日本燒烤的祕密 和歌山木炭是最好的烹飪用炭

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.

和歌山區是一個位於日本關西地區人口稀少的地區，它因當地的梅子和柑橘而聞名。少爲人知的是和歌山也生產一種用於烹飪的木炭，這種木炭可能是世界上最好的烹飪用炭。

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.

作爲一種非凡的蒸煮助劑，KishuBinchotan被貼上了很多標籤，如空氣和水的淨化器和心境增強劑。KishuBinchotan是一種白色木炭，產自於當地的一種名爲ubame的橡樹，它被視爲世界上最適合用於燒烤的木炭，尤其是一些日本菜品如yakitori（烤雞串）和unagi（烤鰻魚）。全世界的廚師們都發誓這一木炭給肉和海鮮添加了一種獨特的香味，這種味道是其他種類的木炭實現不了的。

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餐館，在那裏點了五份雞串和一份啤酒。我問廚師爲什麼要用Kishu Binchotan而不用其他更便宜一點的木炭，他熟練過地列舉出了理由，一邊將烤肉叉子在烤架上翻個面，一邊拿着這些叉子強調着他的理由。廚師說這種白色木炭在一個很低的溫度下燃燒，因此不會將煙或木炭的氣味釋放到肉上，更不可思議的是，它會發出一種遠紅外波，這聽起來有點牽強附會。但我不得不承認的是，當我越讓自己相信這可能是真的時候，雞肉也開始變得更加美味。

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

我不得不承認，雞串的確變得越來越好吃。

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車從和歌山市前往Minabe同這個地區最著名的Kishu Binchotan製作工匠岡崎光男見面。我們把見面的地點約在了他的工作室。Minabe是一個小鎮，人口只有14,000人，周圍山川環繞，一條同名的河流橫穿而過。由於該地森林中有着豐富的ubame橡樹，在這一點上世界上其他地方都無法匹及，這使得該小鎮成爲了日本主要的KishuBinchotan的生產地。Minabe同樣也是日本梅子最大的生產地。我很幸運能夠在第一期開花季的時候來到這裏，山旁的果園裏都開滿了白色的花朵，微風中夾雜着花朵淡雅的芳香。

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.

在岡崎光男的工作室，他和他的助理正忙着製作Kishu Binchotan。他們拿着掛在鉤子上的長長的金屬耙子，將它們夠到燒窯裏頭。灰燼在空氣中飄着，製造出了一種朦朧感，黯淡了燒窯發出的火光，直到附着到任何它能夠找到的物體表面上。

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.

我向岡崎光男進行了自我介紹，當時他正在用一塊毛巾擦着臉，從橡木堆後的一個巨大的儲水池裏舀了一大杯水。他說在冬天，燒窯的熱度使得工作變得非常愉悅，但是在和歌山潮溼的夏季，超高的熱度就變得異常難熬。當岡崎先生正在等着那一批木炭完成第一輪燒製的時候，他向我介紹了有關 KishuBinchotan 製作過程的一些基礎知識。

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橡樹要在手工製作的陶製燒窯裏用低溫進行烤制。之後要關閉燃燒室的門以保護木頭裏的炭，在餘燼還沒燃盡氧氣之前溫度會迅速升高。正是這最後一步使得Kishu Binchotan的製作過程不同於一般木炭的製作。

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.

岡崎先生解釋說當木頭的顏色變成了檸檬黃之後他就知道木頭的已經達到了合適的溫度。這時候就要使用耙子把發着火光的木頭從爐子裏撈出來，將它們進行轉向，讓它們面向灰燼堆。岡崎先生展示了這一過程，過程中不斷地有火星冒出。那些本被埋上的灰塵從下面的餘燼那裏噴散開來，使得灰色的陰然堆彷彿有了生命。灰燼漸漸冷卻了KishuBinchotan，賦予了木頭獨特的白色外貌。

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.

我被這個過程吸引住了。這裏的溫暖和光亮讓我的觀察顯得格外平靜。我感受到了這份工作的魅力所在，並且理解了爲什麼KishuBinchotan 的這種家庭式的製作工坊會延續幾百年的時間。

I was transfixed by the process.

我被這一個過程深深地迷住了。

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最近作爲一種家用的健康萬能藥火了一把，它被認爲具有比其他種類木炭更強的吸收有害化學物質的功能。這使得 KishuBinchotan的需求量達到了一種不可持續的水平，給像岡崎先生這樣的工匠帶來了困擾，因爲他們的生產原料僅來自於當地有限的ubame橡樹資源。Kishu Binchotan也是很多化妝品、洗髮水以及牙膏的主要原料；人們將未經燃燒的木炭放入衣櫃和冰箱，來達到提高空氣質量和吸收異味的效果；此外，更加令人疑惑的是，Kishu Binchotan還被認爲具有改善心境的作用，因爲會有負離子不斷地從活性炭中釋放出來，這種負離子被認爲能夠提升大腦中的血清素水平。

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.

當工作室裏的工匠們完成了他們的下一批木炭後，我問岡崎先生他對這些說法怎麼看。他聳了聳肩，說KishuBinchotan真應該只用於它原本的目的：烹飪。至於哪一種食物最能夠從這種木炭中獲益，岡崎先生說出了一長串食物的名字，包括神戶牛肉、羔羊肉以及日式燒雞。最後停在了sabashioyakai（椒鹽鯖魚）上，他認爲這樣菜最好地展現了木頭的微妙香味。用Kishu Binchotan燒製的魚肉的味道讓他回想起了小時候冬季的餐桌。

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.

根據岡崎先生的說法，下一代人會繼續生產Kishu Binchotan，但是會是用另外一種方式。現在的生產方式對勞動力的需求過高，而且現在也有了可以使用的工業化的燒製爐子。但是岡崎先生還是認爲這些工業化的爐子會剝奪木頭的生命力，他說每一捆樹枝都彼此不一樣。這些區別需要通過人的碰觸才能感受出來，需要通過人的辨別才能判斷哪些樹枝是已經可以切除的了，需要人去調整燒製的時間，在不破壞橡木生命力的前提下將ubame橡木從簡單的硬木狀態變爲木炭。製作Kishu Binchotan的基本功可以在一年左右的時間裏學會，但是對木炭一致性的完善是一種需要經過數十年培養的本能直覺。

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.

這些來自和歌山的白色木炭製作者們，他們的身份意義超越了傳統的工匠。他們是這片ubame森林的管理者，精心挑選樹枝以保證樹木的健康，齊心協力一起防止ubame橡樹遭到過渡的開採砍伐。岡崎先生和他的同事們專注於創造一種可持續性的高質量產品，以及將這一生產方式傳遞給下一代。正是這樣一種對生命輪迴的使命感帶來了具有驚世美味的烤肉。