舌尖上的航海丨第25集 奇特的轮船“黑匣子”

古时候，海上通讯不发达，船舶失事后，往往在危急时刻，将遇难的经过和船员的遗言遗嘱封存在“漂流瓶”或木桶里拋向大海，成为最早的船舶“黑匣子“

1905年，英国海洋生物学会还专门成立了搜集和研究这些“漂流瓶”的机构。一百多年来，搜集整理千余件各式各样的船舶“黑匣子”，为寻找遇难船舶和分折失事原因做出了重要贡献。

但是，不久前，人们意外拾到一个在海上漂流了几十年的”黑匣子”，这只“黑匣子“里的内容完全出乎人们的意料，被人们称为航海史上最奇特的“黑匣子”。

事情发生在浩瀚的印度洋上。

这天，航海学院的实习船《园梦号》正在风平浪静的洋面上进行“救生演习”。身著救生衣的学员纷纷跳入水中，朝救生艇游去。

就在这时，学员姚航和季云突然发现，不远处海面上漂浮着一个闪亮的物体。原来是只漂流瓶。

姚航举起这只漂流瓶，高声喊道：”轮船黑匣子！”

玻璃瓶封存完好，通过瓶表面长着的斑斑海苔，隐约发现里面有个红色封皮的夲子。

姚航和季云在校学过航海史，知晓轮船“黑匣子”的知识。

但是，当姚航和季云将这只“漂流瓶“交给实习代队老师吉喆拆开后，方才发现”漂流瓶”里的内容完全出乎人们的意料，与以往“黑匣子”的内容大径相庭，引起学员们的极大兴趣：“这是航海史上最奇特的《黑匣子》”！

实习归来后，学校專门举办了这只《黑匣子》的座谈会。

会前，吉喆老师就这只《黑匣子》的来历及其主人做了多方面的调硏，均未获得满意结果，从《黑匣子》里面内容得知，这是一个化名叫“牧海人”的中国水手抛撒的，事情发生在印度洋，时间在1948年8月，距今已有60多年。

”这个奇特的《黑匣子》里面到底写了什么？”

座谈会上聚集了众多航海学子。

人们以期盼地眼神望看吉喆老师。

吉喆老师慎重地从“漂流瓶”里取出一夲已经退色的红色笔记夲，小心翼翼翻开扉頁，一字一板地念道：“我是一名老海员，足跡几乎遍及全球，在海上漂泊了二十多年，世界各地的饮食和习惯，可谓五花八门，一天，我突然萌发出一个想法，把这些知识记在日记本里留给下一代。十几年来，累计写了几十篇，现在我服务的船即将沉没了，为了使这些知识保留下来，实现留给下一代的願望，我将日记本隨着漂流瓶拋进大海，希望有朝一日，人们能发现它…。”

读到这里，会场上一片寂静。

吉喆老师感概地说”这是位值得大家敬重的海员。时间关係，我们选择日记本中几个有代表性的片段读给大家听。”

这时，一位身著校服的学生登上讲台，翻开厚厚的日记本，娓娓动听地讲述选出的一篇篇日记。

循规守矩的埃及歺桌

八月十月 船仃泊在亚力山大港

埃及是著名的文明古国。

这天，正值埃及的斋月。埃及在饮食上严格遵守伊斯兰教规。斋月期间，白天禁食，不吃一切忌物，也不吃带汁和未熟透的菜。吃饭时不能与人淡话，喝热湯及饮料时不能发出声响。忌纬用左手触模歺具和食品。

古埃及人一日二歺，现在改为三歺。午歺和晚歺必较讲究；以肉食，米饭，水果为主。斋月里要吃焖蚕豆和甜食。甜食是埃及人的最爱。

埃及人习惯用右手抓饭。歺前必须先洗手。埃及的食品制作带有浓郁的阿拉伯风情。一种在面粉中添加蜂蜜和调味料的发酵面饼，备受埃及人喜爰。斋月里一种叫阿洛伊夫，类似中国饺子的甜食是家家必备的食品。

埃及人办喜事，喜欢大摆筵席。陌生人同样受至热情接待。如果受邀到埃及人家里作客，进门前先要脱鞋，而且最好先恭维一下主人的房子。吃饭时只能用右手抓饭，而且要吃第二回菜。如果吃饱的话，盘子里最好剩一些菜，否则主人会不仃地给你夾菜…。

埃及人请客，座席十分讲究等级和身份。主人常常习惯用发誓的方式劝客人多吃。菜肴越多越好，那怕原封未动端上来又端下去，宾主都会十分高兴。

这些知识，是我经过多年来往埃及时的亲身经历和听当地人讲过的。

韩国歺桌上的“三宝”

三月四日 韩国斧山港

俗话说：韩国歺桌三件宝：泡菜，人参，糯米糕。

在绝大多数中国人的印象中，韩国的泡菜仅仅是棘白菜，其实不然。韩国泡菜有三千多年历史。据说在中回《诗经》里出现的“菹”字，中国人的字典里“菹”字解释为酸菜，韩国则认为这次首次用文字记载的泡菜。

泡菜在韩国饮食中占有特殊地位。最初泡荣用盐制蔬菜。16世纪后，辣椒传入韩国，泡菜出现了革命般的变化。由于韩国所处的地理位置，冬季寒冷漫长。泡菜在腌制中产生大量乳酸菌，增加了韩国人的营养，人们尊称泡菜为“国菜”。无论在繁华的都市或偏僻的村庄，居民的院庭和阳台上摆满了大大小小的泡菜坛子。

在韩国被称为“神草”“灵草”和“不老草”的人参，在韩国人的眼里，是对各种疾病预防和保养身体的必需品。中国人看来只有体弱，病后或老人才会用人参补身体。在韩国几乎日常生活中都会接触到人参；人参酒，美容的人参粉，歺桌上各式各样用人参制作的菜肴。按中国人的说法，没有人参不成席！

糯米糕是韩国人节日食品的“台柱子”。韩国人的生日，探亲，结婚，祭祀…都会制作糯米糕祈求平安。韩国的许多饮食文化与中国十分相似，例如正月十五吃五谷饭，端午节喝菊花酒…。

韩国歺桌上的“三宝“，多多少少带有中国文化的色彩！

这些知识是船上韩藉大厨朴正顺讲给我的。

五光十色的印度歺

十月六日 印度新德里

印度是个佛教文明古国。

印度人不吃牛肉和猪肉，羊肉鸡肉，鱼吓配上米饭或烤并是印度人的主食。

”咖喱”是印度独有的调味料。第一次尝试印度菜，有一种说不出的特殊味道，那就是“咖喱“的功效。

印度天气炎热，多数来自非洲的移民口味重，嗜好有刺激的食物。这是印度当地重要的食

印度蔬菜产量少，但是蔬菜和水果颜色却五光十色，胡罗卜似血通红，四季豆如同翡翠一般，土豆金黄饱满…，经过一番烹调后，可谓五光十色，色味俱全的美食！

印度人不爱喝湯，認为任何种汤，也比不上白开水更爽更开胃。一歺下來总要喝上五六杯白开水和奶茶。冰凉的白开水配上热腾腾的奶菜，成了印度人最佳的饮品。

印度人特别喜欢香蕉树。由于香蕉树，一年只结一次果，香蕉树心还可以食用，纤维用来织布，香蕉叶可代替盘子盛物传习至今，所以当前许多歺厅仍然用香蕉盛菜，香喷喷的菜肴配看奇形的“盘子“，吸引着外来人的眼球。

“抓饭”是印度人特殊的用歺习惯。印度人的姆指，食指和中指生来就似乎特别灵活：在指不触口唇，手不沾饭的优美姿态下，香喷喷的咖喱饭已在齿间留香！

我多次来到印度，印度“咖喱“料理的饭菜十分迷恋，正是印度“咖喱“的功能！

In ancient times, when communication systems at sea were not yet well-developed,

sailors on ships that lost contact with their bases often wrote messages and notes in glass

bottles and tossed them out to sea, in the hopes that their families and friends would

somehow receive the message one day. These floating glass bottles became the very first

messenger boxes of steamships.

In 1905, the Marine Biological Association in Great Britain launched an operation that

focused specifically on researching floating bottles and their origins. Within the century that

it had been operating, scientists from the Floating Bottles Initiative collected and studied

countless messages that drifted upon the sea in bottles of various shapes and sizes, and

uncovered the backgrounds and reasons why many ships met disasters in the past.

Out of the thousands of floating canisters that the Association had investigated, one

particular message bottle contained information that went above and beyond anyone’s

expectations. It was soon considered the “most unique floating bottle ever found”, and made

the headlines for multiple newspapers across the world.

This floating bottle was found on the Indian Ocean. A training vessel from a Chinese

nautical academy was performing capsize recovery exercises in a safe, quiet zone of the sea.

Students wearing life suits jumped into the water as if a real disaster had occurred, and swam

towards their liferafts.

As they dove for their lives, two students named Yaohang and Jiyun suddenly noticed an

object drifting atop the waters and shining under the sunlight. They veered off course and

retrieved the object, which turned out to be a floating bottle.

Yaohang raised the bottle high above her head, and yelled, “There’s a message inside!”

The bottle was screwed tight with a cork, and algae grew all around its bottom edges.

Through the blurred, dented glass, Yaohang and Jiyun noticed a notebook with maroon red

covers inside the bottle.

When Yaohang and Jiyun studied maritime history in nautical school, they had learned

about these floating bottles and the messages they contained. However, when the two

students entrusted the bottle to their instructor, they were told that this bottle was unique and

included letters that were vastly different from any other drifting message ever found before.

The story of this curious message spread through Yaohang and Jiyun’s nautical school, and

soon the students began referring to it as the Strangest Floating Bottle Ever Found.

Later on, Yaohang and Jiyun’s instructor, Professor Zhe, conducted a lot of research and

investigative inquiries into the mysterious bottle that his students found, but yielded no

satisfying results. All he discovered was that this bottle was tossed into the deep by a Chinese

sailor named the “Shepherd of the Sea” in August of 1948, while the Shepherd was sailing in

the Indian Ocean.

Professor Zhe organized a schoolwide assembly to discuss the contents of the floating

bottle. Students and professors alike sat in the black box theater, and patiently awaited

Professor Zhe’s explanations.

As Professor Zhe readied himself onstage, he took out the glass bottle, unscrewed its

cork, and carefully extracted the red notebook from inside. The notebook’s red color was

fading, and its pages were a shade of yellow rather than the white it once was. Slowly,

Professor Zhe flipped through the pages and began reading.

“I am a seasoned seafarer and have sailed across the entire world. After drifting on the

ocean for over twenty years, I have tried a myriad of worldly cuisines, grown accustomed to

the diverse customs and traditions that the world has to offer, and can even speak quite a few

languages. I have become passionate about sharing my knowledge with other people, and

decided to retell the stories of my journeys in this notebook and pass it on to future

generations. Today, as the vessel that I call home continues to sink into the abyss, my only

option for keeping my voyages alive is by folding my writing into this glass bottle, and

tossing it into the sea, in the hopes that someone, someday will come across it, and recognize

its obscure value...”

The auditorium fell into complete silence as Professor Zhe read on.

He paused for a moment, then closed the notebook and looked into the audience. “The

author of this notebook is a highly respectable seafarer who saw the extensive merit in sailing

even before maritime communications were well-developed. Today, my students and I would

like to read a few of his chapters to everyone, in order to accomplish his dreams of sharing

his journeys with the rest of the world.”

Professor Zhe took a seat at the side of the stage, and a student walked into the center

wearing a sailor’s uniform. She flipped to a cautiously bookmarked section of the notebook,

and recounted a story with passion and respect in her voice.

Table Manners in Egypt

On August 10th, our ship docked at the Alexandria Port here in Egypt.

Egypt is a stunning country with cultures and customs that have been established for

centuries.

As we approached the Alexandria Port, the crew and I realized that August is the month

for this year’s Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslim populations of Egypt fast during the day,

place restrictions on their diet, and tend to stay away from raw vegetables. People don’t speak

when eating, and prefer to stay quiet even when drinking beverages and eating soup. They

also eat almost exclusively with their right hand.

I found Egyptian table manners fascinating. In Ancient times, people in Egypt only ate

two meals a day, and only recently switched to eating three meals in one day. Lunch and

dinner were more extravagant than breakfast, and consisted of meat, rice, and fruits. During

Ramadan, many also liked to prepare fava beans and sweets, which many Egyptian people

have a soft spot for.

In Egypt, we also often eat with our hands. Egyptian cuisines have a distinct flavor and

clear influences from Arabic flavors, complete with many unique pastries that caught my

attention immediately. They particularly love adding honey and sweeteners to flour and

fermented pastries, giving the dough a dense consistency and saccharine taste. My favorite is

the Qatayef, which bears many similarities to the Chinese dish dumplings.

The Egyptian people also love to host large parties and celebrations. Even if you’re a

stranger and a foreigner in their country, they will welcome you with open arms and invite

you into their homes. But always remember to take off your shoes before entering someone’s

house and to be polite when making conversation. It’s best to eat with your right hand and try

dishes multiple times, and leave some scraps on your dish when you are full, or the host will

continue adding portions into your plate.

The Egyptian people are very aware of respect and courtesy, so they will ask you to

continue eating and trying their dishes. Even if they have to keep moving in and out of the

kitchen, they will promise that they are more than happy to serve you.

These tips and suggestions are all taken from my personal experiences with local people

in Egypt.

The student took a deep breath, and continued reading.

The Three Korean Culinary Treasures

March 3rd, Port of Busan

Some say that there are three unmissable treasures of Korean cuisines: kimchi, ginseng,

and rice cakes.

In the minds of many foreign travelers, Korean kimchi is nothing but spicy fermented

cabbages, but they couldn’t be more wrong. Kimchi has over three thousand years of history

in Korea. Some say that the word “Zu” or “菹” in ancient Chinese poetry refers to kimchi,

which was brought to China by Korea voyagers.

Kimchi has a special place in the diet of Korea locals. It was originally made by soaking

vegetables in salt, but after the 16th century, chili was introduced to Korea and changed the

entire course of Korean cuisine. Because of Korea’s geographical location, the country’s

winters are harsh and lengthy, so crops were not often harvested during the cold long months.

But kimchi was fairly simple to make and produced high concentrations of lactic acids and

beneficial nutrients, improving the health of Korean citizens whether it was in the heat of

summer or in the depths of winter. Eventually, kimchi became Korea’s national dish.

Wherever you go in the cities and towns of Korea, if you look carefully, you can notice jars

and pots of kimchi on the balconies of local houses and apartments.

Known to Korean people as the “magical herb” or the “grass of spiritual health”,

ginseng is essential to the prevention of aging and diseases in the hearts of Koreans. In China,

most think that ginseng is only used for those who are elderly or sick, but in Korea, all sorts

of people come across ginseng frequently in their daily lives. They make ginseng wine,

ginseng face lotions, and various delicious dishes with ginseng as its star. The Korean’s

people’s grace and ageless appearance could perhaps be attributed to their love of ginseng!

Lastly, rice cakes are the staple of Korean food festivals. On birthdays, weddings, and

national holidays, Koreans eat rice cakes as a sign of peace and prosperity. This aspect of

Korean cuisine is quite similar to Chinese cuisine - we can increase our cross-cultural

understanding through the sharing of rice cakes, glutinous rice, and chrysanthemum wines…

Most of this information was told to me by our chief cook, Park Jung-soon. The Korean

people’s enthusiasm and love for their cuisine have brought joy and knowledge to nations all

across the world!

The student smiled at the audience, and began her rendition of the last chosen piece.

The Colorful Cuisines of India

October 6th, New Delhi, India

In India, peaceful religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism have been practiced for

centuries.

Most Indian people do not eat beef or pork, so lamb, chicken, and fish make up for the

majority of protein found in Indian dishes.

Curry is a distinctive ingredient that originated in India. The first time I ever tried Indian

food, I was blown away by its inexplicable, remarkable flavor that was unparalleled

anywhere else in the world.

Because of the sweltering heat in most areas of India, many Indian dishes are spicy and

full of heavy flavors. On a single table, vegetables and meats of a myriad of colors are

presented: carrots in the shade of a bustling red, beans green like emeralds, potatoes golden

like the sands… Not only are the foods beautiful, they are equally as delicious.

Throughout my travels, I’ve noticed that Indian palates are not overly fond of soups or

broths, and instead prefer to pair their meals with a glass of cold, fresh water. Many also love

tea and milk tea, often repeatedly filling their cups with these light beverages and sipping

them continuously. Iced water and boiling milk tea served side by side make an undefeatable

combination that Indians love to indulge in.

Additionally, Indian people are particularly fond of banana trees. Banana trees only yield

fruits once a year, but the purple flower known as the heart of the banana tree is also edible.

Its fibres can be used to weave clothing and fabrics, and banana leaves can even be used as

plates to serve food on. That’s why lots of restaurants in India still choose to use banana

leaves to serve their dishes instead of glass or paper plates, catching the attention of travelers

from all corners of the world.

The traditional way of eating in India is to also use your hands. Indian recipes are

designed specifically to be eaten with fingers, and using your hands to eat is seen as a way of

connecting with your psyche and soul in India. The Indian people are able to successfully use

their fingers to eat with grace and utter enjoyment, impressing any tourist that steps foot onto

the elegant land.

Every time I’ve come to India, I become enchanted by the flavors of curry and Indian

spices all over again.

The student read on from the Shepherd’s journal, and the entire auditorium listened with

their complete concentration. The seemingly inconspicuous red notebook eventually became

a cultural artifact in the entire nautical world