美語情景對話 第980期:Delish Nigerian Foods 尼日利亞美食

Todd: So Abidemi, you're talking about food in Nigeria, are there any other dishes you can talk about?

託德：阿比德米，你之前介紹了尼日利亞美食，你能再介紹幾道菜嗎？

Abidemi: Yes, I could talk all day about food but I'll mention one more that I know that a lot of children in Nigeria really love. It's called dodo. In my region of Nigeria, I'm Yoruba we call it dodo but it's basically fried plantains. So when plantains are really ripe fried, actually, plantains are like bananas but they are bigger and starchier. So when they get really ripe, we fry them in oil over the stove, deep fry it and it just comes out really sweet and a bit caramelized, just a little bit and little kids just really love it. And we have this at home or even school and if you tell a little kid, when I was growing up if you told us that, "Okay, if you don't do your homework, you're not going to have dodo." It would freak us out because we just wanted to have it so we always listened then because that's what we wanted to have. So yeah, I have really good memories of eating it.

阿比德米：可以，美食這個話題我可以說上一整天，我再介紹一道食物，尼日利亞很多小孩都非常喜歡。那就是dodo。在我生活的那個地區，我是約魯巴族人，我們稱這道菜爲dodo，其實就是油炸大蕉。這道菜就是把大蕉炸熟，大蕉和香蕉很像，不過比香蕉大，澱粉含量比香蕉多。在大蕉成熟以後，在爐子上做油炸大蕉，要炸透，這樣做出來的油炸大蕉非常甜，而且上面會有一點兒焦糖，雖然只有一點兒，但是小孩子非常喜歡。我們經常在家裏做這道菜，甚至學校也會做，如果你跟一個小孩說……我記得我小時候，如果家長跟我們說：“如果你們不寫作業，那就不給你們做油炸大蕉吃了”。這會把我們嚇壞的，因爲我們非常想吃油炸大蕉，所以那之後我們就聽話了，因爲我們非常想吃油炸大蕉。那種美味對我來說是非常美好的回憶。

Todd: So is this a dish like that you just make at home or is it something you buy on a street stall, or can you buy it in a supermarket?

託德：你們是在家裏自己做，還是去路邊攤上買，或是在超市裏買？

Abidemi: Actually, both. When I was growing up we didn't have it so much outside but now you can buy it just about anywhere. They have little kind of like plantain chips but it's made from, yeah, it's sweeter and you could buy it anywhere on the streets or you can make it at home. I make it definitely at home when I get my hands on plantains. So, it's very accessible, yeah.

阿比德米：都有。我小時候，外面賣這種食物的地方不多，不過現在哪裏都可以買到了。外面賣的是那種大蕉片，味道更甜，現在在街上任何地方都可以買到，也可以自己在家做。我通常在家裏做，我拿到大蕉的時候就會做。大蕉很好找。

Todd: That's great. So in your country is there lots of street stall food?

託德：真不錯。你們國家有很多路邊攤美食嗎？

Abidemi: Yes. Yes, actually there is. In my area of Nigeria, the southwestern part, the Yorbas, we like to eat out. We can buy food from the market or from outside people cooking. In the mornings lots of people outside making pastry-like food that you can buy and eat, for people going to work who don't have time to cook at home. In the afternoons for lunch too, you could just pop out of your office and buy something. And at night, there are lots of people in different neighborhoods who make food on the street. And you can just buy it hot and fresh and delicious.

阿比德米：對。沒錯。我生活在尼日利亞西南部地區，約魯巴地區，我們非常喜歡去外面吃飯。我們可以在市場買食物或是在路邊攤買。早上有很多人在路邊做油酥麪糰這類的食物，趕着去工作或是沒時間在家做飯的人會買來當早點吃。午飯時可以走出辦公室買東西吃。晚上的時候，會有很多人在社區街道上做吃的。你可以買剛做好的又熱又新鮮的食物，非常美味。

Todd: Oh wow! So what are some dishes that you can buy, like what's a typical lunch that somebody would buy on the street?

託德：哦哇！那一般在街上可以買到什麼，午飯時人們通常在街上買什麼吃？

Abidemi: I would say, probably something made from rice — rice and beans with stew. That's very easy to buy. You could also buy for lunch maybe, we call it Puff Puff, it's like a...

阿比德米：基本上是用米飯和豆類做的燉菜。很容易買到。午飯也可以買泡芙吃，就像……

Todd: Puff Puff?

託德：泡芙？

Abidemi: Puff Puff, yes, it's like dough, it's doughy and it's fried in oil. And it's like a simple lunch that you can have, a simple dish not very filling but mostly they would eat what I talked before, maybe Inyan or Amala. These are all made from yam, different ways of making yam, of processing yam that comes out to different food, yeah.

阿比德米：對，泡芙，就是油炸麪糰。這是很簡單的午飯，很簡單，可能吃不太飽，通常人們會買我之前說過的Inyan或Amala當午飯。這兩道菜都是用甘薯做的，但是做法和工序不太一樣，所以做出的食物也不一樣。

Todd: Oh, sounds yummy. What about fruits?

託德：哦，聽起來很好吃。那水果呢？

Abidemi: Lots of fruits. Nigeria is a tropical country so we've got an abundance of fruits: mangoes, pineapples, watermelons and we also have fruits that I've never heard of. There's one that's called in my language Agbalumo but I checked it on the internet the other time and it's called African cherry and I've never seen it anywhere but Nigeria before.

阿比德米：尼日利亞有很多水果。尼日利亞是熱帶國家，所以盛產水果，有芒果、菠蘿、西瓜等，還有我從來沒聽說過的水果。用尼日利亞語來說這種水果叫Agbalumo，我之前在網上查過，這種水果就是非洲櫻桃，除了在尼日利亞，我沒在其他地方看到過。

Todd: Oh really, what's it like?

託德：哦，真的嗎，那種水果長什麼樣子？

Abidemi: It's ... how do I ... the color is bright orange, inside it's sour and really sour and a little bitter. It's just got this really strong taste and...

阿比德米：要怎麼形容呢，顏色是那種亮橙色，味道又酸又有點苦。味道特別強烈……

Todd: So it's not sweet like a normal cherry?

託德：不像普通櫻桃那樣是甜的？

Abidemi: No, it's not. No, not at all. It's not sweet like a normal cherry but it's got its own different ... it tastes a little bit like grapefruit but it's not citrus. It's not a citrus fruit so it's really interesting when you eat it and it's really good. And the thing about Nigeria is like other tropical countries, you have fruits that come in, in different seasons so that's always exciting to look forward to because some things you can only get at a certain time of the year. So when it comes out and it's really cheap and everyone is buying it so it's really good.

阿比德米：不是，一點兒也不甜。並不像普通櫻桃那麼甜，不過它有自己……味道有些苦，有些像葡萄柚，但它並不是柑橘類水果。它不是柑橘類水果，這很有意思，味道其實還不錯。尼日利亞和其他熱帶國家一樣，不同的季節有不同的水果，所以期待不同的水果一直是令人興奮的事情，因爲有些水果只在一年的特定時期才能吃到。水果成熟後價格非常便宜，所有人都可以買得起，所以非常不錯。

Todd: Oh, well that sounds great. And you like ... it sounds you've a lot of really good food in your country.

託德：哦，聽起來真好。你們國家真的有很多不錯的食物。

Abidemi: Yes, we do, definitely. Come check them out.

阿比德米：對，沒錯。歡迎你過來品嚐。

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重點講解：
1. freak out (使)吃驚；(使)不安；(使)惱怒；(使)困惑；
例句：Every time she sees a mouse she freaks out.
她每次看見老鼠都嚇得要死。
2. eat out 在外面吃飯；
例句：I used to eat out in the evenings when my parents were on night shifts.
那時，逢到我父母上夜班，我就在外面吃晚飯。
3. pop out 跳出；彈出；衝出；
例句：The rabbit pop out as soon as we open the hutch.
我們一打開兔箱，兔子就突然跑出來了。
4. look forward to 期待；盼望；
例句：I'm really looking forward to our vacation.
我確實期待着假期到來。