川菜以麻辣聞名，而重慶則是四川的調(diào)料中心。怎么吃火鍋？火鍋就像一場(chǎng)慶祝。找一家熱鬧的飯店。這里大家吃著火鍋喝著重慶啤酒，笑著聊著天，看著電視。吃火鍋講究的就是慢。
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Sichuan province is known for its hot food, andChongqing is known as the spice centre of Sichuan. Cathy Adams braves thesignature dish
川菜以麻辣聞名，而重慶則是四川的調(diào)料中心。
Here are a few things you need to know about Chongqingin south-west China.
關(guān)于中國西南部直轄市重慶，你需要了解下面的事：
First, it’s the largest city on earth. Some 37 millionpeople live in its urban area, and that’s growing by a couple of per cent everyyear.
首先，重慶是世界上最大的城市。市區(qū)有大約3700萬常住人口，而且每年以百分之幾的速度上漲。
Second, the city looks like the future. Built around themeeting point of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers, Chongqing has 105 buildingsover 150m tall (with 27 more in construction – it’s the fastest growing city inChina). For context, London has just 17 of them. Looking back at the skylinefrom the Yangtze River Cableway, Chongqing looks a bit like New York. Honestly.
第二，重慶更像未來都市。重慶建在長(zhǎng)江和嘉陵江的交匯處，擁有105座高度超過150米的建筑(還有27座在建)，而倫敦只有17座。重慶是中國發(fā)展最快的城市。從長(zhǎng)江的纜車上望去，重慶有點(diǎn)像紐約。
Third, this city is also one of the world’s hottest.During summer, it’s rightfully known as the oven of China (I visited in Augustand can vouch that Chongqing deserves most of its superlatives).
第三，重慶是世界上最熱的城市之一。夏天，這里被稱為“中國火爐”。我去過八月份的重慶，我敢說，中國火爐當(dāng)之無愧。
The nickname also extends to its cuisine. Thislittle-known megalopolis is the birthplace – and spiritual home – of thefieriest Sichuan mala hotpot (huo guo in Mandarin) in the world. According tosome estimates, there are more than 50,000 hotpot restaurants in China’s aptlynamed “Hotpot City”.
因?yàn)橹貞c的美食，重慶還有個(gè)別名。這個(gè)鮮為人知的大都市，其實(shí)是世界上最火的四川麻辣火鍋的誕生地和精神家園。據(jù)估計(jì)，重慶大約有5萬多家火鍋店，被稱為中國的“火鍋之城”。
Walk around Chongqing’s downtown Jiefangbei businessdistrict and you’ll notice every other shopfront has a neon flame on it and asack of chillis by the door. Chongqing takes its hotpot seriously; it’s builtinto the very fabric of what this city is.
走在重慶市中心解放碑商業(yè)步行街，你會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)每家店面上都有霓虹燈，門上都掛著一袋辣椒。重慶重視火鍋，火鍋已經(jīng)融入了這座城市。
“Hotpot is an institution,” Jordan Porter, from Chengdu Food Tours,tells me. Where to eat it? “Look for a restaurant with a big atmosphere.” It’sgood advice – in a city with thousands of choices, it’s almost impossible torank one over the other.
“火鍋已經(jīng)成為了習(xí)慣”來自成都美食團(tuán)的喬丹·波特告訴我。那要去哪吃火鍋呢? “找一家氣氛熱烈的飯店。”這個(gè)建議很好——在一座有成千上萬家火鍋店的城市里，對(duì)火鍋店進(jìn)行排名幾乎是不可能的。
Which is how I find myself at very local hotpotrestaurant Lin Jiang Men in downtown Chongqing, facing down a menu entirely inChinese and without a single English speaker in the restaurant.
這就是我為什么在重慶市中心臨江門火鍋店的原因。低頭看看菜單，全是中文，周圍連一個(gè)會(huì)說英語的都沒有。
With hotpot, the first step is to choose the base: aclear broth, spicy chilli oil broth, or half and half. I choose thenine-section spicy red oil soup, which comes bubbling with beef lard,industrial quantities of Sichuan peppercorns and every other kind of spice therestaurant can get their hands on (usually cardamom, MSG, fennel and staranise).
吃火鍋，第一步要選擇鍋底：清湯鍋底、紅油鍋底還是鴛鴦鍋。我選擇的是麻辣九宮格紅油鍋底，鍋里是牛油、大量的四川麻椒以及各種調(diào)料：豆蔻、味精、茴香和八角茴香等。
Ever wondered why your tongue fizzes and goes numb aftereating Sichuan peppercorns? That’s thanks to small amounts of a molecule calledhydroxy alpha sanshool, which produces an effect much like a mild electriccurrent, according to food author Harold McGee.
有沒有想過為什么吃了四川麻椒后，舌頭麻麻得？美食作家哈羅德·麥基在文章中寫道，麻椒中含有一種叫羥基-α-山椒素的東西，它的效果就像給舌頭通上了溫和的電流。
Next into the hotpot goes pretty much anything. Localspecialities include duck intestine and Chinese sausage, bright red with pig’sblood, though there are also more prosaic options like fried tofu, crunchylotus root and strips of rare beef. The process is simple: throw them in andwait for them to cook. When they’re ready (they float to the top of the brothwhen done), yank them out and dip into a saucer of sesame oil, coriander andginger to cool off.
接下來有許食物可以選擇。當(dāng)?shù)靥禺a(chǎn)的鴨腸、香腸，豬血，以及其他普通的食材，如炸豆腐，松脆的蓮藕和鮮牛肉片等。吃火鍋很簡(jiǎn)單：把菜和肉放進(jìn)鍋里，然后開始煮。煮好的肉和菜會(huì)漂起來。把煮熟菜和肉夾上來，蘸上一碟芝麻油、香菜和姜調(diào)成的蘸料，晾涼了就可以吃了。
As Chongqing forges into the future, hotpot remains muchthe same as it was hundreds of years ago when the dish migrated south fromMongolia. The nine-section format – still the most popular soup, judging frommy neighbours in Lin Jiang Men – is a hangover from the origins of the dish.Villagers would sit around outside and throw things into the broth, and themore sections there were, the more people could join for dinner. The communityaspect of hotpot hasn’t changed today.
重慶正在創(chuàng)造未來，但是重慶火鍋卻一直沒變。幾百年前，火鍋這種飲食方式隨著蒙古大軍傳到了中國南方地區(qū)。從臨江門食客的點(diǎn)餐來看，九宮格火鍋仍然是最受歡迎的，火鍋仍然保持著原始的蒙古方式：村民們坐在外面，圍著鍋，把東西扔進(jìn)肉湯里煮。鍋底分得格越多，就能有越多的人一起吃?；疱伒娜郝涿婷仓钡浇裉煲矝]有改變。
In Chongqing, hotpot isn’t just a meal; it’s both a nounand a verb. It’s a time for interaction: doing business, celebrating a birthdayor anniversary, or just an excuse to sit down and talk as a family. In LinJiang Men, I’m surrounded by families and groups of friends, all laughing andhaggling over whatever innards they’re pulling out of the steamy broth.Nobody’s in a hurry and nobody’s Instagramming their dinner – the hotpot is thesocial platform itself.
在重慶，火鍋不僅僅是頓飯，在這里火鍋既是名詞也是動(dòng)詞。吃火鍋是溝通感情最好時(shí)候：談生意、生日或者周年紀(jì)念，家庭聚會(huì)。在臨江門，一起吃火鍋的都是家人或朋友，笑著、鬧著從熱氣騰騰的鍋里撈起菜，大快朵頤。沒有人著急，也沒有人曬照片——火鍋就是社交平臺(tái)。
“Hotpot is the party,” says Porter. “It’s the main event.” Or, atleast, it is for tonight. Tomorrow, my insides – currently humming with 100,000Scoville heat units – might think differently.
“火鍋就是派對(duì)”，波特說。“火鍋是最重要的事。”至少今晚是最重要的。我已經(jīng)被辣的嗡嗡作響了，應(yīng)該能達(dá)到十萬辣度了。不過明天可能就不會(huì)這么想了。
How to hotpot
怎么吃火鍋？
Hotpot is a celebration. Find a busy restaurant wherethe locals are chugging plenty of Chongqing Beer and laughing at some realityshow on a big-screen TV.
火鍋就像一場(chǎng)慶祝。找一家熱鬧的飯店。這里大家吃著火鍋喝著重慶啤酒，笑著聊著天，看著電視。
You’ll be asked a series of questions when you walk intoa hotpot joint: the type of broth, the level of heat and what kind of oil youwant. If you can’t speak Chinese, walk around the restaurant and point to whatother people are eating.
當(dāng)你準(zhǔn)備吃火鍋的時(shí)候，服務(wù)員會(huì)問你很多問題：什么鍋底、什么辣度、什么蘸料。如果不會(huì)說漢語，你可以在飯店里轉(zhuǎn)轉(zhuǎn)，想吃什么就指什么。
Avoid eating in the touristy areas of Chongqing likeHong Ya Dong (home to the Hongya caves). The quality isn’t going to match areliable local spot. Ask your hotel for recommendations.
盡量別在旅游景點(diǎn)吃火鍋，特別是洪崖洞?；疱伷焚|(zhì)跟這個(gè)旅游景點(diǎn)的名聲不配。你還可以咨詢你的酒店。
Order lots and lots of weak beer (Snow or Chongqing’sown brand) to cool off. In Sichuan, it’s usually drunk out of mini glasses orflat ceramic bowls.
多點(diǎn)些冰凍的淡啤酒，雪花或者重慶當(dāng)?shù)仄【?。在四川，通常都是用一些小杯子或者平底碗喝酒的?br>
Wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty. Forhotpot beginners, it’s impossible to avoid being spattered with red-hot oil.Even better, wear an apron.
盡量穿不怕臟的衣服。剛開始吃火鍋，要想衣服上不濺上紅油，基本是不可能的。穿上圍裙更好。
Take your time. This is a slow food experience.
別著急，吃火鍋講究的就是慢。
Want more spice? If your guts can handle it, tryChongqing’s signature noodle dish, xiaomian, which is spicier than its widelyknown Chengdu counterpart dandanmian. You can find a cheap bowl, swimming inchilli oil, spring onion and coriander, down most city backstreets.
不夠過癮？如果胃受得了，那就試試重慶招牌面，重慶小面吧，比四川擔(dān)擔(dān)面更辣。在城市大部分街道都能買到一碗便宜的，漂著辣油、蔥花和香菜的重慶小面。
