舌尖上的航海丨第2集 “幽靈船”里的“餃子”

“我是吃餃子長大的！”

這是遠洋水手魏海的口頭禪。

魏海出身于山東一個漁村，從小喪母，父親是名遠洋海員，常常漂泊在海上。

魏海從小由外婆撫養(yǎng)。山東是中國水餃的發(fā)源地。外婆做得一手好水餃：暈的，素的，魚肉的，三鮮的，什錦的…，特別是逢年過節(jié)，各式各樣的水餃花樣翻新，香味誘人。有的餃子里還放上錢幣和吉祥物，幸運者吃上這種餃子，全年吉祥發(fā)財！

魏海從記事起，外婆就隔三岔五包上一頓餃子。所以，魏海說是吃餃子長大的一點也不夸張。

值得魏海驕傲的是做了海員后，足跡遍及許多國家和地區(qū)，特別是歐美國家大城市的“華人亍”，許多歺廳里，“大娘水餃“已經(jīng)“登堂入室”擺上歺桌?！按竽锼湣笨芍^山東人的驕傲！

魏海常常以此自豪。

但是，一次偶然的機會，魏海發(fā)現(xiàn)“餃子”不僅不是中國獨有，在一艘“幽靈船”里，被埃及人稱為“餃子”的食品還救了船上多名水手。

”幽靈船”最初出現(xiàn)在中世紀海盜猖獗的歐州：被海盜“截殺”的船只被遺棄在茫茫大海里，沒有燈火和動力，隨波逐流，被人們稱為“幽靈船“。船上的幸存者多數(shù)因為缺少食品和淡小而死亡。

隨著航海技術的發(fā)展和海盜的收斂，“幽靈船”漸浙消聲滅跡。近些年來，由于種種原因，比如地震，海嘯和意外事故，“幽靈船”泛濫海上，給航海安全帶來威脅。各國紛紛成立了追蹤”幽靈船”的組織和機構。

魏海發(fā)現(xiàn)“幽靈船”里餃子的故事，是他被調(diào)入救撈船隊不久，在一座船廠參觀“幽靈船”時發(fā)生的。這是艘破舊的埃及廢鋼船，在拖往目的港途中，遭遇風暴，拖索斷裂，被遺棄在大洋里。船上三名水手依靠捕撈海生物和船上形似“餃子“被當?shù)厝朔Q做“餃子川的食品，在海上堅持了漫長的六十多天！

這個被稱做”餃子“的埃及食品到底啥樣，如何挽救了三名船員生命？

”吃餃子長大的”魏海想弄個明白。

可惜，“幽靈船”基本拆解完畢，生存的船員已返回故里。

機會終于來了。時隔不久，魏海將前往埃及接艘新的救撈船。

臨行前，魏海特意準備了一些有關埃及飲食文化的資料，認真地硏讀起來。

資料顯示，埃及是個聞名于世的文明古國，飲食上嚴格遵守伊斯蘭教規(guī)：齋月里白天禁食，不吃一切忌物，更不能吃帶汁和未熟透的菜肴。吃飯時不能發(fā)出聲響。絕不能與旁人談話。

埃及人三歺十分有規(guī)律，早歺多為奶酪，面包和咖啡。中歺和晚飯較為講究和豐富：除肉食米飯外，必備水果。飯前先默誦“以大慈大悲真主的名義“，然后用右手熟練的抓食。飯后一起默誦“一切贊頌全歸萬物之主安拉?！?/p>

魏海尋找埃及“餃子”的行程開始了。

魏海做為一名遠洋海員足跡遍及世界各地，曾多次穿越埃及的蘇伊士運河，岡時也飽覽了這個著名的埃及古國：耀眼的金字塔，繁華的運河“商區(qū)”，巍峨林立的廟宇…。特別一次船在埃及航修，正值埃及的齋月節(jié)。船舶代理特別邀請他們幾個年青海員到家里做客。

齋月節(jié)是埃及的重要節(jié)日。一定要吃蠶豆和甜食。齋月節(jié)當天必吃咸魚和大蔥。埃及的食品帶有北非的阿拉伯風情，特別喜歡吃甜食。最著名的是一款名叫“庫納德“的面點；將調(diào)成糊狀的面粉放在漏勺內(nèi)，面糊從漏勺孔中落成細絲，均勻撒落在油鍋內(nèi)煎成撒狀的“撒子”，十分香甜可口。

埃及人十分熱情好容，逢年過節(jié)或遇上大喜日子，除邀請貴賓和好友外，平時與主人無甚交往的人也可光臨助興。但是，埃及人請客坐席十分講究身份和等級。還會用“發(fā)誓”的名義勸客人多食。

上次在埃及過“齋月節(jié)“使魏海學到了許多埃及的飲食文化，但是關于“餃子“的影子絲毫沒有，資料里也沒有任何“蹤跡”

就在魏海接船即將離開埃及的前一天，魏海從一家面食店老板那里找到了答案；這種被埃及人稱做”蓋塔”形似中國餃子的面食，是用葡萄干和干果絞拌制成的”餃子餡“，包好后不蒸不煮，而用溫油炸制而成，個頭比中國餃子大好幾倍。由于“餃子餡”多為干果，制做工藝特殊，常溫下十分容昜儲存，是埃及遠洋海員十分喜愛的常備食品。

這種埃及遠洋海員喜爰的“常備食品“，沒想到拯救了三名遇難海員的生命！

揭開《幽靈船里“餃子”》秘密的魏海不僅自已獲得了收獲，而且讓“我吃餃子長大的”魏海名氣更響了！

“I grew up eating dumplings!”

This was the catchphrase of the Chinese sailor Wei Hai.

Wei Hai was born in a fishing village in the Shandong province. He lost

his mother when he was young, and his father was a mariner who was often

away at sea. He grew up in Shandong, and was raised only by his

grandmother.

Wei Hai’s grandmother was exceptional at making dumplings, a Shandong

delicacy that China is most well-known for. Meat dumplings, vegetarian

dumplings, fish dumplings, assorted dumplings… On festive occasions, Wei

Hai’s grandmother made an enormous variety of dumplings with different

shapes, patterns, and always an irresistible aroma. Sometimes, she even

filled certain dumplings up with gold coins and lucky charms, which were

believed to bring good luck and prosperity to the eater.

Ever since Wei Hai could remember, he had dumplings for almost every

other meal. So to say that he grew up eating dumplings, was not an

exaggeration.

As Wei Hai grew up to become a seafarer, something that made him proud

wherever he sailed to was the fact that there often was a Chinatown in

major cities, especially in Europe or the United States. And in Chinatown,

he could regularly find dumplings as a specialty item on restaurant menus.

As a Shandong native, Wei Hai felt a great burst of pride for his hometown

whenever he came across dumplings overseas.

However, as his horizons broadened, Wei Hai found out that dumplings

were not exclusively from China. Strangest of all, he found out that there

was a particular “ghost ship” on which Egyptian dumplings had saved the

lives of a few stranded sailors.

Ghost ships first appeared in the Middle Ages in Europe, when vicious

pirates roamed the seas. These pirates often intercepted other ships and

left them drifting on the bottomless ocean without any power or

electricity. Most of the ships’ victims were either painfully killed in

the pirate attacks or would die of starvation soon after. As these tragic

damaged vessels floated aimlessly across the sea, carried only by wind and

waves, people began to refer to them as “ghost ships”.

With the advancement of modern technology and marine travel

regulations, pirates gradually retreated from the oceans and the

appearances of ghost ships also diminished. In recent years, ghost ships

are more often caused by earthquakes, tsunamis, or other accidents. In

order to prevent ghost ships from becoming a hindrance to international

sailing routes, many nautical organizations established institutions and

focus groups specifically designed to track and salvage abandoned vessels.

Wei Hai found out about the dumplings on the ghost ship when he got

transferred into a salvage fleet and was visiting various abandoned vessels

at a shipyard. This specific ghost ship was an old Egyptian steel craft

that was already in a state of decay. It sailed into a violent storm that

broke its towline when it was en route to a foreign port, and was deserted

in the middle of the ocean. Only three of its crewmen survived. They relied

on dredging up small fishes from the sea and the dumpling-shaped foods they

managed to recover from the ship as their only sources of nourishment, and

were able to persevere while drifting on the ocean for 60 days.

Wei Hai, who “grew up eating dumplings”, wanted to understand how

these peculiar dumpling-shaped foods sustained the lives of the three men

for so long.

Though this ghost ship was basically dismantled and its three surviving

crew members had already returned home, Wei Hai was soon presented with an

opportunity to sail to Egypt to salvage yet another abandoned ship.

Motivated by the chance to uncover the secrets beneath the ghost ship and

its dumplings, Wei Hai read intensively about Egyptian culture and cuisines

before his journey.

Wei Hai already knew that Egypt had world-renowned cultural traditions

and history, but through his research, he learned that many Egyptian people

strictly followed Islamic dietary rules: a halal diet and daytime fasting

during Ramadan. Their meals were also very structured and regular.

Breakfast mostly consisted of bread, cheese, and coffee, whilst lunch and

dinner were much more elaborate and lavish, consisting of rice, meat, and

fruits. They also recognized their blessings and said a du’a before and

after meals, and ate only using their right hand.

With a basic understanding of Egyptian culture and practices, Wei Hai

set sail on his journey in discovering the story within the ghost ship and

dumplings.

As a storied seafarer, Wei Hai had rolled his ship into countless ports

and harbors. He crossed the Suez Canal of Egypt and marveled at the

glorious sights of Egypt: breathtaking golden pyramids, the bustling Suez

Canal, and magnificent temples… But perhaps the most enlightening cultural

experience occurred for Wei Hai when his ship was being repaired at an

Egyptian harbor during Ramadan, and he and a few other young boatmen were

invited to an Egyptian port manager’s home as guests.

Ramadan is an extremely important month of observance in Egypt. During

Ramadan, Egyptians eat fava beans before dawn, and on the day of Eid

al-Fitr, which celebrates the end of Ramadan, salted fish like Fesikh and

Moloha are prepared. Wei Hai noticed that Egyptian food had influences from

North African and Arab flavors, and many Egyptians liked sweets and

pastries. The most popular pastry was probably the Kunafa, which is made by

putting batter into a slotted spoon and scattering it evenly onto a pan to

make deep fried string-like dough. Wei Hai deeply enjoyed the Kunafa, as

they were delicious and unlike anything he’d ever had before.

The Egyptian people were very warm and hospitable. Anytime a festival

or holiday rolled around, not only did family and friends help prepare for

the celebrations, people who don’t usually interact with the hosts were

also welcome to help out and celebrate together. The hosts would encourage

and persuade their guests to eat as much as they could, although the

Egyptian people were aware of social structure and economic class, and were

careful about where guests should be seated at the dinner table.

Wei Hai’s trip to Egypt allowed him to gain a significant insight into

Egyptian culture and cuisine, but he still couldn’t find a trace of

information on the dumplings on the ghost ship.

The day before Wei Hai’s ship was ready for yet another voyage, Wei

Hai finally found his answer as he passed by an old Egyptian street food

stall. The so-called dumpling shaped foods were in fact a pastry named

Qatayef, which is many times larger than the Chinese dumpling. Its filling

is made with raisins and nuts, and after the filling is wrapped in dough,

it isn’t boiled or steamed but fried in medium heat. Because the Qatayef

is made with a special artistry and filled with nuts and dried fruits, it

became a favorite for sailors, who could keep it fresh and ready to eat no

matter what weather or unpredictable condition that the oceans conjures.

This unsuspecting pastry is not only loved by seafarers, locals, and

tourists alike, but it also saved the lives of three crewmen who were lost

at sea!

At long last, Wei Hai was delighted to unveil the secret of the special

Egyptian Qatayef “dumpling” on the ghost ship. With his worldview

broadened and having formed a subtle cultural connection between two

seemingly distant nations, this revelation made him even more proud to be

someone who “grew up eating dumplings”!