大闸蟹chinese Mitten Crab

Advanced - 大闸蟹 Chinese Mitten Crab(E2980)

A: 入秋了你怎么还在喝啤酒啊？

rù qiū le nǐ zěnme háizài hē píjiǔ ā？

It's already Autumn, why are you still drinking beer?

B: 嘿，瞧你说的，啤酒配炸鸡不是妥妥的极致享受吗？

hēi， qiáo nǐ shuō de， píjiǔ pèi zhájī bùshì tuǒtuǒde jízhì xiǎngshòu ma？

Hey, what are you saying. Isn't beer and fried chicken just the perfect combination?

A: 不是我打击你啊，这你就太任性了，吃喝我们也得讲究个品味，“应景” ，“应景”你听说过过吗？

bùshì wǒ dǎjī nǐ ā， zhè nǐ jiù tài rènxìng le， chīhē wǒmen yě děi jiǎngjiu gè pǐnwèi，“ yìngjǐng”，“ yìngjǐng” nǐ tīngshuō guo guò ma？

I'm not attacking you. You're so headstrong. With food it's necessary to pay special attention to a connection to the local environment and the season. Have you heard of this kind of idea?

B: 吃个东西还这么复杂。你倒是给说道说道，这吃喝要怎么讲究“应景”。

chī gè dōngxi hái zhème fùzá。 nǐ dào shì gěi shuōdào shuōdào， zhè chīhē yào zěnme jiǎngjiu“ yìngjǐng”。

Is eating food so complicated? So tell me, how do you pay special attention to the local environment and season in what you eat and drink.

A: 先不说炸鸡啤酒营养价值到底有多高，就说什么时候吃这组合“应景”吧，那必须得是冬天下初雪的时候啊，《来自星星的你》看了吗？那可是教科书级别的。

xiān bù shuō zhájī píjiǔ yíngyǎng jiàzhí dàodǐ yǒu duō gāo， jiù shuō shénme shíhou chī zhè zǔhé“ yìngjǐng” ba， nà bìxū děi shì dōngtiān xià chūxuě de shíhou ā，《 láizì xīngxing de nǐ》 kàn le ma？ nà kě shì jiàokēshū jíbié de。

First let's not go into how nutritional fried chicken and beer is, but rather when this combo is most appropriate to eat. That is as the first snow of winter falls. Have you

seen 'My Love from the Star'? That's like a textbook.

B: 噢，所以时间错了，意思是秋天啤酒配炸鸡没什么情调。

ò， suǒyǐ shíjiān cuò le， yìsi shì qiūtiān píjiǔ pèi zhà jī méi shénme qíngdiào。

Oh, so I got the timing wrong. You mean that there's no sense of atmosphere about eating fried chicken and drinking beer in Autumn.

A: 没错，再说了，炸鸡虽好，但毕竟也就是垃圾食品，多吃无益。要说既营养又美味还有情调的组合，在秋天那必须是大闸蟹配黄酒的呀！

méicuò， zàishuō le， zhájī suī hǎo， dàn bìjìng yějiùshì lājī shípǐn， duō chī wúyì。 yào shuō jì yíngyǎng yòu měiwèi háiyǒu qíngdiào de zǔhé， zài qiūtiān nà bìxū shì dàzháxiè pèi huángjiǔ de ya！

That's right. And also, although fried chicken is good, given it's junk food, it's not good to eat too much of it. If you want to talk about a combination that's nutritious, tasty and also has a sense of atmosphere, then it's eating Chinese mitten crabs while drinking huangjiu!

B: 噢！大闸蟹我知道，江苏阳澄湖的大闸蟹那可是名声在外啊！那满腹凝结成块的橘红蟹黄或是晶莹脂白的蟹膏，营养丰富，吃起来那叫一个鲜美。

ò！ dàzháxiè wǒ zhīdào， Jiāngsū yángchéng hú de dàzháxiè nà kě shì míngshēng zàiwài ā！ nà mǎnfù níngjié chéng kuài de júhóng xièhuáng huòshì jīngyíng zhībái de xiègāo， yíngyǎng fēngfù， chī qǐlai nà jiào yī gè xiānměi。

Oh! I know Chinese mitten crabs. The Chinese mitten crabs from the Yangcheng Lake in Jiangsu are famous across China! The orangey-red of the crab roe that congeals into a solid chunk in its belly or the translucent white of the crab fat. It's highly nutritious and it is really fresh tasting.

A: 那吃大闸蟹时和它相配的黄金搭档可就得数绍兴黄酒嘞，不仅颜色上相得益彰，甘润香甜的酒味还可以去除螃蟹的腥味，也更增加了蟹肉的鲜度，是吧？

nà chī dàzháxiè shí hé tā xiāngpèi de huángjīn dādàng kě jiù děi shǔ shàoxīng huángjiǔ lei， bùjǐn yánsè shàng xiāngdéyìzhāng， gānrùn xiāng tián de jiǔ wèi hái kěyǐ qùchú pángxiè de xīngwèi， yě gèng zēngjiā le xiè ròu de xiāndù， shì ba？

Then when you're eating Chinese mitten crabs, among the huangjius that go well with it, you must include Shaoxing huangjiu. Not only do their colors complement one

another, but the sweet fragrance of the alcohol cuts through the fishy taste of the crab, and increases the freshness of the crab meat. No?

B: 哈，绍兴黄酒我也听说过呢，这次杭州G20峰会宴客用的的酒就是绍兴黄酒，那是咱们民族的传统古酒。

hā， shàoxìng huángjiǔ wǒ yě tīngshuō guò ne， zhècì Hángzhōu G20 fēnghuì yànkè yòngde de jiǔ jiùshì shàoxìng huángjiǔ， nà shì zánmen mínzú de chuántǒng gǔ jiǔ。

Ha, I've heard of Shaoxing wine before. The alcohol they used at the Hangzhou G20 Summit was Shaoxing wine. That's a traditional Chinese alcohol.

A: 你了解的还真不少，秋天最“应景”的美食就是这对“CP”啦，大闸蟹呢只有到了秋天才最肥美，黄香膏丰，而几口暖暖的黄酒下肚也可以缓和初秋的凉意。

nǐ liǎojiě de hái zhēn bùshǎo， qiūtiān zuì“ yìngjǐng” de měishí jiùshì zhè duì“ CP” la， dàzháxiè ne zhǐyǒu dào le qiūtiān cái zuì féiměi， huángxiāng gāofēng， ér jǐ kǒu nuǎnnuǎnde huángjiǔ xiàdù yě kěyǐ huǎnhé chū qiū de liángyì。

You really do know quite a lot. The most atmospheric cuisine for Autumn is this coupling. Chinese mitten crabs are the plumpest in the Autumn. The roe is fragrant and the meat is rich, and a few warm mouthfuls of huangjiu in your stomach can really take the edge off the first chills of the start of Autumn.

B: 原来如此，那对“吃货”来说，秋天不吃大闸蟹就枉为“吃货”了；吃大闸蟹不配黄酒就对不起这人间极品美味啦。

yuánláirúcǐ， nà duì“ chīhuò” láishuō， qiūtiān bù chī dàzháxiè jiù wǎng wèi“ chīhuò” le； chī dàzháxiè bù pèi huángjiǔ jiù duìbuqǐ zhè rénjiān jípǐn měiwèi la。

I see. No foodie worth the name would fail to eat Chinese mitten crabs in Autumn. Eating Chinese mitten crabs without huangjiu is an insult to this extremely high quality delicacy.

A: 是啊，我身边老饕都说愿意减三分之一的光阴换这秋蟹和黄酒呢！我也是一想到就直咽口水啊！

shì a， wǒ shēnbiān lǎotāo dōu shuō yuànyì jiǎn sānfēnzhīyī de guāngyīn huàn zhè qiū xiè hé huángjiǔ ne！ wǒ yě shì yī xiǎngdào jiù zhí yàn kǒushuǐ ā！

Yeah. All the foodies I know say they would be willing to exchange one third of their lives for these Autumn crabs and huangjiu! My mouth waters just thinking about it!

B: 被你说的我也忍不住想赶快去尝尝。

bèi nǐshuōde wǒ yě rěnbuzhù xiǎng gǎnkuài qù chángchang。

Now that you've said it, I can't wait to go and try them.

A: 喝黄酒吃大闸蟹时的工具还很讲究，最神奇的是吃完螃蟹以后，蟹壳还可以完整拼回原来的样子。

hē huángjiǔ chī dàzháxiè shí de gōngjù hái hěn jiǎngjiu， zuì shénqí de shì chīwán pángxiè yǐhòu， xiè ké hái kěyǐ wánzhěng pīn huí yuánlái de yàngzi。

The tools for drinking huangjiu and eating Chinese mitten crabs are also very specialized. The most fascinating thing is that after you've eaten the crabs, the crab shell can be completely reassembled into its original appearance.

B: 真是太不可思议啦，快快，带我去吃大闸蟹配黄酒，我迫不及待想去学学这门“手艺”啦。

zhēn shì tài bùkěsīyì la， kuàikuài， dài wǒ qù chī dàzháxiè pèi huángjiǔ， wǒ pòbùjídài xiǎngqù xué xue zhè mén“ shǒuyì” la。

That's amazing. Quickly, bring me to eat Chinese mitten crabs with huangjiu. I can't wait to go and learn this skill.

Key Vocabulary

入秋 rùqiū for Autumn to come 妥妥 tuǒtuǒ appropriate; suitable 极致 jízhì ultimate 打击 dǎjī to attack 应景 yìngjǐng to be in keeping with local environment and season 教科书 jiàokēshū textbook 情调 qíngdiào atmosphere 多V.无益 duōV.wúyì doing V. more is useless

大闸蟹 dàzháxiè hairy crab; Chinese mitten crab 黄酒 huángjiǔ huangjiu; yellow wine 名声在外 míngshēng zài wài to be famous across China or overseas 蟹黄 xièhuáng crab roe 晶莹 jīngyíng translucent 蟹膏 xiègāo crab paste; white crab meat 黄金搭档 huángjīndādǎng perfect partner 绍兴黄酒 shàoxīnghuángjiǔ Shaoxing huangjiu 相得益彰 xiāngdéyìzhāng to complement each other G20峰会 G20fēnghuì G20 summit 枉为 wǎngwéi to be unworthy of; to be in vain 老饕 lǎotāo foodie 迫不及待 pòbùjídài to be unable to wait for