美国国家公共电台 NPR To Appeal To A Modern Palate, Native Chef Gives Tradition A Little Twist

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST: 

When I think of my favorite foods, I can tick off my favorite Chinese dishes, Mexican dishes, Italian dishes. But if you asked me what Native American dish I enjoy most, I'd be stumped¹. There's a growing number of Native chefs who are trying to change that. They're bringing back indigenous² foods from centuries ago, adapting them for the modern palate so people can learn not just about their cuisines⁴, but their cultures.

Hey, Freddie.

FREDDIE BITSOIE: How are you?

CHANG: Ailsa.

You can meet one of those chefs in Washington, D.C., in the kitchen of the National Museum of the American Indian. Freddie Bitsoie found his way to the Mitsitam Native Foods Cafe in August. He just finished up a stint⁵ as the chef at an Indian reservation casino in New Mexico.

We met up with Bitsoie on a recent morning in the museum's bustling⁶ basement kitchen. This is his first gig as a chef whose work is entirely⁷ devoted⁸ to preparing and spreading awareness⁹ about indigenous American dishes.

BITSOIE: Can you get me a pot?

CHANG: Bitsoie is also this Native American cafe's first Native American chef. He's a member of the Navajo tribe and grew up in Arizona and New Mexico.

BITSOIE: My father spoke¹⁰ fluent Navajo. My mother spoke fluent Navajo.

CHANG: Did you speak fluent Navajo?

BITSOIE: I understand fluent Navajo.

CHANG: You're like me with Mandarin¹¹.

(LAUGHTER)

BITSOIE: But back in the '80s when I grew up, being Native wasn't cool. It just wasn't the thing to do. I was lucky enough to live off of the reservation and then on the reservation and then move back off the reservation. I had that ability to see from the inside and see from the outside.

CHANG: That tug¹² of war between native and non-native, insider and outsider - it may explain why Bitsoie loves bridging old and new in his cooking.

All right, so I hear you're going to cook something for us.

BITSOIE: Well, you know, that's part of the job, too.

CHANG: One of his signature dishes is a simple soup that's evolved across regions and across centuries. And then, Bitsoie decided¹³ to personalize it.

BITSOIE: Indigenous people, from Nova Scotia down on to Maine, modern-day Massachusetts, had a soup that was only made with three ingredients. It was sunchoke, clam¹⁴ and seawater.

CHANG: Seawater.

BITSOIE: Seawater, yeah.

CHANG: Wow.

BITSOIE: Can you, like, wonder...

CHANG: I can't picture myself gulping¹⁵ seawater down voluntarily.

BITSOIE: But at the same time...

CHANG: (Laughter).

BITSOIE: ...in Italian...

CHANG: Yeah.

BITSOIE: ...Cooking people say when you cook your pasta make sure it's salty like the sea, you know.

CHANG: Are we going to use seawater today in the...

BITSOIE: No.

CHANG: ...The preparation for the soup?

BITSOIE: I don't - you know, when I look out at that ocean I'm like I'm not - I don't even swim in the ocean (laughter).

CHANG: Bitsoie understands that to make some traditional dishes palatable¹⁶ to more people, you have to tweak them.

BITSOIE: I wanted to still have a connection to the tribes who used to eat this dish. But at the same time, this was, you know, made about five, 600 years ago. So my palate is completely different than my grandmother's palate which is even further from my grandmother's grandmother's palate.

CHANG: So to appeal to today's palate, he took the three original ingredients - clam, sunchokes and salt water and added some modern-day soup basics - leeks¹⁷, onion, garlic, thyme and bay leaf. It's a balancing act, accommodating mainstream¹⁸ tastes while being confident enough to hold fast to Native traditions. In the culinary world, Bitsoie says, that can be difficult.

BITSOIE: I worked for a French chef where when I would cook something native, all he would say is, you did that wrong.

CHANG: You did that wrong.

BITSOIE: You did that wrong. So the biggest example is potatoes. When people think about potatoes, in the French style of cooking, potatoes are - you know, have a bite. We call it al dente in the food world. But with native foods, we saute them, and then we allow them to cook, but we cover them. So the potatoes are not only being cooked from the bottom, they're being steamed at the same time.

So each culture has their own techniques. And with native cuisine³, from the beginning of time, we were always told that you're cooking that wrong. You're cooking the wrong. You're cooking that wrong. And see, I didn't know that because I was just growing up with the way my mom cooks. Look, when I got into the food business, I was looking at my mom and I said, mom, you're cooking that wrong. And I became colonized¹⁹ as a chef.

CHANG: But working here at the museum is a whole new chapter for Bitsoie. He can call the shots and figure out how he wants to integrate his own culture with his formal training as a chef.

BITSOIE: But the soup's ready.

CHANG: Oh, yeah. Oh, that looks good.

BITSOIE: Spoon for you.

CHANG: Thank you. All right. I'm digging in.

BITSOIE: All right.

CHANG: Oh - good.

BITSOIE: You were expecting cream and butter and that flavor of clam chowder I'm assuming.

CHANG: I was expecting saltier 'cause I had the whole seawater concept. Like, I was obsessing²⁰ about that. Like, I wonder where that - but no.

BITSOIE: It's very innocent, you know, and...

CHANG: It's very delicate. I really like it.

BITSOIE: ...And that's what native food is. That's - native food is really delicate and innocent, you know.

CHANG: Bitsoie says what he's trying to do here is create new tastes and give people a new appreciation²¹ of one of America's overlooked and perhaps least understood cuisines.

1 stumped   

僵直地行走，跺步行走( stump的过去式和过去分词 )； 把（某人）难住； 使为难； （选举前）在某一地区作政治性巡回演说

参考例句：

• Jack huffed himself up and stumped out of the room. 杰克气喘吁吁地干完活，然后很艰难地走出房间。
• He was stumped by the questions and remained tongue-tied for a good while. 他被问得张口结舌，半天说不出话来。

2 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

3 cuisine   

n.烹调，烹饪法

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• This restaurant is renowned for its cuisine.这家餐馆以其精美的饭菜而闻名。

4 cuisines   

n.烹饪( cuisine的名词复数 )；菜肴；（通常指昂贵的饭店中的）饭菜；烹饪艺术

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the different features of these cuisines? 能不能告诉我这些不同的烹调流派各自有哪些特点？ 来自地道口语脱口SHOW 高中超越版
• Ice sculptures are used as decorations in some cuisines, especially in Asia. 冰雕在某些菜肴中被当作装饰品，尤其在亚洲。 来自互联网

5 stint   

v.节省，限制，停止；n.舍不得化，节约，限制；连续不断的一段时间从事某件事

参考例句：

• He lavished money on his children without stint.他在孩子们身上花钱毫不吝惜。
• We hope that you will not stint your criticism.我们希望您不吝指教。

6 bustling   

adj.喧闹的

参考例句：

• The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
• This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

9 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

10 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

11 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

12 tug   

v.用力拖(或拉)；苦干；n.拖；苦干；拖船

参考例句：

• We need to tug the car round to the front.我们需要把那辆车拉到前面。
• The tug is towing three barges.那只拖船正拖着三只驳船。

13 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

14 clam   

n.蛤，蛤肉

参考例句：

• Yup!I also like clam soup and sea cucumbers.对呀！我还喜欢蛤仔汤和海参。
• The barnacle and the clam are two examples of filter feeders.藤壶和蛤类是滤过觅食者的两种例子。

15 gulping   

v.狼吞虎咽地吃，吞咽( gulp的现在分词 )；大口地吸（气）；哽住

参考例句：

• She crawled onto the river bank and lay there gulping in air. 她爬上河岸，躺在那里喘着粗气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• And you'll even feel excited gulping down a glass. 你甚至可以感觉到激动下一杯。 来自互联网

16 palatable   

adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的

参考例句：

• The truth is not always very palatable.事实真相并非尽如人意。
• This wine is palatable and not very expensive.这种酒味道不错，价钱也不算贵。

17 leeks   

韭葱( leek的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Leeks and potatoes go well together in a soup. 汤中放韭菜和土豆尝起来很对味。
• When I was young I grew some leeks in a pot. 小时候我曾在花盆里种了些韭葱。

18 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

19 colonized   

开拓殖民地，移民于殖民地( colonize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The area was colonized by the Vikings. 这一地区曾沦为维京人的殖民地。
• The British and French colonized the Americas. 英国人和法国人共同在美洲建立殖民地。

20 obsessing   

v.时刻困扰( obsess的现在分词 )；缠住；使痴迷；使迷恋

参考例句：

• Why is everyone obsessing over system specs right now? 为啥现在人人都对系统配置情有独钟？ 来自互联网
• A nitpicker, obsessing over dimes, is too stiff to place orders. 一个连一毛钱都舍不得亏的人，因太过拘谨而不能下单。 来自互联网

21 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。