Ep D: Dìguā Sweet Potato 地瓜
(想聽2021年2月12日的廣播節目可以點開上面音符圖案的檔案 If you'd like to listen to the original 2/12/2021 radio episode, please click on the above music note to play the file)
When I first started working in Taiwan several people asked me a question that I didn't really know how to answer: How do you say 特產 (tèchǎn) in English? (Please remember that Google Translate didn't exist when I first arrived!) I couldn't speak Chinse very well at the time, and when they described what it means, I didn't really understand. Something (usually a food), that you have to buy when you travel to a place...I guess it's something like a food souvenir? Eventually I stumbled upon the term "local specialty". Still even to this day, "local specialty" culture is something that I don't often see in the US. But in Taiwan? Everywhere you go here, we have some special food you should eat, and if you can, buy to take back home to your friends and family. Some examples: Sun Cakes from Taichung, Mochi from Hualian, Cow Tongue Cakes (not made of cow tongues, btw!) from Ilan and Lukang. Why all this talk about "local specialties" this week? Well because if all of Taiwan has a local specialty, it's definitely the sweet potato! There are lots of foods here that have a special place in the hearts, minds and cultural history of Taiwan, but in my personal observations, sweet potatoes take the cake (pun intended). And while I personally have never enjoyed eating sweet potatoes, steamed, baked, fried or otherwise, I still love them because of what they mean in Taiwan! (Remember to look at the bottom of the post for the song chords!)
我剛來台灣開始工作時,有一些人問我一個我真的不曉得怎麼回答的問題:特產(tèchǎn )的英文怎麼說?(要記得喔~那個時候還沒有Google翻譯好不好!)當時我的中文不是那麼好,所以當他們用英文描述「特產」的意思的時候我還是不太懂.是某個東西(通常是一種食物),去別的地方旅行的時候必買...嗯感覺像是類似食物的紀念品?我後來不小心發現了英文的「local specialty」一詞.不過至今我很少在美國看到「local specialty」的文化現象.但在台灣呢?這裡個個地區都有賣要帶回家給朋友家人吃的特別食物!例如:台中的太陽餅、花蓮的麻糬、宜蘭和鹿港的牛舌餅(順便說~牛舌餅不是用牛舌做的!).那至於為甚麼這個禮拜要提到特產呢,就是因為如果整個台灣有個特產的話,那個特產應該是地瓜才對!這裡有很多食物在台灣人的心靈,思想和文化歷史中佔有特殊的位置,但以我個人的觀察,地瓜站在最重要的位置(上面這段英語故意用了的雙關語意的成語).而且,雖熱我自己從來不喜歡吃地瓜,不管是蒸的、烤的、炸的甚麼的都不喜歡,可是我還是愛著它因為我愛它在台灣的意義!(記得看網頁最下面的地方就可以找到歌曲的和絃囉!)
Sweet Potato 地瓜
When in Taiwan, it's really sweet 當你在台灣.它很甜
Do you know the food to eat that 你知道要吃甚麼食物
Looks like Taiwan's shape? No? Hmmmm... 長得很像台灣的形狀?不知道?嗯...
It's brown outside
with real tough skin它的外面是棕色的,有堅忍的皮
But inside it's bright orange 但在裡面它是顯眼的橘色
Taiwanese love it so 台灣人那麼愛它
It's called the sweet ________! 它叫做地_____
你真的不知道是甚麼嗎? 可是我們在台灣好愛它! 事實上,它甚至連...很美麗!
Oh beautiful for
making all它好美麗因為
Our cooking taste so nice
它讓我們的食料很美味
Like adding it to rice or soup 例如把它加進去米飯或者湯
Or sweet potato fries
或者黃金地瓜薯條
Sweet potato 地瓜啊
Sweet potato
地瓜啊
You're everywhere we see
你到處都可見
Convenience stores and street side stands 在便利商店還有路邊攤
We love you totally
我們完全愛著你!
Now you know the food we
eat 你現在知道我們吃哪個食物
In Taiwan that's really sweet 在台灣,它那麼甜
It's so important to us all 它對我們大家那麼重要
We call it sweet potato 我們叫它地瓜