日本烧烤的秘密 和歌山木炭是最好的烹饪用炭

Wakayama Prefecture, a sparsely populated region in Japan’s Kansai region, is renowned for its plums and mandarin oranges. Less known is that it produces what might be the world's finest cooking charcoal.

和歌山区是一个位于日本关西地区人口稀少的地区，它因当地的梅子和柑橘而闻名。少为人知的是和歌山也生产一种用于烹饪的木炭，这种木炭可能是世界上最好的烹饪用炭。

No ordinary cooking agent, Kishu Binchotan has been marketed as everything from an air and water purifier to a mood enhancer. A white charcoal made from the indigenous ubame oak, it considered the world’s best fuel for grilling, especially Japanese dishes such as yakitori (grilled chicken skewers) and unagi (grilled eel), and chefs around the world swear that it imparts meat and seafood with a flavour unachievable using other charcoals.

作为一种非凡的蒸煮助剂，KishuBinchotan被贴上了很多标签，如空气和水的净化器和心境增强剂。KishuBinchotan是一种白色木炭，产自于当地的一种名为ubame的橡树，它被视为世界上最适合用于烧烤的木炭，尤其是一些日本菜品如yakitori（烤鸡串）和unagi（烤鳗鱼）。全世界的厨师们都发誓这一木炭给肉和海鲜添加了一种独特的香味，这种味道是其他种类的木炭实现不了的。

In Wakayama City, I headed to the yakitori restaurant Mitsuboshi (4 Chome-70 Misonocho; 073-425-0666), and ordered five chicken skewers and a beer. When I asked the chef why they use Kishu Binchotan rather than a cheaper variety of charcoal, he listed the reasons in a well-practiced routine, emphasizing his points with the skewers as he turned them on the grill. The white charcoal, he said, burns at a lower temperature, doesn't release smoke or odours into the meat, and most incredibly, he claimed, it emits far infrared waves – which sounded far-fetched. But, I had to admit, the chicken started to taste better the more I let myself believe it all might be true.

在和歌山市，我去到yakitori餐馆，在那里点了五份鸡串和一份啤酒。我问厨师为什么要用Kishu Binchotan而不用其他更便宜一点的木炭，他熟练过地列举出了理由，一边将烤肉叉子在烤架上翻个面，一边拿着这些叉子强调着他的理由。厨师说这种白色木炭在一个很低的温度下燃烧，因此不会将烟或木炭的气味释放到肉上，更不可思议的是，它会发出一种远红外波，这听起来有点牵强附会。但我不得不承认的是，当我越让自己相信这可能是真的时候，鸡肉也开始变得更加美味。

I had to admit, the chicken started to taste better.

我不得不承认，鸡串的确变得越来越好吃。

The next morning I took a coastline train from Wakayama City to Minabe to meet and observe one of the region’s finest Kishu Binchotan makers, Mitsuo Okazaki, at his workshop. This small coastal town of 14,000 – surrounded by mountains and bifurcated by a river that bears its name – is the country’s main producer of Kishu Binchotan, thanks to forests full of ubame oak not found anywhere else in the world. It’s also the largest producer of ume, Japanese plums. I was lucky enough to arrive at first bloom and the mountainside orchards were already white with flowers, their gentle fragrance carried on the breeze.

第二天早晨我搭乘海岸火车从和歌山市前往Minabe同这个地区最著名的Kishu Binchotan制作工匠冈崎光男见面。我们把见面的地点约在了他的工作室。Minabe是一个小镇，人口只有14,000人，周围山川环绕，一条同名的河流横穿而过。由于该地森林中有着丰富的ubame橡树，在这一点上世界上其他地方都无法匹及，这使得该小镇成为了日本主要的KishuBinchotan的生产地。Minabe同样也是日本梅子最大的生产地。我很幸运能够在第一期开花季的时候来到这里，山旁的果园里都开满了白色的花朵，微风中夹杂着花朵淡雅的芳香。

At Okazaki’s workshop, he and his assistant were busy making Kishu Binchotan, reaching into the kiln with long metal rakes suspended from hooks. Ash floated in the air, creating a haze that diffused the glow of the kiln, before settling on every surface it could find.

在冈崎光男的工作室，他和他的助理正忙着制作Kishu Binchotan。他们拿着挂在钩子上的长长的金属耙子，将它们够到烧窑里头。灰烬在空气中飘着，制造出了一种朦胧感，黯淡了烧窑发出的火光，直到附着到任何它能够找到的物体表面上。

I introduced myself as Okazaki wiped his face with a towel and grabbed a bottle of water from a huge supply behind the piles of oak. In winter, he said, the warmth of the kiln makes work rather pleasant, but during the humid Wakayama summers, the intensity of the heat becomes almost unbearable. As he waited for the batch of charcoal to finish its first burn, he explained the basics of the Kishu Binchotan process.

我向冈崎光男进行了自我介绍，当时他正在用一块毛巾擦着脸，从橡木堆后的一个巨大的储水池里舀了一大杯水。他说在冬天，烧窑的热度使得工作变得非常愉悦，但是在和歌山潮湿的夏季，超高的热度就变得异常难熬。当冈崎先生正在等着那一批木炭完成第一轮烧制的时候，他向我介绍了有关 KishuBinchotan 制作过程的一些基础知识。

First, ubame oak is baked at low temperatures in the handmade clay kiln. The temperature is then rapidly increased before the embers are starved of oxygen by shutting the opening to the firebox, thereby protecting the carbon in the wood. It’s that last step that differs most from typical charcoal making.

首先，ubame橡树要在手工制作的陶制烧窑里用低温进行烤制。之后要关闭燃烧室的门以保护木头里的炭，在余烬还没燃尽氧气之前温度会迅速升高。正是这最后一步使得Kishu Binchotan的制作过程不同于一般木炭的制作。

Okazaki explained that he knows the wood has reached the right temperature when it turns a lemon yellow. The men then use the rakes to drag the glowing links of wood from the oven and shift them toward the piles of ash. Okazaki demonstrated, sending sparks into the air. Once buried, plumes of dust puffed from the embers below, making the grey smoldering pile seem alive. The ash gradually cools the Kishu Binchotan and gives the wood its distinctive white appearance.

冈崎先生解释说当木头的颜色变成了柠檬黄之后他就知道木头的已经达到了合适的温度。这时候就要使用耙子把发着火光的木头从炉子里捞出来，将它们进行转向，让它们面向灰烬堆。冈崎先生展示了这一过程，过程中不断地有火星冒出。那些本被埋上的灰尘从下面的余烬那里喷散开来，使得灰色的阴然堆仿佛有了生命。灰烬渐渐冷却了KishuBinchotan，赋予了木头独特的白色外貌。

I was transfixed by the process. The combination of warmth and light lulled me into quiet observation. I felt the primal appeal of this work and understood why family Kishu Binchotan operations have continued in this way for hundreds of years.

我被这个过程吸引住了。这里的温暖和光亮让我的观察显得格外平静。我感受到了这份工作的魅力所在，并且理解了为什么KishuBinchotan 的这种家庭式的制作工坊会延续几百年的时间。

I was transfixed by the process.

我被这一个过程深深地迷住了。

But Kishu Binchotan’s recent popularity as a household and health panacea – it’s thought to absorb harmful chemicals better than other charcoals – has increased demand to unsustainable levels, straining artisans like Okazaki who rely on the limited supply of native ubame oak. Kishu Binchotan is the active ingredient in many cosmetics, shampoos and toothpastes; the unburned charcoal is put in closets and refrigerators to improve the air quality and absorb odours; and, most dubiously, it’s thought to be a mood-enhancer, due to the minus ions that are constantly released from the activated carbon and thought to increase serotonin levels in the brain.

但是 KishuBinchotan最近作为一种家用的健康万能药火了一把，它被认为具有比其他种类木炭更强的吸收有害化学物质的功能。这使得 KishuBinchotan的需求量达到了一种不可持续的水平，给像冈崎先生这样的工匠带来了困扰，因为他们的生产原料仅来自于当地有限的ubame橡树资源。Kishu Binchotan也是很多化妆品、洗发水以及牙膏的主要原料；人们将未经燃烧的木炭放入衣柜和冰箱，来达到提高空气质量和吸收异味的效果；此外，更加令人疑惑的是，Kishu Binchotan还被认为具有改善心境的作用，因为会有负离子不断地从活性炭中释放出来，这种负离子被认为能够提升大脑中的血清素水平。

When the men finished their next batch of charcoal, I asked Okazaki what he thought about these claims. He shrugged and said Kishu Binchotan should really be used for its original purpose: cooking. As to which foods benefit most from Kishu Binchotan, Okazaki rattled off a list including wagyu beef, lamb and yakitori, but landed on saba shioyakai (salted mackerel) as the dish he thinks best reveals the subtle aroma of wood. The smell of fish cooking on Kishu Binchotan reminds him of winter meals as a child.

当工作室里的工匠们完成了他们的下一批木炭后，我问冈崎先生他对这些说法怎么看。他耸了耸肩，说KishuBinchotan真应该只用于它原本的目的：烹饪。至于哪一种食物最能够从这种木炭中获益，冈崎先生说出了一长串食物的名字，包括神户牛肉、羔羊肉以及日式烧鸡。最后停在了sabashioyakai（椒盐鲭鱼）上，他认为这样菜最好地展现了木头的微妙香味。用Kishu Binchotan烧制的鱼肉的味道让他回想起了小时候冬季的餐桌。

According to Okasaki, the next generation will keep producing Kishu Binchotan, but not in the same way. It’s too labour intensive and there are industrial ovens that can now be used. But he also believes these ovens burn the life out of the wood, noting that each bundle of branches is different from the next. It takes a human touch to recognize those differences, to cut only the branches that are ready, adjust the burn time and transform ubame from simple hardwood to charcoal without destroying that life force. The basics of making Kishu Binchotan can be learned in a year or so, but perfecting the consistency of the charcoal is an instinct that takes decades to develop.

根据冈崎先生的说法，下一代人会继续生产Kishu Binchotan，但是会是用另外一种方式。现在的生产方式对劳动力的需求过高，而且现在也有了可以使用的工业化的烧制炉子。但是冈崎先生还是认为这些工业化的炉子会剥夺木头的生命力，他说每一捆树枝都彼此不一样。这些区别需要通过人的碰触才能感受出来，需要通过人的辨别才能判断哪些树枝是已经可以切除的了，需要人去调整烧制的时间，在不破坏橡木生命力的前提下将ubame橡木从简单的硬木状态变为木炭。制作Kishu Binchotan的基本功可以在一年左右的时间里学会，但是对木炭一致性的完善是一种需要经过数十年培养的本能直觉。

The white charcoal makers of Wakayama are more than traditional artisans. They are stewards of the ubame forests, carefully selecting branches to maintain the health of the trees and working collectively to prevent ubame from being exploited beyond its limits. Okazaki and his fellow makers care deeply about creating a sustainable, high-quality product, and about passing those ways on to the next generation. And it’s that commitment to the entire life cycle that leads to some fantastic tasting meat.

这些来自和歌山的白色木炭制作者们，他们的身份意义超越了传统的工匠。他们是这片ubame森林的管理者，精心挑选树枝以保证树木的健康，齐心协力一起防止ubame橡树遭到过渡的开采砍伐。冈崎先生和他的同事们专注于创造一种可持续性的高质量产品，以及将这一生产方式传递给下一代。正是这样一种对生命轮回的使命感带来了具有惊世美味的烤肉。