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Culture
文藝版塊
World in a dish
盤中世界
Thinking outside the white plastic box
跳出白色塑料盒思考
A carnivore’s guide to tofu.
給肉食者的豆腐指南。
Suella Braverman, Britain’s former home secretary, blamed “Guardian-reading, tofu-eating wokerati” for a protest that closed a bridge.
英國前內政大臣蘇埃拉·布雷弗曼指責“那些讀《衛報》、吃豆腐的覺醒文化分子”進行的抗議活動導致一座大橋關閉。（注：此處指要求政府停止新增石油使用的氣候活動。）
Ted Cruz, a conservative American senator, complained that Democrats want Texas “to be just like California, right down to tofu”.
保守派美國參議員泰德·克魯茲抱怨說，民主黨人希望得克薩斯州“變得和加利福尼亞州一樣，連豆腐也要一樣吃”。
Across the West, eating tofu is seen as leftist, weak and somehow unmanly.
在整個西方世界，吃豆腐被視為左派、軟弱，以及莫名缺乏男子氣概。
This view is silly, and carnivores who hold it are depriving themselves of a healthy, delicious and adaptable source of protein.
這種觀點很愚蠢，持有這種觀點的肉食者剝奪了自己吃一種健康、美味、適應性強的蛋白質食物的機會。
Tofu—rich in calcium, protein and a variety of minerals—remained obscure in the West until counterculture looked east in the 1960s; Asians have eaten it for millennia.
豆腐（富含鈣、蛋白質和多種礦物質）在西方一直鮮為人知，直到20世紀60年代反主流文化群體將目光投向東方，亞洲人食用豆腐的歷史已經有數千年。
In some Asian languages, the words for “tofu” and “cheese” are similar, and they have strikingly similar production methods.
在一些亞洲語言中，表示“豆腐”和“奶酪”的詞語很相似，二者的制作方法也驚人地相似。
(Animal milk and soy milk are heated, inoculated with a coagulant, pressed and shaped into solid form.)
（動物奶和豆漿被加熱，放入凝固劑，然后壓制并成型為固體。）
Just as cheeses differ markedly in taste and texture, tofu takes a variety of forms, from delicate silken tofu—delicious as a dessert when dressed with syrup—to the refrigerated boxed-in-water versions.
就像奶酪的口味和質地有顯著差異一樣，豆腐也有多種類型，從細膩的嫩豆腐（淋上糖漿就是美味的甜點）到冷藏的盒裝泡水豆腐。
To detractors, what all these forms share is blandness and virtue.
對于討厭豆腐的人來說，所有這些種類的共同點是口味平淡和有益健康。
Tofu is wobbly and tasteless; people eat it only because they feel they should or, having sworn off meat for ideological reasons, they must.
豆腐搖搖晃晃，淡而無味，人們吃它只是因為認為自己應該吃，或者因為意識形態原因而發誓不吃肉，所以必須吃豆腐。
In a new book, “Tofu: A Culinary History”, Russell Thomas, a journalist, argues that bean curd deserves better than its worthy reputation.
在《豆腐的烹飪歷史》這本新書中，記者拉塞爾·托馬斯認為，豆腐值得比其優良聲譽更好的評價。
The first step in enjoying it is getting politics out of the kitchen and appreciating its endless versatility.
享用豆腐的第一步是將政治從廚房中移除，并欣賞豆腐的做法之繁多。
Boosters do tofu no favours by calling it a “meat substitute”—generally, it is not.
豆腐的支持者們將其稱為“肉的替代品”，這對豆腐無益，而且一般來說，豆腐并不能替代肉。
Nobody will ever mistake pressed bean curd for a seared steak.
沒有人會把壓制的豆漿凝乳誤認為是烤牛排。
But for carnivores who want to reduce their meat consumption, tofu can prove a surprisingly delicious stand-in.
但是對于想要少吃肉的肉食者來說，豆腐可以成為一種意外好吃的替代品。
Extra-firm tofu, crumbled into a skillet, sautéed until dry and well-seasoned, makes a taco filling reminiscent of Mexican chorizo.
把硬豆腐在平底鍋里搗碎，炒至變干并入味，這樣做成的塔可餅餡料會讓人聯想到墨西哥辣香腸。
Coated in cornstarch, shallow-fried and sauced, it makes a crisp, light stir-fry.
把豆腐裹上玉米淀粉，淺炸后加醬汁，就是一道酥脆、清淡的炒菜。
Thawed tofu has a porous resilience that soaks up sauce, making it perfect for stews.
解凍后的豆腐多孔、有彈性，能吸收醬汁，非常適合燉煮。
But tofu need not stand in for meat; across Asia, people see no contradiction in eating both meat and tofu, even in the same dish.
但是豆腐不必代替肉，在整個亞洲，人們認為吃肉和吃豆腐并不矛盾，即使同一道菜也可以既有肉又有豆腐。
In mapo tofu, a Sichuanese favourite, chewy nubs of ground beef or pork swimming in a fiery sauce complement silken tofu’s yielding delicacy.
麻婆豆腐是四川人的最愛，筋道的牛肉末或豬肉末浸在辣味醬汁里，與嫩豆腐的順滑細膩相得益彰。
Soft tofu cut in squares makes a bed for a whole steamed fish bathed in chillies and garlic.
把軟豆腐切成方塊，可以墊在撒滿辣椒和大蒜的蒸全魚下面。
Smoked or pressed tofu, with its firm and meaty texture, stir-fried with pork and celery, offers a quick and gentle lunch, served over rice.
煙熏或壓制的豆腐質地緊實、有肉感，與豬肉和芹菜一起炒，然后蓋在米飯上，就是一頓既快捷，又能吃得舒服的午飯。
And though tofu sticks may look shiny and more like industrial products when packaged and dried, paired with chunks of pork belly in a spiced broth, they make a winter stew hearty and delicious enough to convert the most ardent tofuphobe—and remind you never to judge a food by its political reputation.
雖然炸豆腐棒在包裝和干燥后可能看起來油亮、更像工業食品，但配上五花肉塊，放在辣味肉湯里煮，就是一道豐盛美味的冬季燉菜，足以讓最堅定的豆腐恐懼癥患者改變看法——也足以提醒你，永遠不要根據食物的政治聲譽來評判它。
