第八十四回 · 木耳閩筍 Wood Ear and Bamboo Shoots — Journey to the West

原文 Original text 繁體 Traditional Reader's edition

木耳閩筍 Wood Ear and Bamboo Shoots

那nà婦fù人rén越yuè發fā歡huān喜xǐ，跑pǎo下xià去qù教jiào：「莫mò宰zǎi，莫mò宰zǎi。取qǔ些xiē木mù耳ěr、閩mǐn筍sǔn、豆dòu腐fu、麵miàn筋jīn，園yuán裡lǐ拔bá些xiē青qīng菜cài，做zuò粉fěn湯tāng，發fā麵miàn蒸zhēng捲juǎn子zi，再zài煮zhǔ白bái米mǐ飯fàn，燒shāo香xiāng茶chá。」那nà妇fù人rén越yuè发fā欢huān喜xǐ，跑pǎo下xià去qù教jiào：「莫mò宰zǎi，莫mò宰zǎi。取qǔ些xiē木mù耳ěr、闽mǐn笋sǔn、豆dòu腐fu、面miàn筋jīn，园yuán里lǐ拔bá些xiē青qīng菜cài，做zuò粉fěn汤tāng，发fā面miàn蒸zhēng卷juǎn子zi，再zài煮zhǔ白bái米mǐ饭fàn，烧shāo香xiāng茶chá。」

逐句解 Line by line

那nà婦fù人rén越yuè發fā歡huān喜xǐ，跑pǎo下xià去qù教jiào：「莫mò宰zǎi，莫mò宰zǎi。那nà妇fù人rén越yuè发fā欢huān喜xǐ，跑pǎo下xià去qù教jiào：「莫mò宰zǎi，莫mò宰zǎi。

The woman was more delighted still, and ran down calling: "Don't kill! Don't kill!

越發 is all the more, even more so. She is being paid banquet prices for a meal that costs her a fraction as much, and she has worked that out on the stairs.

取qǔ些xiē木mù耳ěr、閩mǐn筍sǔn、豆dòu腐fu、麵miàn筋jīn，園yuán裡lǐ拔bá些xiē青qīng菜cài，做zuò粉fěn湯tāng，發fā麵miàn蒸zhēng捲juǎn子zi，再zài煮zhǔ白bái米mǐ飯fàn，燒shāo香xiāng茶chá。」取qǔ些xiē木mù耳ěr、闽mǐn笋sǔn、豆dòu腐fu、面miàn筋jīn，园yuán里lǐ拔bá些xiē青qīng菜cài，做zuò粉fěn汤tāng，发fā面miàn蒸zhēng卷juǎn子zi，再zài煮zhǔ白bái米mǐ饭fàn，烧shāo香xiāng茶chá。」

Fetch some wood-ear, Fujian bamboo shoots, beancurd and wheat gluten; pull some greens from the garden; make a noodle soup; raise dough and steam some rolls; then boil white rice and brew fragrant tea."

This is a real Ming vegetarian menu and every item is still eaten. 木耳 is the wood-ear fungus, 閩筍 bamboo shoots from Fujian, which travelled dried and were a luxury inland, and 麵筋 is wheat gluten — dough washed until only the protein is left, the oldest meat substitute there is. 捲子 is a steamed roll, and its last character takes the everyday zi.

總評 Commentary

The menu is the best evidence in the chapter that the novel knows what an inn actually served. Nothing here is invented and nothing is grand: it is what a good kitchen could put together at short notice without killing anything.

The bamboo shoots are the one luxury and they give the place away. Dried Fujian shoots in a kitchen this far inland mean a landlady who buys well, which is consistent with everything else about her.