【英语趣味课堂】美国黑人常吃的食物-Soul Food

Mike: So Dusty-

Dusty: Uh-huh.

 

Mike: Tell me a little about - you're from Philadelphia, right?

 

Dusty: Yeah, yeah.

 

Mike: Tell me a little bit about - soul food.

 

Dusty: Okay. So soul food - actually, it comes from the South, and Philadelphia has a lot of great soul food restaurants. What soul food is, most of it comes from back in slave days, you know. Slaves, they can't get the really good cuts of the meat or the good parts. They got the kind of leftovers¹ or the thrown away stuff.

 

Mike: Right.

 

Dusty: They had to learn how to make it into something a bit better.

 

Mike: Right.

 

Dusty: So it's just kind of good, hearty² eating. Most of it is cooked - it's not really the healthiest food - a lot of it is cooked in butter, or fried up in lard.

 

Mike: Right. So can you give me some examples of like some soul food dishes maybe, and what's inside it?

 

Dusty: So, of course, the classic ones are things like fried chicken or chitlin. And chitlin is basically like stewed³ pig intestines⁴ of seasoning⁵.

 

Mike: It's tasty.

 

Dusty: Yeah. It's not something I like, but some people enjoy it.

 

Mike: Right.

 

Dusty: And then, there's also things like collard greens, yams, mashed⁶ potatoes - a lot of things you see all the time - biscuits. These are all things that are like soul food.

 

Mike: Just curious, does it differ by region? Like for example, you're from Philadelphia, which is further north. Do you get different types of soul food if you go like further towards the south, like the Cajun parts, let's say Louisiana or something?

 

Dusty: Well, Cajun food's a bit different, but as you travel down south, you start seeing differences. Like where I was from in the States, we almost never had chitlins in the north, because it was just something that wasn't very appetizing. Or chicken feet is another one, pig's feet - food like that just wasn't as popular. But as you go down south, you get back to the roots of it more, and so you start finding more restaurants that sell these kinds of things.

 

Mike: Interesting.

 

Dusty: Yeah. I still can't eat it. It's horrible, but--

 

Mike: Interesting. So is there a particular favorite kind of soul food dish that you like?

 

Dusty: Oh, I still love collard greens. One of the things that when I was younger, I didn't like them so much; as I got older, I enjoyed them. It's almost like a kind of spinach⁷ basically.

 

Mike: Okay.

 

Dusty: But it's kind of a bit more flavored and spicier⁸.

 

Mike: Wow.

 

Dusty: Yeah. And macaroni and cheese I love, of course.

 

Mike: Wow! Right on.

 

重点词汇：

 

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

soul food

 

Soul food comes from the south..

 

Soul food is popular among African Americans in the southern US. Notice the following:

 

The term soul food bacame popular in the mid-1960s.

Are there any soul food restaurants in your city?

slave days

 

Back in the slave days..

 

The slave days in the US lasted from 1619-1865, when Africans were enslaved as a source of free labor⁹. Notice the following:

 

The slave days are sad part of American history.

The slave days ended soon after the Civil War.

hearty

 

It's good, hearty eating.

 

A hearty meal is large and filling. Notice the following:

 

I come from a family of hearty eaters.

Wow, That was a hearty dinner!

appetizing

 

It wasn't very appetizing.

 

Food that is appetizing is delicious. Notice the following:

 

Healthy food's just not appetizing for me.

The steak sounds appetizing. I think I'll order it.

flavored and spicier

 

I like things a bit more flavored and spicier.

 

Food that is flavored and spicy¹⁰ has a strong taste. Notice the following:

 

Thai food is very flavored and spicy.

Asian food is a a lot more flavored and spicier than western food.

1 leftovers   

n.剩余物，残留物，剩菜

参考例句：

• He can do miracles with a few kitchen leftovers.他能用厨房里几样剩饭做出一顿美餐。
• She made supper from leftovers she had thrown together.她用吃剩的食物拼凑成一顿晚饭。

2 hearty   

adj.热情友好的；衷心的；尽情的，纵情的

参考例句：

• After work they made a hearty meal in the worker's canteen.工作完了，他们在工人食堂饱餐了一顿。
• We accorded him a hearty welcome.我们给他热忱的欢迎。

3 stewed   

adj.焦虑不安的，烂醉的v.炖( stew的过去式和过去分词 )；煨；思考；担忧

参考例句：

• When all birds are shot, the bow will be set aside;when all hares are killed, the hounds will be stewed and eaten -- kick out sb. after his services are no longer needed. 鸟尽弓藏，兔死狗烹。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• \"How can we cook in a pan that's stewed your stinking stockings? “染臭袜子的锅，还能煮鸡子吃！还要它？” 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

4 intestines   

n.肠( intestine的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perhaps the most serious problems occur in the stomach and intestines. 最严重的问题或许出现在胃和肠里。 来自辞典例句
• The traps of carnivorous plants function a little like the stomachs and small intestines of animals. 食肉植物的捕蝇器起着动物的胃和小肠的作用。 来自辞典例句

5 seasoning   

n.调味；调味料；增添趣味之物

参考例句：

• Salt is the most common seasoning.盐是最常用的调味品。
• This sauce uses mushroom as its seasoning.这酱油用蘑菇作调料。

6 mashed   

a.捣烂的

参考例句：

• two scoops of mashed potato 两勺土豆泥
• Just one scoop of mashed potato for me, please. 请给我盛一勺土豆泥。

7 spinach   

n.菠菜

参考例句：

• Eating spinach is supposed to make you strong.据说吃菠菜能使人强壮。
• You should eat such vegetables as carrot,celery and spinach.你应该吃胡萝卜、芹菜和菠菜这类的蔬菜。

8 spicier   

adj.用香料调味的( spicy的比较级 )；有香料味的；有刺激性的；（故事、新闻等） 刺激的

参考例句：

• She added some green chili peppers to her cheese dip to make spicier. 她在起司沾酱中加了一些青辣椒让它辛辣一点。 来自互联网

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 spicy   

adj.加香料的；辛辣的，有风味的

参考例句：

• The soup tasted mildly spicy.汤尝起来略有点辣。
• Very spicy food doesn't suit her stomach.太辣的东西她吃了胃不舒服。