25/05/2020
月桂葉
Bay Leaf
喜歡吃地中海美食的人，一定對月桂葉不陌生。許多人初次見到月桂葉，也許是跟當年的小編一樣不知道為何馬鈴薯湯上漂浮著一片乾葉子吧! 彷彿西餐湯品或是義大利麵上擺弄了幾片乾燥月桂葉，就更加「高貴正統」，只是月桂葉在餐點呈現和調理中究竟扮演什麼作用呢?
For people who enjoy Mediterranean food, bay leaves are more than “just acquaintances” – but perhaps for many, especially in Taiwan, just like me, it was a strange feeling seeing a piece of dry leaf floating on top of my potato soup when first approaching “Western Food”. It was as if the whole of a restaurant is more “authentic and classy” if some bay leaves were garnished on top of the soup of spethetti. But what do bay leaves really do in food?
西餐中的月桂葉
Bay Leaves in “Western Foods”
在台灣常見的西餐裡，月桂葉濃烈的木質香氣，往往用來搭配燉煮料理和煙燻料理，像是煙燻德國豬腳、法式油封鴨、紅酒燉牛肉、羅宋湯、奶油海鮮濃湯等等都往往可以看到月桂葉的身影，因為月桂葉能和這些味道濃郁的食材互相襯托，呈現更多層次的風味，長時間熬煮後，還會產生清爽的甘甜味，亦能幫助肉類去腥。
In the western restaurants in Taiwan, bay leaves, with their strong wooden aroma, are often seen with cuisines that require stewing or smoking in the process, like Schweinshaxe, Duck Confit(Confit de Canard), Beef bourguignon, Borscht, and creamy seafood soups. This is because bay leaves adds flavor layer to the food ingredients with strong fragrances, and after long hours of cooking, they create refreshing sweetness while removing the gamey smell of meat.
中餐中的月桂葉
Bay Leaves in Chinese Foods
月桂葉堪稱台式滷味滷汁的梁柱，平衡了八角、肉桂、胡椒及甘草等香料的味道。雖然名字滿滿的西洋感，卻非常融入台灣美食小吃，總讓我有種外國藝人在台灣默默耕耘了多年的想像。其實在鹽水雞、白斬雞的調味中，許多餐廳也會使用月桂葉來增加風味層次，讓肉品更加鮮甜。馬鈴薯燉肉中，也可以使用月桂葉提昇香氣，讓醬汁更口味更加豐富。
Pillar to the Lǔwèi sauces (or Lou mei , stewed and braised dishes), bay leaves balance out other spices such as anise, cinnamon, pepper and licorice. Though the name “Bay leaf” sounds more foreign than local, it is well integrated into Taiwanese recipes. It often gives me an image of a hard-working artist in entertainment, who somehow have been striving and proving himself for years on local channels. In fact, in preparing white sliced chicken(poached chicken) and brined chicken, many restaurants and eateries would also elevate the flavor complexity, and enhance the natural sweetness of meat with bay leaves. In home-style pork stew with potato, bay leaves can also be added to compliment the aroma, and to add a bit playfulness to the simple sauce base.
印度料理和南洋料理中的月桂葉
Bay Leaves in Indian and Southeast Asian Cuisines
月桂葉在印度咖哩和東南亞咖哩和美食中也扮演著重要角色，像是泰式瑪莎曼咖哩(Massaman curry)、印尼炸雞(Ayam Goreng)、緬甸米線(Mohinga)還是印度料理中的Pulao香料飯(關於各式各樣的香料飯我們會找機會陸續專題分享)、甜辣奶油起司咖哩(Paneer Makhana)、番茄濃湯、不少鷹嘴豆咖哩(chana masala)等等，都會使用月桂葉。
Bay leaves as well play an important part in Indian curries and Southeast Asian curries and dishes. For instance, Thai Massaman curry, Indonesian fried chicken Ayam Goreng, Burmese noodles Mohinga, Indian Pulao, Paneer Makhana, creamy tomato soup, stypes of chickpea curries, etc., bay leaves are there as an essential herb.
把月桂葉納入廚房的收藏吧，他會是各種料理的風味升級好幫手!
Add bay leaves to your kitchen pantry – they’ll be a wonderful help to upgrade the all kinds of cuisines!
