火锅，中国传统的美食之一，最早起源于战国时代，在全国各地都有不同做法，作为火锅的两位大哥， 重庆和成都都是大哥级别的人物，但他们谁是一哥，还真不好说。那么究竟谁是一哥。雷哥小词君跟大家一起去看看读吧第六期（十期外刊精选）的第一篇，选自《经济学人》中的关于火锅的报道，看看老外是怎么看待火锅的。

Two cities tussle over who makes the tastiest Sichuan hotpot

两个城市争相认为自己做的火锅更好吃

Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province, has an ancient rivalry with Chongqing, a city to its south-east. Residents of Chongqing accuse their Chengdu cousins of being pompous. The people of Chongqing are hotheads, Chengdu dwellers shoot back. Both cities share a love of spice-laden Sichuan cuisine, which in recent decades has conquered Chinese palates. But they are at war over which has the best Sichuan hotpot—a type of DIY-cooking that involves boiling vegetables and slices of meat in a communal broth with chillies and numbing peppercorns.

四川省会成都与东南部城市重庆自古以来就在竞争。重庆人指责成都的兄弟们过于自负。重庆人是急性子，成都人则会回击。这两个城市都热爱辛辣的川菜，近几十年来，川菜已经征服了中国人的味觉。但是两个城市正在为哪家的四川火锅最好而争论不休。火锅是一种自己动手的烹调方式，将辣椒和带来酥麻口感的胡椒粒撒进汤里，汤开后将蔬菜和肉片等烫熟。

A private museum in Chongqing, opened several years ago, makes the case for Chongqing-style hotpot. It describes how it developed from a method used to make cheap offcuts of meat taste delicious. But Chengdu is playing catch-up. In January the city sold a plot of land on condition that the developer build a hotpot museum on part of it. Such presumptuous behaviour will test the famous fiery tempers of Chongqing-ites. Chengdu may be the capital of Sichuan cuisine’s eponymous province, but Chongqing was part of Sichuan for long periods of history until 1997. It is now the capital of its own province-sized region, which is also called Chongqing.

几年前，重庆的一家私人博物馆对外开放，展示了重庆火锅的特色。博物馆展示了火锅从使便宜的边角肉尝起来美味的方法的演变历程。但成都正在迎头赶上。今年1月，成都出售了一块土地，条件是开发商在其中修建一座火锅博物馆。这种挑衅的行为将考验重庆人的火爆脾气。成都可能是川菜的代表，但在1997年以前重庆一直是四川的一部分。现在，重庆是省级行政区、直辖市

The two cities are among many in China with their own styles of hotpot. The stories behind these dishes reveal how different regions like to see themselves. Chongqing’s is said to highlight the ingenuity of the proletariat. Other places describe their hotpots as the sophisticated food of emperors. Some say theirs have military origins: warriors on the march boiling scraps in their helmets. Hotpot contents are equally diverse. To keep warm in winter, Beijingers boil fatty lamb in a berry broth. Mint-suffused Yunnanese hotpot reflects the province’s links with South-East Asia.

这两个城市在中国众多火锅风格各异的城市中榜上有名。这些菜肴背后的故事揭示了不同地区是如何自我评价的。据说，重庆火锅彰显了无产阶级的创造力。其他地方把火锅描述为皇帝的精致食物。一些人说重庆火锅起源于军事：战士们在行军时在头盔里涮着可吃的食物。火锅的配料食材也呈现出多元化。为在冬天取暖，北京人用葱姜清汤涮肥美的羊肉。云南的薄荷火锅则反映出云南与东南亚的联系。

But Sichuan-style broths are the most commonly savoured in China. In recent years their popularity has been booming. China has around 350,000 hotpot restaurants. About 40,000 of them are said to be in the Chongqing region alone. Hotpot restaurants in China are more profitable than other kinds, according to iiMedia, a consultancy. Haidilao, a well-known Sichuan-based hotpot chain, raised nearly $1bn when it was listed on the Hong Kong exchange in September. The company is taking its hotpot global. It expanded into Canada in December. Branches are set to open in London later this year.

但川味火锅汤在中国最受欢迎。近年来，受欢迎程度一再跃升。中国大约有35万家火锅店。仅重庆地区就有4万家火锅店。根据咨询公司iiMedia的数据，在中国，火锅店比其他类型的餐饮店利润更高。总部位于四川的知名火锅连锁企业海底捞去年9月在香港交易所上市时筹资近10亿美元。海底捞正将火锅带向全世界。去年12月，海底捞在加拿大开了第一家分店。今年晚些时候还将在伦敦开分店。

The more adventurous tastes of younger Chinese are fuelling demand. One-third of customers at hotpot restaurants in China are aged between 25 and 30, iiMedia says. They often have little time to cook at home and are unburdened by child-care duties. They like the social aspects of sharing hotpots. Round-the-clock restaurants are sprouting up to allow leisurely feasting.

中国年轻人敢于尝试新口味，这刺激了火锅需求的增加。iiMedia表示，中国火锅店三分之一的顾客年龄在25岁至30岁之间。这些顾客通常很少在家里做饭，也没有照顾孩子的重担。他们喜欢一起吃火锅的社交功能。24小时营业的餐馆如雨后春笋般涌现出来，人们可以悠闲地享用美食。

While younger Chinese are increasingly health-conscious, they seem to brush off regular hotpot-hygiene scandals. A viral video of a pregnant woman fishing a rat from her broth caused a cooling in the shares of Xiabuxiabu, a chain restaurant named after a Japanese style of hotpot, but they heated up again a few days later. Haidilao even won plaudits when it admitted that rats had been found in some kitchens and vowed to clean up its act. News of other businesses reusing weeks-old oil in the broth is greeted with a shrug. The grubbiest hotpot joints are usually the best, young people often say with a grin.

中国的年轻人虽然越来越注重健康，但似乎对火锅卫生丑闻不以为意。呷哺呷哺是一家以日式火锅命名的连锁餐厅。近日，一段很火的视频中，一名孕妇在呷哺呷哺的火锅里夹出一只老鼠，此事导致呷哺呷哺股票大幅下跌，但几天后，股价再次回升。海底捞甚至承认在某些店的厨房里发现了老鼠，并承诺要整顿自己的行为，此举赢得称赞。有消息称，其他火锅店在汤里重复使用了几周的老油，人们对此只是耸耸肩。年轻人经常笑着说，最脏的火锅通常是最好吃的。

Not all Chinese warm to hotpot. Some older Sichuanese disown it altogether. They complain that it is causing an escalation of chilli-use in other dishes that drowns out subtle flavours. Chua Lam, a celebrity food critic based in Hong Kong, caused a stir in December when he wished hotpot would disappear from the face of the Earth. He dismissed it as “the most uncultured form of cooking”, requiring no real culinary knowledge.

并非所有中国人都喜欢吃火锅。一些上了年纪的四川人声明并不钟情于火锅。他们抱怨火锅的流行导致其他菜肴辣椒的增多，掩盖了原来微妙的味道。去年12月，香港著名美食评论家蔡澜表示自己希望火锅从世上消失，语惊四座。他认为这是“最没有文化的烹饪方式”，不需要真正的烹饪知识。

But Chengdu’s plans for a museum suggest that Sichuan hotpot is not only growing in popularity, but is also becoming iconic. If it can set the West on fire, officials may hope it will become a delicious new source of Chinese soft power. There will be plenty of glory for both Chengdu and Chongqing to bask in if that happens.

但成都的博物馆计划表明，四川火锅不但越来越受欢迎，而且正在成为标志性的东西。如果它能点燃西方味蕾，当局可能希望火锅将成为中国软实力的一个美味新来源。如果能实现这一目标，成都和重庆都将获得无上荣光。

不管别个怎么说，小词君觉得火锅是最好吃的美食，至于成都跟重庆哪个地方的火锅最好吃，小词君认为成都火锅要好吃一点，你认为重庆跟成都哪家火锅好吃一点呢？