美国国家公共电台 NPR Mississippi Masala: How A Native Of India Became A Southern Cooking Star

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST: 

John Egerton, the Southern historian, once said for as long as there's been a South, food has been central to its image. These days, a rising star of the Deep South food scene is a man born and raised in India. It's part of our series on people who found the American dream through food. NPR's Maria Godoy has this story of the changing South and a chef named Vish.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MARIA GODOY, BYLINE¹: Oxford², Miss. - it's a town steeped in Southern identity.

JOHN T EDGE: In many ways, this is an archetypal Southern town.

GODOY: John T. Edge is with the Southern Foodways Alliance, which is based here in town.

EDGE: Courthouse square at the center, there are beautiful homes with rolling lawns framing it. You know, there's a university adjacent.

GODOY: That university is Ole Miss, a place once rocked by deadly riots over racial integration³. To some, Oxford might seem an unlikely place for an Indian chef to achieve star status.

VISHWESH BHATT: We need the chili⁴ sauce.

GODOY: But Vishwesh Bhatt, or Vish, as everyone calls him, isn't exactly cooking Indian food. He's the chef at Snackbar, an upscale restaurant that serves Southern and French food with a twist. He uses traditional Southern ingredients, like catfish⁵, grits⁶ or mac and cheese, but Vish prepares them using the flavors and techniques of his native India. Think garam masala home fries, daal hushpuppies and his signature dish, okra chaat.

Vish throws thin slices of okra into a deep-fry basket for about a minute. Then he tosses them with a bunch of flavors and textures⁷.

BHATT: So you've got tomatoes, cilantro, chiles, chopped peanuts, lime juice, salt, pepper and chaat masala.

GODOY: Chaat masala is a zesty⁸ spice mix used in Indian street food. The result is savory⁹, crunchy, tangy. It's Southern and it's Indian.

Oh, my God. That's so good.

For Vish, food has been a bridge between the two Souths he's called home, the American South and the Global South. Vish was born and raised in Gujarat, India. When he was 17, his family moved to France briefly¹⁰ before coming to America.

BHATT: First place we showed up in the U.S. actually was Texas.

GODOY: He was 9,000 miles from home. Everything was different, but then he went to the supermarket.

BHATT: And there were beans and tortillas, and I was like, wait, I know what all those things are. I didn't know a tortilla was a tortilla. To me, it was a flatbread. And I was like, I recognize this.

GODOY: Chiles, cumin, cilantro - Tex-Mex cooking shares many of the same ingredients as the Indian food he grew up with.

BHATT: I loved it. You know, that was where I made the first connection between how similar things were between India and the U.S.

GODOY: Food became a way for Vish to make himself at home in his new country. When he went to college, he studied political science, but he also learned to cook.

BHATT: My mom had sent me with, like, a thing of spices, a tin of spices, and, you know, mustard seeds, turmeric, some garam masala.

GODOY: As he experimented in the kitchen, Vish drew on childhood memories of helping¹¹ his mom prepare large family feasts back in India. Soon he was hosting his own dinner parties for friends. But it took Vish more than a decade to realize cooking was his true calling.

In the meantime, he moved on to graduate school at Ole Miss in Oxford, and that's where he met John Currence, a celebrated¹² Southern chef who eventually became Vish's mentor¹³ and boss. John remembers Vish as always hanging out at his restaurant.

JOHN CURRENCE: He was curious, and he just really liked to eat.

GODOY: John says Vish had a natural talent. He cooks in a way that's intensely personal.

CURRENCE: You know, Vish is so beautifully influenced by, you know, the food of his family and particularly his mother.

GODOY: But Vish wanted to explore other cuisines¹⁴, too, so he ended up going to culinary school. After that, he cooked French food and Southern food and Caribbean food, even a little English food. For years, the one thing Vish didn't want to cook professionally was Indian food. John says Vish didn't want to be pigeonholed¹⁵.

CURRENCE: And Vish's sort of stock reply was, but I don't ever want to be the cliche¹⁶ Indian guy in a small Southern town in a little bitty Indian restaurant.

GODOY: Still, when John and Vish opened Snackbar in 2009, those Indian influences finally started creeping into Vish's menus. John remembers one particular dish, a Keralan fish curry¹⁷ served with a southern staple¹⁸ - collard greens.

CURRENCE: I mean, I was literally¹⁹ moved to tears. Here I was, experiencing that moment where, you know, an individual becomes a chef.

(CROSSTALK)

GODOY: Oxford loved Vish's cooking. So did the food world. Now, at age 51, Vish Bhatt is a three-time finalist for the best chef of the South from the James Beard Awards. Basically, it's the Oscars of the food world. For Vish, the recognition is still surprising.

BHATT: It's insane. I mean, it's - I still have trouble believing it.

GODOY: And Snackbar has become a favorite hangout for the Oxford community, a sort of clubhouse for locals like Julia Jimenez.

JULIA JIMENEZ: I come for happy hour maybe once every other week, more if I can talk my husband into it.

(LAUGHTER)

GODOY: John T. Edge of the Southern Foodways Alliance says Vish's food tells a larger story about the South.

EDGE: Just the hint of okra and the knowledge that okra is beloved in West Africa, beloved in India and beloved in the American South, those connections, in a way, spin out a story of Southern culture. It both confirms what you think about the South and subverts²⁰ it at the same time. That's what's great about his food.

GODOY: It's food rooted in the Southern past while also pointing to where the South is going, as a strong economy attracts immigrants from all over.

EDGE: We live in a place that is changing rapidly and, I think, for the better. The South is not losing anything in those changes. It's gaining much. It's gaining okra chaat.

GODOY: And that's a taste of the American melting pot and an American dream. Maria Godoy, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

SIMON: Okra chaat sounds great. You're listening to WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 Oxford   

n.牛津（英国城市）

参考例句：

• At present he has become a Professor of Chemistry at Oxford.他现在已是牛津大学的化学教授了。
• This is where the road to Oxford joins the road to London.这是去牛津的路与去伦敦的路的汇合处。

3 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

4 chili   

n.辣椒

参考例句：

• He helped himself to another two small spoonfuls of chili oil.他自己下手又加了两小勺辣椒油。
• It has chocolate,chili,and other spices.有巧克力粉，辣椒，和其他的调味品。

5 catfish   

n.鲶鱼

参考例句：

• Huge catfish are skinned and dressed by hand.用手剥去巨鲇的皮并剖洗干净。
• We gigged for catfish off the pier.我们在码头以鱼叉叉鲶鱼。

6 grits   

n.粗磨粉；粗面粉；粗燕麦粉；粗玉米粉；细石子，砂粒等( grit的名词复数 )；勇气和毅力v.以沙砾覆盖（某物），撒沙砾于( grit的第三人称单数 )；咬紧牙关

参考例句：

• The sands [grits] in the cooked rice made my tooth ache. 米饭里的砂粒硌痛了牙。 来自辞典例句
• This process also produces homing and corn grits. 此法也产生玉米麸(homing)和玉米粗粉。 来自辞典例句

7 textures   

n.手感( texture的名词复数 )；质感；口感；（音乐或文学的）谐和统一感

参考例句：

• I'm crazy about fabrics textures and colors and designs. 我喜欢各式各样的纺织物--对它的质地，色彩到花纹图案--简直是入了迷。 来自辞典例句
• Let me clear up the point about the textures. 让我明确了一点有关的纹理。 来自互联网

8 zesty   

adj.引起极大的快乐或兴奋的，有兴趣的

参考例句：

• Macaroni Parmesan Cheese Topping, and Sage Gravy will appeal to their zesty personalities. 意大利的通心面、士和美味肉汁一定很合他们的口味。 来自互联网
• This zesty and refreshing wine offers a freshly cut grass nose, herbaceous green bean. 这款爽口的葡萄酒引出绿豆般清新的香气。 来自互联网

9 savory   

adj.风味极佳的，可口的，味香的

参考例句：

• She placed a huge dish before him of savory steaming meat.她将一大盘热气腾腾、美味可口的肉放在他面前。
• He doesn't have a very savory reputation.他的名誉不太好。

10 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 celebrated   

adj.有名的，声誉卓著的

参考例句：

• He was soon one of the most celebrated young painters in England.不久他就成了英格兰最负盛名的年轻画家之一。
• The celebrated violinist was mobbed by the audience.观众团团围住了这位著名的小提琴演奏家。

13 mentor   

n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导

参考例句：

• He fed on the great ideas of his mentor.他以他导师的伟大思想为支撑。
• He had mentored scores of younger doctors.他指导过许多更年轻的医生。

14 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

15 pigeonholed   

v.把…搁在分类架上( pigeonhole的过去式和过去分词 )；把…留在记忆中；缓办；把…隔成小格

参考例句：

• This document was pigeonholed for quite some time. 这份公文压了不少时间。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The scheme has been pigeonholed. 这个方案被压下来了。 来自辞典例句

16 cliche   

n./a.陈词滥调(的)；老生常谈(的)；陈腐的

参考例句：

• You should always try to avoid the use of cliche. 你应该尽量避免使用陈词滥调。
• The old cliche is certainly true:the bigger car do mean bigger profits.有句老话倒的确说得不假:车大利大。

17 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

18 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

19 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

20 subverts   

v.颠覆，破坏（政治制度、宗教信仰等）( subvert的第三人称单数 )；使（某人）道德败坏或不忠

参考例句：

• Thus It'subverts the traditional concept of subjectivity. 因此也解构了传统的主观性的概念。 来自互联网
• Chopin presents us an emancipating Edna who challenges and subverts the patriarchal dogmas. 肖邦为我们展现了一位勇于挑战﹑颠覆父权体制的新女性形象。 来自互联网