Food shortages have been experienced by people across the world throughout the centuries, but these challenges have driven people to cope, like the Taiwanese, who have found creative culinary uses for all parts of their animals, including blood. Pig’s blood cake, or rice blood cake, consists of sticky rice mixed with animal blood. After being steamed, the cakes are often cut into rectangles and skewered onto bamboo skewers so people can enjoy them while walking. It can also be braised or cooked in soup.
糧食不足是各國多少世紀以來的難題,但面對困境,台灣人學會善加利用牲畜的每個部位,包含血液。豬血糕又稱做米血糕,在糯米中混入豬血後,蒸熟後切成長方形,插上竹籤方便邊走邊吃,還可以滷豬血糕或煮湯。
shortage (n.) 缺少,匱乏
Photo courtesy of Bookman l 圖片:書林
rectangle (n.) 長方形
There are regional variations in how pig’s blood cake is eaten. In northern Taiwan, people coat the cakes with crushed peanuts and coriander, while in southern Taiwan, people dip them in a sauce (either soy sauce or chili sauce). The taste of pig’s blood cake is mild and unique, with a subtle rice aroma and the taste of pig blood, which some perceive as a slightly rusty iron taste. Its texture is firm yet chewy, with a bit of a bouncy sensation.
豬血糕的吃法南北各有不同。北部的豬血糕會裹一層花生粉和芫荽,南部人則偏好沾醬油或辣椒醬吃。豬血糕本身味道不重,帶有淡淡的糯米香氣和豬血味,但有的人認為像鐵鏽味,口感紮實帶有嚼勁,吃起來有點彈牙。
subtle (adj.) 細微的
rusty (adj.) 生銹的
Originally, what we now call pig’s blood cake was made with duck or chicken blood before pig blood was mainly used. In the past, poultry was raised in almost every household but was butchered mainly for the market, and occasionally for festivals and worship. Regretting having to discard the blood, people found a way to cook it by mixing the blood with rice and eating it with a sauce. This dish was considered a delicacy at that time but gradually evolved into a snack that children from the previous generation would buy on their way home from school, then a traditional night market snack that continues to this day.
我們所熟悉的豬血糕,其實原本是用鴨血、雞血做成。早年家家戶戶都有養雞鴨,但養來大多數是為了賣錢,逢年過節才會殺來吃。老百姓捨不得白白浪費掉血液,於是想到可以和米飯一起攪拌均勻,蒸熟後沾醬吃。對於當時的人來說豬血糕可是山珍海味,逐漸演變成上個世代孩童放學路上的點心,流傳成今日的經典夜市美食。
Gruesome as it may sound, pig’s blood cake embodies the thrifty spirit of the Taiwanese people. But don’t think that only Taiwanese people eat blood-based foods! Authentic delicacies made from animal blood can be found elsewhere in Asia, the Americas and Europe. In Ireland, people eat a breakfast dish called black pudding, which is made from pig blood, pork fat and oatmeal.
雖然豬血糕聽起來有些可怕,但蘊含了台灣人民節儉的精神。不過可別以為只有台灣人才吃血製食品,亞洲、美洲及歐洲都找得到以動物血做成的美食,如愛爾蘭人的早餐會吃以豬血、豬油和燕麥做成的黑布丁。
gruesome (adj.) 可怕的
embody (v.) 體現
Those who get light-headed at the sight of blood should probably avoid blood-based foods like pig’s blood cake. But just as life is filled with adventures, you only know whether you will like something once you try it. Encourage your friends who haven’t tried this dish before to take a bite; it is not as terrible as people imagine.
一看到血就頭暈的人,得注意避開像豬血糕這類的美食。不過就像人生的多彩與冒險,除非你親身嘗試,不然永遠不知道結果如何。可以鼓勵還未嘗試過的朋友嘗一嘗,味道不如有些人想像的那樣可怕!
文章由書林出版公司提供:
www.bookman.com.tw
Like people in many other countries, Taiwanese are fond of delicious fried snacks. For example, Spain is known for its churros, and in Taiwan there is a traditional fried dessert made of sticky rice called beh teung guai. The snack consists of sticky rice flour that is mixed with water, kneaded into a dough and shaped into small pieces. Once fried, the sticky rice balls are coated in crushed peanuts and sugar mixture. 世界上有許多國家愛吃炸甜點,台灣也不例外。舉例來說,西班牙有吉拿棒,台灣人則有油炸糯米的點心──白糖粿。作法先將糯米粉和水混合揉成糰,再捏成小塊,炸好後裹上花生糖粉。 knead (v.) 揉(麵糰、黏土),捏;捏製;揉捏形成 Beh teung guai is a traditional snack that has been enjoyed by many senior citizens since
WHEN ARE THE OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC GAMES? The Paris 2024 Olympics will run from Friday to Aug. 11, while the Paris 2024 Paralympics will be held from Aug. 28-Sept. 8. WHERE WILL THE GAMES TAKE PLACE? In September 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) awarded Paris the 2024 Games when its only remaining rival, Los Angeles, agreed to wait another four years to be the host city. Paris has hosted two Olympics and will stage the event 100 years after its last Games in 1924. The Games will be staged in 35 venues across Paris, Ile-de-France, on both mainland France and overseas. Some notable venues
A: The 2024 Paris Olympics is set to open tomorrow (Saturday Taiwan time), and will run until Aug. 11. B: How many Taiwanese athletes will compete in the Olympics? A: About 60 Taiwanese athletes will participate in 16 sports. B: I’ve heard some Olympic gold medalists, such as weightlifter Kuo Hsing-chun, and badminton duo Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin, will compete in the Olympics again. A: Asian tennis star Hsieh Su-wei, who is the World No. 1 in women’s doubles, is also on the Taiwan team. Let’s give our support to the Taiwanese players. A: 巴黎奧運自7月26日(台灣時間27日),至8月11日要登場啦。 B: 台灣有多少選手參賽? A: 台灣有60名選手參賽,將參加16項運動種類。 B: 這次奧運金牌舉重名將郭婞淳、羽球男雙李洋/王齊麟都會參賽。 A:
You might have seen athletes gracefully bending and leaping in rhythm with melodies. This is “rhythmic gymnastics,” a sport often mistaken for artistic gymnastics. However, the two are distinct in focus and presentation. Artistic gymnastics focuses on strength, flexibility, and balance, with athletes performing solo on various equipment. They are scored based on the difficulty of their movements, their execution of certain skills on each apparatus, and their ability to combine multiple skills into different movements. Rhythmic gymnastics, on the other hand, emphasizes style and presentation, with athletes often performing in teams. Moving in harmony with music, they use