郭聞 劉安琪
如果不是遇到全挪中國和平統(tǒng)一促進會會長馬列,我還不知道,杭幫菜在國外已自成天地,有了如許影響。
說實話,在我的印象中,雖然杭幫菜位列中國八大菜系的浙菜之中,但它既不如川菜有那么多的接受人群,又不像粵菜有那么廣的幅射面,也沒有魯菜那么悠久的歷史……僅僅是江南地區(qū)的一個地方菜而已。
但是如今,出身溫婉江南的杭幫菜,卻在寒冷的北歐,找到了許多人高馬大、金發(fā)碧眼的知音。它用溫潤的東方瓷器、典雅的菜肴色澤和別致的味覺,征服了挪威人,同時也扭轉了許多當地人對中餐的印象。因為28年前在馬列剛踏上奧斯陸的土地時,當地小而少的中餐館,帶給挪威人的印象是簡單、粗陋及沒有美感。
作為一個從杭州走出去闖世界的杭幫菜大廚,看到這一局面時是痛心的。于是,他花了28年時間,做了一個廚師能夠達到的高度——把杭幫菜介紹給世界,讓挪威的政商各界從杭幫菜里了解中國文化,知道杭州。
馬列是上世紀80年代崛起的新一代杭幫菜廚師,曾與如今的中國烹飪大師、杭幫菜掌門人胡忠英同一時期學藝。不過后來兩人走向了不同的發(fā)展方向。當胡忠英在實踐一線帶徒弟的時候,馬列則成了杭州烹飪學校的老師,收徒授藝。
那會兒,馬列做了件看上去并不是很大,但其實對于中國烹飪界來說非常有意義且影響深遠的事——培訓食堂廚師。
上世紀80年代的時候,還沒有廚師考級、業(yè)余廚師培訓班。廚師一般是通過學校的培訓學習,由國家分配,就業(yè)多集中在國營飯店以及大型企事業(yè)單位和機關食堂。對于廚藝的交流和提高,廚師彼此間并不像現在這么有欲望,競爭也不激烈,所以,食堂菜給人的印象就是填飽肚子而已。
1986年,有感于食堂飯菜水平低下,馬列和杭州烹飪協(xié)會的幾個同事決定,辦一場食堂廚師大比武。據說這個比武搞得轟轟烈烈,到最后,各單位的廚師彼此間都“打出了火氣”。評獎結果倒是其次,最直接的結果就是,全杭州大型企事業(yè)單位的食堂菜水平大幅度提高,職工頓時有了口福。那幾年,大家都能以到浙江麻紡廠、杭州汽輪機廠、杭州玻璃廠蹭飯為榮。“小灶”的概念也是那會兒出現的,因為廚師水平的提高,使得去食堂能像下館子一樣,實現炒幾個菜喝兩杯酒的愿望。
一場大賽帶來了副產品,馬列編了本教材《食堂烹飪知識》,通過杭州市總工會開了個廚師培訓班。剛開始的時候,這本教材只是個油印小冊子;后來用的人越來越多,就慢慢變成了簡單的鉛字書;再后來用的人更多了,居然成了全國16個省市培訓廚師的專用教材。一直沿用到社會上各種廚師培訓班紛紛出現之后,廚師培訓教材才慢慢豐富和完備起來。
1990年,應朋友之邀,已經42歲的馬列去了挪威,成為挪威一家國際飲食公司的大廚。沒多久,他接到一個任務:去首相家做一頓中餐。因為當時首相的兒子要到中國做副大使,這一頓中式宴會,算是提前預熱?!八紊~羹、炸春卷、宮保雞丁……首相吃完非常喜歡,還告訴我他曾去過杭州?!瘪R列至今還能清楚地記得當時的菜單。
4年后,馬列自己開了一家中餐館,主打的便是杭幫菜。
如何讓中餐入鄉(xiāng)隨俗,更加適應當地人的口味?馬列想了不少辦法。“挪威人喜歡清淡、酸甜的口味,這與杭幫菜不謀而合。我發(fā)現,他們不愛吃有骨頭的肉,于是就把糖醋里脊按照廣東菜的做法,做成咕咾肉。又比如挪威沒有草魚,我就用當地盛產的鱈魚,按照西湖醋魚的調味方式燒制,很合當地人口味。”
看馬列餐館的主打菜,是不是感覺有些熟悉?是的,G20杭州峰會招待宴會的菜單,就有其中的影子。當時,在準備招待宴會的菜單時,杭幫菜大師、主廚胡忠英及葉杭生大師就與馬列有過多次越洋電話交流,一起討論商量宴會菜單和原材料問題。馬列根據20多年來在國外經營餐飲的經驗,提供了非常有用的思路。
外國人飲食習慣與中國人的最大不同點在于魚、肉必須去骨;并且習慣食用深海魚而不是河魚。所以在宴會提供的菜品里,肉和魚全部經過了去骨處理。招待宴會主菜里的東坡牛扒,用的就是馬列餐館里糖醋里脊的思路。而午宴工作餐的主菜獅子頭,用的原料是鱈魚。
G20杭州峰會的招待宴會非常成功,用胡忠英的話說就是:每個菜都吃光了??梢娛羌确狭烁鲊I導人的飲食習慣,也贏得了口味。
去年,在馬列的牽線搭橋之下,一場名為“杭州美食文化挪威行”的活動在奧斯陸舉行,挪威王國政府多位高級官員、奧斯陸市政府主要官員悉數出席。
為了拉近挪威朋友和杭幫菜的距離,馬列和來自杭州的幾位大廚別出心裁,結合挪威當地食材特點搞起再創(chuàng)作。
腐皮魚卷中特別融入挪威三文魚作為主材之一;用挪威盛產的鱈魚代替豬肉,制作“獅子頭”,再配以當地清冽的雪水;將當地人愛吃的牛肉,以“東坡肉”的烹飪方法制作成“東坡牛肉”……熟悉的食材,新鮮的口感,讓在場挪威賓客贊不絕口。
那次活動之后,挪威當地不少中餐館門庭若市,許多此前從未嘗過中餐的挪威民眾紛紛慕名前往。
現在馬列最想做的,不僅僅是讓挪威美食愛好者光顧他的餐廳,他還想讓更多的人知道杭幫菜,愛上杭幫菜。
“我們不僅要以此吸引更多的外國朋友來當地中國餐館吃飯,還想借此讓他們認識杭州,知道那是一個風景秀美、文化深厚的好地方。”馬列說。
向海外推廣中餐,用美食結交朋友,最近這些年馬列扮演了連通中外的“橋梁”的角色。憑借多年來扎根海外積累的資源,他幾乎每年都會邀請杭幫菜、淮揚菜等各大菜系的烹飪大師,出國交流,推介色香味俱全的中國美食。
出國久了,馬列漸漸發(fā)現,舌尖上的美味,讓人回味的不僅是那份刺激味蕾的鮮美,還有蘊藏其中的那份極為豐厚的文化。他想讓更多朋友品嘗流傳百年的中國味道,更想讓他們了解古老悠久的中華文化。他要傳播的不只是杭幫菜,還有杭幫菜中的中國故事。
于是馬列策劃制作了一本小冊子《杭幫菜傳奇》?!皷|坡肉”記錄了蘇東坡在杭州修建蘇堤時與百姓共享美食的故事;“桂花栗羮”源自中秋之夜天上人間同賞湖景的美麗傳說;“宋嫂魚羹”則與宋高宗巡游西湖時的一次偶遇有關……每一頁,四句詩,一段話,一張圖,對杭州的人文地理娓娓道來。
細細讀來,千年杭城的文化范兒躍然紙上。馬列在小冊子中專門配上英文譯文,外國讀者讀來也是一目了然。
“我花了兩個多月時間,大概寫了150多個故事,就是希望用通俗易懂的方式,讓國外的朋友認識杭州,認識中國?!比缃?,這本小冊子已經成為歐洲不少中文學校的課外閱讀教材。
在馬列看來,美食是一個很好的窗口,從中可以窺見的,不僅有中華文化的源遠流長,還有中國發(fā)展的日新月異。
“我們海外華僑華人有責任也有條件向世界講好中國故事?!瘪R列說。通過美食,讓外國朋友在一點一滴之間領略中華文化的魅力,他樂此不疲,并將鍥而不舍。
If I hadnt met Ma Lie (which rhymes nearly with beer), president of the All-Norway Union for Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China, I wouldnt have learned that Hangzhou Cuisine has already established itself in Norway. Hangzhou Cuisine is a significant part of Zhejiang Cuisine, one of the eight major cuisines of China, but I was under the impression that citys cuisine was no more than a regional flavor of Jiangnan, or the south of the Yangtze River Delta.
However, the cuisine from Hangzhou has long since won the hearts of many people in Norway in northern Europe. The success of Hangzhou Cuisine in the Nordic country owes a lot of Ma Lie. Ma came to Oslo 28 years ago and found Chinese restaurants in the capital of the country were in a poor and bad situation. There were not many Chinese restaurants. And they were crude, shabby, and unaesthetic. A master chef, Ma was embarrassed and pained by this situation.
Ma was a new-generation chef in Hangzhou in the 1980s. Hu Zhongying, now a Chinese national chef and master of Hangzhou Cuisine, studied side by side with Ma in their apprentice years. While Hu worked in kitchen and made a career, Ma taught at Hangzhou Cooking School.
What he did at the school appeared insignificant, but it ushered in a new age for the Chinese cuisine industry. Back then, chefs were trained in schools and then assigned to work in state-owned restaurants and dining halls of large-sized factories and government departments. In 1986, Ma and a few colleagues at Hangzhou Association of Culinary Professionals organized a citywide competition for chefs working at institutional eateries. The competition was fierce and chefs challenged each other for making best dishes. The competition raised the level of dining halls across the city and resulted in a textbook compiled by Ma. Sponsored by the citys federation of trade unions, Ma ran a training course for chefs. At first, the textbook was a mimeographed pamphlet. As it became increasingly popular, it became thicker and was published and adopted by 16 provinces and municipalities as the designated textbook for chef training courses.
Ma arrived in Norway in 1990 when he was 42. He worked as a top-class chef at an international restaurant business. Before long he was invited to prepare a simple Chinese banquet at the home of Norwegian Prime Minister because the prime ministers son would soon work as a deputy ambassador in Beijing and would like to get familiarized with Chinese food. Ma cooked some best known dishes from Hangzhou. Ma still remembers the menu today. The banquet was a huge success.
In 1994, Ma started a Chinese restaurant in Oslo, which presented Hangzhou Cuisine. He adjusted and localized Hangzhou Cuisine to appeal to the culinary preferences of the local population. A look at the menu at Mas restaurant in Oslo will suggest similarities with the menu for a state reception banquets at G20 Summit Hangzhou 2016. Yes, there was indeed a connection. While Hu Zhongying and Ye Hangsheng, two top masters of Hangzhou Cuisine, were preparing the menu for the reception, they phoned Ma in Oslo for advice and suggestion about the menu and food ingredients. Mas suggestions were adopted: bones must be removed from steak and fish before they are cooked; no river fish; only fish from deep sea; Dongpo Steak, the main course at the reception, was prepared in the same way as a popular dish is prepared at Mas restaurant in Oslo. “Lion Head” Meatball, a main course for a working dinner at a G20 Summit event, was prepared with cod fish.
Ma is now an active promoter of Chinese cuisine in foreign countries.
In 2017, “Hangzhou Cuisine in Norway” was held in Oslo. Ma was the one behind the promotion. The event was attended by high-ranking officials of the state government of the Kingdom of Norway and officials of the city government of Oslo. Local food materials such as salmon, cod, and beef were prepared in the Hangzhou style. The guests enjoyed the food very much. After the event, Chinese restaurants across Norway were visited by a lot of local residents who had never tasted Chinese food.
Nowadays he promotes Chinese food across the world annually. He organizes chefs from Hangzhou and other major Chinese cuisines to entertain prospective customers across the world.
What Ma Lie most wants to do is more than find a larger cliental for his restaurant in Oslo. He wants more people to know about Hangzhou Cuisine and love it. In order to promote the cuisine from his hometown, he has written a book on the stories behind local dishes in Hangzhou. He spent about two months writing 150 stories. Each story is accompanied with a four-line poem and a picture. The pamphlet is about Hangzhou, its history and culture, and its fine food. Now the pamphlet is a reader by some Chinese schools in Europe.
“We Chinese in overseas communities take it upon ourselves to tell Chinese story to the world,” says Ma Lie. He feels happy to introduce Chinese culture to international friends.