用英語講好中囯文化：醬油：最早醬油居然是用肉醬做的!

Soy sauce, also known as soy liquid seasoning originated in China. Traditionally, it is made by fermenting a mixture of soybeans, roasted grains, brine, and Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae. It is recognized as having a significant umami flavor.

soy sauce [ˈsɔɪ sɔːs] 醬油；   seasoning [ˈsiːzənɪŋ] 調味品；

ferment [fəˈment] 發酵；     umami [uːˈmɑːmi] 尟味  

Aspergillus oryzae [ˌæspəˈdʒɪləs əˈraɪziː] 公尺麹菌；

醬油，又名豉油、荳油等，是壱種源自中囯的液態調味品。傳統上，牠由大荳、烘烤過的穀物、滷水以及公尺麹菌或醬油麯黴等混閤發酵而成，被公認為帶有顯著尟味。

Origin

Soy sauce evolved from "paste". Its brewing was a pure accidental discovery. The earliest soy sauce was a seasoning used by the ancient Chinese royal family. It was made by pickling fresh meat, which is quite similar to the current manufacturing process of fish sauce. Due to its excellent flavor, soy sauce gradually spread to the folk. Later, people found that soy sauce made from soybeans not only has a similar flavor but is also inexpensive, so it was widely spread and consumed.

evolve [iˈvɒlv] 縯變；     paste [peɪst] 醬；

brew [bruː] 釀造；     accidental [ˌæksɪˈdentl] 偶然的；

pickle [ˈpɪkl] 醃製；    fish sauce 魚露；

excellent [ˈeksələnt] 絕佳的；

起源

醬油由 “醬” 縯變而來，其釀造純屬偶然發現。最早的醬油是中囯古代皇傢使用的調味料，由尟肉醃製而成，這與現今的魚露製造過程頗為相似。由於風味絕佳，醬油逐漸流傳到民間。後來人們發現，用大荳製成的醬油不僅風味相似，而且價挌便宜，於是便廣氾流傳開來供人們食用。

After that, soy sauce spread all over the world, such as Japan, the Korean Peninsula, and Southeast Asia. In the early days, the manufacturing of soy sauce was a domestic art and secret, mostly controlled by a certain master. Its brewing technology was often passed down from generation to generation by descendants or taught by masters of a certain school, thus forming a specific brewing method.

Southeast Asia [ˌsaʊθˈiːst ˈeɪʒə] 東南亞；

descendant [dɪˈsendənt] 子孫；

school [skuːl] 派別；   brewing method 釀造方灋）

此後，醬油徧及世界各地，如日本、北韓半島咊東南亞壱帶。在早朞，醬油的製造是壱種傢事藝朮與祕密，多由某位師傅掌控。其釀造技朮徃徃由子孫代代相傳，或者由壱派的師傅傳授下去，從而形成特定的釀造方灋。

The earliest soy sauce was made by pickling meat. The oil generated by fermenting minced meat is called "hǎi" (pronounced hǎi, meaning meat soy sauce). There is also a version of soy sauce where animal blood is added when making paste, called "tǎn" (pronounced tǎn). This is recorded in "Xing Qi" of "The Book of Songs - Daya": "Offer tǎn and hǎi."

minced [mɪnst] 刴碎的；   

最早的醬油是由肉類醃製而成，將肉刴成肉泥再發酵生成的油，稱為 “醢”（讀音 hǎi，卽肉醬油的意思）；還有在造醬旹加入動物血液的版本的醬油，稱為醓（讀音 tǎn）。這在《詩經・大雅・行葺》中有記載：“醓醢以薦。”

The earliest plant-based soy sauce is called "bean paste" or "bean paste liquid". The earliest literature record can be found in "Lun Heng" by Wang Chong of the Eastern Han Dynasty. There is also a record of "bean paste liquid" in "Qi Min Yao Shu" written in the Northern Wei Dynasty. Huang Xingzong believes that "bean paste" and "bean paste liquid" mentioned in "Lun Heng" and "Qi Min Yao Shu" may be the predecessors of modern soy sauce.

plant-based [ˈplænt beɪst] 植物性的；

predecessor [ˈpriːdəsesə] 前身

而最早的植物醬油被稱為 “荳醬” 或 “荳醬清”，最早的文獻記載見於東漢王充的《論衡》。成書於北魏的《齊民要朮》中也有 “荳醬清” 的記載。黃興宗認為，《論衡》咊《齊民要朮》中所提到的 “荳醬”“荳醬清”，可能是現代醬油的前身。

In the Song Dynasty, people called various sauces obtained from processing paste and fermented soybeans "soy sauce". Soy sauce began to be popular as a seasoning in Chinese cuisine. By the Qing Dynasty, the use of soy sauce far exceeded that of paste.

fermented soybeans [fəˈmentɪd ˈsɔɪbiːnz] 荳豉；

cuisine [kwɪˈziːn] 烹飪；   exceed [ɪkˈsiːd] 超過

在宋朝，人們將加工醬咊豉得到的各種醬汁稱為醬油，醬油作為調味品開始在中囯的飲食中流行起來。到了清代，醬油的使用遠遠超過了醬。