超大裝魚(yú)子醬罐頭成為香港美食家餐桌上最熱門(mén)的佐餐品?？贫鞴靖哌_(dá)85%的業(yè)務(wù)直接面向消費(fèi)者。

“Caviar is still a status symbol， but in a different way，” he says. “I had it the other day with crumpets and butter， which is one of my favourite ways of eating caviar.”

“魚(yú)子醬仍然是一種身份的象征，但是象征的方式不同以往?！笨贫髡f(shuō)，“前幾天我吃了魚(yú)子醬配烤面餅和黃油，這是我最喜歡的魚(yú)子醬食用方式之一?！?/p>

Its a far cry from7 when he was growing up， when a tiny helping8 of “about 10 eggs” given to him on a blini by his mother was the most extravagant thing he had as a child.

這與他小時(shí)候的情況大相徑庭。那時(shí)候，母親給他加在薄餅上的一小份“大約10顆魚(yú)子”是他這個(gè)小孩子能擁有的最奢侈的東西。

“It was like an elitist thing. You had to make US$1 million a year—you had to have a Rolls-Royce， you had to have a boat—to eat caviar，” he says. He likens the trend for caviar to the way even major fashion houses are morphing into something more edgy.

“魚(yú)子醬曾經(jīng)像一種精英食品。你必須年入百萬(wàn)美元，你必須有一輛勞斯萊斯，你必須有一艘船，才吃得起魚(yú)子醬。”科恩說(shuō)。即使是大型高級(jí)時(shí)裝店也在向更前衛(wèi)的風(fēng)格轉(zhuǎn)變，科恩將魚(yú)子醬的發(fā)展趨勢(shì)與此類比。

“Caviar now is becoming more fashionable than elitist. Its becoming a bit more street.”

“魚(yú)子醬現(xiàn)在變得更時(shí)尚了，不再顯得那么精英主義。它在街頭越來(lái)越常見(jiàn)?！?/p>

At Argo bar in the Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong， beverage manager Lorenzo Antinori—known for such irreverent touches as putting gummy bears in champagne—is busy scheming up “fun serves” of caviar.

香港四季酒店的阿爾戈酒吧里，酒水經(jīng)理洛倫佐·安蒂諾里正忙著策劃魚(yú)子醬“有趣的供應(yīng)方式”——他以在香檳中加入小熊軟糖等不恭敬的做法而聞名。

Fried chicken and caviar will not be one of them， but dont be surprised to see it piled on smiley face potatoes or boiled eggs infused with whisky or vodka.

魚(yú)子醬配炸雞不會(huì)是安蒂諾里的創(chuàng)意，但如果看到魚(yú)子醬堆在笑臉薯餅或者用威士忌或伏特加浸泡的煮雞蛋上，不要感到驚訝。

He has previously experimented with distilling caviar into vodka， or using it in the process of fat washing spirits—flavouring spirits with a liquid fat like butter or bacon oil.

安蒂諾里之前曾試驗(yàn)過(guò)將魚(yú)子醬的精華融入伏特加，還試驗(yàn)過(guò)將其用于烈酒的油脂浸洗過(guò)程——油脂浸洗指用黃油或培根油等液態(tài)脂肪給烈酒調(diào)味。

“When I tried caviar for the first time， what actually interested me the most was not really the flavour， but the texture，” he says. “When it comes to drinks， its about the whole experience—its about the scent as well as the mouthfeel.”

“初次品嘗魚(yú)子醬時(shí)，最讓我感興趣的其實(shí)不是它的味道，而是它的口感?！彼f(shuō)，“就飲品而言，品的就是整個(gè)體驗(yàn)——關(guān)乎香味，同樣也關(guān)乎口感?！?/p>

“When we serve cocktails， we want to be creative and push the boundaries as well. But at the same time， its important to us to not alienate anybody，” he says. “I like to do things that are weird， but also they need to be accessible.”

“調(diào)制雞尾酒時(shí)，我們希望發(fā)揮創(chuàng)意，也希望突破邊界。但同時(shí)，不疏遠(yuǎn)任何人對(duì)我們來(lái)說(shuō)非常重要?！彼f(shuō)，“我喜歡做一些不同尋常的事情，但這些事情也得是能做到的。”

He points out how the perception of caviar as an everyday item may come full circle from the pre-revolutionary days of the Russian tsars， who would serve it to their children for breakfast alongside mashed bananas.

安蒂諾里指出，從俄國(guó)革命前的沙皇時(shí)代到今天，將魚(yú)子醬視為日常食材的觀念兜了一圈又回到原點(diǎn)——沙皇會(huì)用魚(yú)子醬配香蕉泥給孩子們作早餐。

“Caviar just didnt have value at that time，” he says. “But reading that made me think of maybe creating a banana daiquiri with a side of caviar.”

“魚(yú)子醬在當(dāng)時(shí)并沒(méi)有價(jià)值?！彼f(shuō)，“但讀到這個(gè)故事讓我想到也許可以把魚(yú)子醬用作香蕉代基里酒的配菜?！?/p>

While I remain unconvinced， theres plenty of caviar to go around： one high-end hotel has announced a caviar summer staycation9 package and another has rebranded its Italian restaurant as a champagne and caviar bar.

盡管我仍然對(duì)此持懷疑態(tài)度，但現(xiàn)在有大量的魚(yú)子醬能滿足人們的需求——一家高端酒店宣布推出一份以魚(yú)子醬為主題的夏日居家度假套餐，還有一家已將其意大利餐廳改造為香檳和魚(yú)子醬酒吧。

Perhaps somewhere in the multiverse is another me that is delighted by this news， fist bumping everyone and devouring mountains of caviar with reckless abandon.

也許在多元宇宙里的某個(gè)地方，有另一個(gè)我會(huì)為這個(gè)消息感到高興，會(huì)和每一個(gè)人擊拳慶祝，還會(huì)不計(jì)后果地放縱自己吞噬堆積成山的魚(yú)子醬。

（譯者為“《英語(yǔ)世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎(jiǎng)?wù)撸?/p>