如何用日本味噌做一碗雞湯麪

I like soup all year round and applaud its various personalities. Thick soups are substantial and warming; brothy soups are restorative and soothing; chilled soups are refreshing and invigorating.

我一年四季都喜歡喝湯，稱讚各種湯的獨特滋味。濃湯豐鬱暖人，清湯滋補慰藉，冷湯清爽振奮。

And then there is chicken noodle soup, a constant comfort, loved by young and old. Every culture makes one and all have their virtues. I was raised on the kind from a can; it came with the territory. But one must grow up, and any lingering nostalgia for canned is easily trumped when a tastier homemade version becomes available.

還有雞湯麪，它總能帶來慰藉，年輕人和老年人都喜歡。每種文化都有自己的雞湯，各有所長。我小時候喝的是罐裝雞湯，這也在所難免。不過，人總要長大，對罐裝雞湯的懷念很容易被自制的更美味的雞湯磨滅。

Now is an ideal time for chicken and noodles to swim in a bowl. This version is inspired by a soup I had in Japan one cool April evening many years ago. Traditional Japanese cuisine is always attuned to the natural cycles. Food is meant to mirror the season, nourishing both the appetite and the senses.

現在是做雞湯麪的好時候。我這種做法的靈感來自很多年前一個清涼4月的夜晚，在日本喝到的雞湯。傳統日本飲食總是跟隨自然週期。食物要反映時令，既滿足食慾，又取悅感官。

Mine is by no means authentic, but it has the feeling of spring, which is exactly what I was after. It is light and delicately flavored and features the season’s tender new offerings: young leeks, peas and spinach.

我的做法絕不是正宗的日式料理，但它有春天的感覺，這正是我想要的。它的味道清淡微妙，採用的是春季的鮮嫩食材：大蔥、豌豆和菠菜。

As homage to the original vernal theme, I flavored this one with a bit of ginger and garlic, a splash of mirin and soy and a soupçon of white miso to finish. For noodles, I used earthy buckwheat soba. I didn’t make it to my local Japanese grocery, though, so instead of snipped shiso leaves to garnish, I used basil, which provided an analogous sweet, sharp brightness.

爲了向最初的春天主題致意，我在雞湯中加了點姜、蒜、米酒和醬油，最後用一點白味噌收尾。麪條用的是質樸的蕎麥麪。不過，我在附近的日本雜貨店裏沒有買到紫蘇葉，只好用羅勒葉裝飾，它也能增添類似的甜蜜濃烈的鮮明氣息。

It would have been easy to use traditional dashi for the broth, but I chose to forgo it. I craved real chicken broth; and besides, I wanted to prove a point. The chicken needed to be cooked somehow and I figured it could do double duty. In some ways, chicken thighs are the perfect meat for soup: It’s practically impossible to overcook them. Simmering a pound or so in plain old water for just 20 minutes leaves them tender and juicy, and simultaneously produces a light broth that’s surprisingly flavorful.

如果用傳統的狐鰹魚湯，應該很簡便，但我沒用那種湯。我想要真正的雞湯，另外我還想證明一點。雞肉只需稍微燉一下，我發現這樣有雙重作用。從某些角度講，雞大腿是做湯的理想材料：它怎麼煮都不會老。把一磅左右的雞腿肉放入白水中，用小火燉20分鐘，這樣既能讓雞肉鮮嫩多汁，又能讓雞湯清淡美味。

The ingredient that gives this soup its ultimate appeal is the miso that is stirred in at the end. Just a small amount provides the sweet, salty, nutty, fermented, savory solution that transforms the whole into a magic elixir.

讓這道雞湯具有終極美味的配料是最後攪入的那點味噌。很少的一點就能讓整道湯具有微微的甜味、鹹味、堅果味、發酵味和香味，變成奇妙的萬靈藥。