说起臭豆腐，相信很多人都尝过。同为“闻着臭吃着香”的美食，佛山臭屁醋你认识吗？

　　Speaking of stinky tofu, many might have tried. Likewise, there is also another delicacy that “smells bad yet tastes good” - Smelly Vinegar Porridge in Foshan. Have you ever heard of it?

　　闻其臭 懂其“香”  Bad smell but good flavor

　　臭屁醋名字虽臭，但其实是一碗飘着浓郁醋香、有菜有肉的老火粥。长期食用，还可以延年益寿，因此它又名“长寿醋”，还具有软化血管、消食开胃、美容护肤、温胃驱寒等功效。

　　The dish might seem stinky from its name, but it’s actually a pot of long-boiled porridge, with rich vinegar flavor, vegetable, and meat. If eating it on a regularly routine, people are expected to live a longer life. Thus, it enjoys a nickname as "vinegar of longevity". It also offers many health benefits - softening blood vessels, digestion, working up appetite, skin care, warming stomach and dispelling the cold.

　　很多街坊都调侃它为 “液体榴莲”，但多少人吃过后，都欲罢不能。

　　Many people joked about it as "liquid durian", but few can resist once they try it.

　　选材讲究 熬制有道  Unique ingredients and cooking methods

　　A 100-day soaking before smelly vinegar is produced

　　制作臭屁醋，需要纯正糯米浸泡足100日，制作过程中发酵产生乳酸菌，因此会产生这一股独特的气味。大厨以臭屁醋作为汤底，加入扇骨、粉肠、黄豆、红薯、梅菜、生姜等材料，慢火熬制一个小时，一道风味独特的老火粥便可出炉。

　　To make nice smelly vinegar, you need to soak pure glutinous rice in vinegar for 100 days straight. During this process, lactic acid bacteria will be fermented, giving off a special smell. The chef uses smelly vinegar as soup, put in some fan bones, pig small intestine, soybeans, sweet potatoes, mui choy and simmers them on slow fire for one hour. After that, long-boiled porridge can be served.

Various kinds of ingredients used for long-boiled porridge

　　漂浮着细碎梅菜末的奶白色浓稠汤汁，单靠卖相就让人垂涎三尺。醋的酸味慢慢融入到肉里面，分解了肉本身的油腻饱和感，肉吃起来微酸微甜，很有口感。

　　The milky-white rich soup, floated with chopped mui choy, looks just inviting enough to you. The sourness from vinegar slowly melts into the meat, decomposing the greasiness from the meat itself. The meat tastes slightly sour-sweet and chewy as well.

　　臭屁醋有段“古”  Delicacy with a trace in long history

　　Soaking pots with vinegar stand at the corner of a restaurant for 28 years

　　臭屁醋的诞生，还是有一段历史故事的，具体可以追溯到元朝末年的珠江三角洲。话说那时兵荒马乱，民不聊生。靠苦力谋生的麦福和卧病在床的母亲相依为命。为了存粮，他将稻穗刨米炒熟存放在坛子里，并放入井水防止老鼠偷吃。

　　How did the recipe come into being? There was a story to tell, which goes way back to the Pearl River Delta in the late-Yuan Dynasty. During that period, people were caught up in a chaotic war. A man named Mai Fu, who earned a living as a coolie, has to take care of his bedridden mother. In order to keep the food from the mice, he put fried rice soaked in a jar.

　　几个月后农闲时期，他和母亲两日粒米未进，无奈之下打开坛子，发现米饭已经变质，发出阵阵酸臭味。为了活命，他还是将米汤煮开端给母亲喝。谁料母亲大呼好喝，直喝得大汗淋漓，通体舒畅。这样吃了半个月，母亲的气色越来越好，竟能下床走动了。

　　A few months later, slack farming season arrived. Mai and his mother hadn’t had any rice for two days. They had no choice but to open the jar they hid, only to find out that the rice had gone bad. For the sake of survival, he decided to boil rice soup for his mother. Unexpectedly, it tasted delicious. His mom kept drinking, had sweat all over her body and surprisingly felt great. After Mai kept it as her diet for half a month, his mother’s complexion got better, got out of bed and walked around again!

　　乡人纷纷询问原因，麦福将这些米汤分享给乡亲。大家就称这种闻来臭、喝来香的粥水称为“臭屁醋”。

　　People from their neighborhood were all curious about it. Mai shared the rice soup around with villagers. From then on, people called this porridge, which smells bad but tastes good, as “smelly vinegar”.

　　传承至今，在佛山哪里可以尝到臭屁醋呢？带你探店，走起！

　　As smelly vinegar porridge was passd down from generations in Foshan, you get a taste in various districts. Follow our guidance. Lets go!

　　Author | Jersey

　　Revisor | Jessica, Eleanor

　　Photo | Foshan News Network, Official Wechat Account of "南海旅游"