Hello everybody, my name is An Kaiwen. I really like Chinese, but I even more like to eat Chinese food. Today I’d like to introduce [jieshao] several very famous Chinese dishes.
Xiān shuō Fó tiào qiáng. Zhège cái bù shì sùcài. Fó tiào qiáng lǐ de rou4 hěn duō. Wèishénme jiào fó tiào qiáng ne? Zhè cài zhēn hǎochī, suǒyǐ lián Fó huì tiào qiáng qù chī. Suīrán Fó tiáo qiáng hǎochī, dànshì jià wèijīng jiù gēng hǎochī.
The first is fo tiao qiang [Buddha leap over wall]. This dish is not vegetarian. Fo tiao qiang has a lot of meat in it. Why is it called Fo tiao qiang? This dish is really tasty, so even [lian] Buddha [fo] jumps over the wall to go eat it. Although Fotiaoqiang is good, it’s even better if you add MSG. [jia = add]
Xià yī ge cài shì mǎyǐ-shàngshù. Mǎyǐ-shàngshù lǐtou yǒu zhūròu, kěshì méiyǒu mǎyǐ. Zhè gè cài kànqilai xiang4 mǎyǐ páshù yi2yang4. Wǒ hěn xǐhuan zhège cài, kěshì wǒ juéde mǎyǐ-shàng shù jiā wèijīng huì gèng hǎo chī.
The next dish is ants [mayi] climbing a tree [shangshu]. This dish sounds [tingqilai] very interesting. Mayishangshu contains [again, li is in] pork, but doesn’t have ants. Why is it called Ants Climbing a tree? Because this dish looks like [kanqilai] it has ants climbing a tree. I really like this dish, but I feel Ants climbing a tree is even better if you add MSG.
Xià yī ge cài jiào jiàohuā jī. Wèishénme jiào jiàohuā jī ne? Yǐqián yǒu yī gè jiàohuāzi. Biéren sòng tā yī zhī jī. Zhè jiàohuāzi méiyǒu biéde dōngxi, bǎ jī fàng zài nítǔ lǐ kǎo. Dàjiā dōu shuō jiàohuā jī hǎochī, kěshì wǒ bù tóngyì. Wèishénme ne? Yīnwèi jiàohuāzi méiyǒu qián, suǒyǐ bù néng mǎi wèijīng. Mei2you3 wèijīng, jiao4hua1ji jiù bù hǎochī.
The next dish is called Beggar’s [jiaohuazi] Chicken [ji]. Why is it called Beggar’s chicken? Once there was a beggar. Somebody gave him a chicken. The beggar had nothing so he put the chicken in mud [nitu] and baked it. Everybody says this dish is delicious, but I don’t agree [tongyi]. Because the beggar didn’t have money, so he couldn’t buy MSG. With no MSG, Beggar’s Chicken doesn’t taste good.
Zuìhòu de cài jiào Gǒubùlǐ bāozi. Wèishénme zhè cài jiào Gǒubùlǐ bāozi ne? Yǐqián yǒu yigè ren, ta de míngzì jiào Gǒubùlǐ. Gǒubùlǐ mai4 bāozi, suǒyǐ tā de bāozi jiù jiào Gǒubùlǐ bāozi. Duìbuqǐ, wǒ juéde zhège shuōfa cuò le. Wo3 mǎi le yīxiē Gǒubùlǐ bāozi dàihuí jiā. Wǒ jiāli yǎng gǒu, suǒyǐ wǒ bǎ bāozi fang dìshàng. Nǐmen zhīdào ma? Nàxiē bāozi wǒde gǒu yīdiǎn dōu bùlǐ. Zhè néng zhèngmíng, yīnwèi gǒu bùlǐ, suǒyǐ cái jiào Gǒubùlǐ bāozi. Kěshì, wǒ yī bǎ wèijīng fàng zài bāozi shàngmian, gǒu mǎshàng bǎ bāozi chī qǐlái.
Finally there’s a dish called “Goubuli” steamed bread [baozi]. Why is this dish called Goubuli Baozi [important to know that “goubulai” sounds like “dogs won’t touch it.”]. There was a guy named “Gou Buli.” Gou Buli sold baozi, so his baozi’s became known as “Gou Buli Baozi.” I’m sorry, I feel this explanation is incorrect.. Last week I went to Chinatown, and there bought some Goubuli baozi’s to take home [dai huijia]. My house raises [yang] dogs [I have a dog.], so I took the baozi’s and put them on the floor. You know? My dog wouldn’t touch those dumplings. This proves, because dogs won’t touch them, that’s why they are called “Baozi’s that dogs won’t touch.” But do you all know, as soon as [“yi…jiu” means as soon as something then something else] I put MSG on the Baozi’s , the dog ate them up.
Qíshí, wǒ hái yǒu jǐge cài yào jièshào. Kěshì wǒ yǐjing shuōdào dùzi è le. Suǒyǐ wǒ jīntiān shuōdào zhèli, yào qù zhǎo dong1xi chī. Qǐng nǐmen fàngxīn, wǒ zìjǐ dài wèijīng, xièxie dàjiā.
Actually, I still have several dishes to introduce. But I already spoken to the point of getting hungry [shuo dao duzi e le, duzi means stomach]. So, today I will speak up to here, I want to find something to eat. Don’t worry, I have my own MSG, thanks everybody.
先说佛跳墙。这个菜 不是素菜。佛跳墙里的肉很多。为什么叫佛跳墙呢。这菜真好吃，所以连佛会跳墙去吃。虽然佛条墙这菜好吃，但是加味精就更好吃。
下一个菜是蚂蚁上树。这菜听起来很有意思。蚂蚁上树里头有猪肉，可是没有蚂蚁。这个菜看起来像蚂蚁爬树一样。我很喜欢这个菜，可是我觉得蚂蚁上树加味精会更好吃。
下一个菜叫叫化鸡。为什么叫叫化鸡呢。以前有一个叫化子。别人送他一只鸡。这叫化子没有别的东西，把鸡放在泥土里烤。大家都说这菜好吃，可是我不同意。为什么呢？因为叫化子没有钱，所以不能买味精。对不起，叫化鸡没有味精，就不好吃。
最后的菜叫狗不理包子。为什么这菜叫狗不理包子呢? 以前有一个人，他的名字叫狗不理。狗不理卖包子，所以他的包子就叫狗不理包子。对不起，我觉得这个说法错了。我上个星期去了中国城，在那儿买了一些狗不理包子带回家。我家里养狗，所以我把包子放地上。你们知道吗？那些包子我的狗一点都不理。这能证明，因为狗不理，所以才叫狗不理包子。可是你们知道吗，我一把味精放在包子上面，狗马上把包子吃起来。
其实，我还有几个菜要介绍。可是我已经说到肚子饿了。所以我今天说到这里，要去找东西吃。请你们放心，我自己带味精，谢谢大家。
Hello everybody, my name is An Kaiwen. I really like Chinese, but I even more like to eat Chinese food. Today I’d like to introduce [jieshao] several very famous Chinese dishes.
The first is fo tiao qiang [Buddha leap over wall]. This dish is not vegetarian. Fo tiao qiang has a lot of meat in it. Why is it called Fo tiao qiang? This dish is really tasty, so even [lian] Buddha [fo] jumps over the wall to go eat it. Although Fotiaoqiang is good, it’s even better if you add MSG. [jia = add]
The next dish is ants [mayi] climbing a tree [shangshu]. This dish sounds [tingqilai] very interesting. Mayishangshu contains [again, li is in] pork, but doesn’t have ants. Why is it called Ants Climbing a tree? Because this dish looks like [kanqilai] it has ants climbing a tree. I really like this dish, but I feel Ants climbing a tree is even better if you add MSG.
The next dish is called Beggar’s [jiaohuazi] Chicken [ji]. Why is it called Beggar’s chicken? Once there was a beggar. Somebody gave him a chicken. The beggar had nothing so he put the chicken in mud [nitu] and baked it. Everybody says this dish is delicious, but I don’t agree [tongyi]. Because the beggar didn’t have money, so he couldn’t buy MSG. With no MSG, Beggar’s Chicken doesn’t taste good.
Finally there’s a dish called “Goubuli” steamed bread [baozi]. Why is this dish called Goubuli Baozi [important to know that “goubulai” sounds like “dogs won’t touch it.”]. There was a guy named “Gou Buli.” Gou Buli sold baozi, so his baozi’s became known as “Gou Buli Baozi.” I’m sorry, I feel this explanation is incorrect.. Last week I went to Chinatown, and there bought some Goubuli baozi’s to take home [dai huijia]. My house raises [yang] dogs [I have a dog.], so I took the baozi’s and put them on the floor. You know? My dog wouldn’t touch those dumplings. This proves, because dogs won’t touch them, that’s why they are called “Baozi’s that dogs won’t touch.” But do you all know, as soon as [“yi…jiu” means as soon as something then something else] I put MSG on the Baozi’s , the dog ate them up.
Actually, I still have several dishes to introduce. But I already spoken to the point of getting hungry [shuo dao duzi e le, duzi means stomach]. So, today I will speak up to here, I want to find something to eat. Don’t worry, I have my own MSG, thanks everybody.
Guan Gaolan and MSG
Hello everybody, my name is Guan Gulan, I’m a Guammunist. My topic [timu] today is MSG’s beautiful flavor. A lot of people think [renwei], MSG towards health [jiankang] is not good [not good for your health. For example, in our textbook [keben, “li” means “in”], there’s a dialogue, in the dialogue [duihua litou], the student says, “Waiter, don’t put MSG in the dishes.” The waiter answers saying [huida shuo], “don’t worry, our dishes all don’t have MSG [none of our dishes has MSG.]
Gèwèi, zhège duìhuà wǒ bù néng xiāngxìn. Fúwùyuán dāngrán shuō bù fàng wèijīng. Kěshì wo3 xiang3 chúshī yīdìng huì shuō, “Yīdìng yào fàng wèijīng. Rúguǒ wǒ de cài hǎochī, fàng wèijīng huì gèng hǎo chī. Wǒ de cài bù hǎochī, yī fàng wèijīng jiù huì hǎochī.“ Suo3yi3, fúwùyuán dāngrán huì shuō bù fàng wèijīng, kěshì zuò chūláide cài dàgài huì yǒu wèijīng.
Members of the audience [gewei], this dialogue can’t be believed. Of course [dangran] the waiter is going to say they don’t use MSG. But the cook [chushi] certainly will say, “Not possible. [or no way]. If my food is good, putting MSG makes it even better. If my food is not good, putting MSG makes it good.” So, the waiter of course will say they don’t put MSG, but the dishes that come out [zuo chulai de cai] probably have MSG.
Nǐ dàgài huì shuo1, Guān Gǔlán zai4 hu2shuo. Ke3shi4 wo3 jue2de wo3 shuó de hěn yǒu dàolǐ (logical). Qǐng gèwèi xiǎngxiǎngkàn. Wèijīng liǎnggè zì shì shénme yìsi? Hěn míngbai, wèijīng de yi4si jiùshi wei4dao4 er2 jīngzhì de yìsi. Bǎ huà shuō dé róngyì yīdiǎn, wèijīng jiù hěn hǎochī.
You’ll probably [dagai] say, “Guan Gulan is talking nonsense [hushuo]. But I feel that what I say is logical. Please everybody [gewei], consider this [xiangxiangkan]. What do the two characters “wei jing” mean? It’s clear, “weijing” means the essence of flavor [meiwei er jingzhi]. To put this simpler [ba construction, ba hua shuo de rongyi, rongyi is “easier”], MSG is good.
Wǒmen zhīdào hěn duō Zhōngguócài shǎobuliǎo wèijīng. Nà, Měiguó de dōngxi ne? Wǒ gàosu dàjiā, wǒ měitiān zǎoshang dōu chī yùmǐpiàn, hē bēi kāfēi. Wǒ bǎozhèng, yùmǐpiàn sā yīdiǎn wèijīng hěn xiǎng, kāfēi fàng diǎn wèijīng yě yǒu yī ge tèbié de wèidao. Cóng zǎoshang chī-dào wǎnshang, wǒ dōu chī wèijīng. Yǒu rén huì shuō, “wèijīng duì jiànkāng bùhǎo.” Kěshì, wǒ bù shì huó de hǎohǎode ne? Wǒ hái yǒu diǎn shì. Wǒ dei3 qù gàosu ke4ben3 duìhuà li3 de rén, diǎncài, yīdìng yào fàng wèijīng. Hao3, Wǒ jīntiān shuō-dào zhèli, Xièxie dàjiā.
We know that Chinese food cannot lack [shaobuliao] MSG. So, what about American food? I’ll tell all of you, every morning I eat cornflakes [yumipian], and drink a glass of coffee. I guarantee [wo baozheng], cornflakes sprinkled [sa] with a little MSG is very fragrant, putting MSG in coffee also has a special [tebie] flavor [weidao]. From morning to night, I always eat MSG. Some people say, “MSG is bad for your health [jiankang].” But don’t I look okay [huo means “alive” I’m alive and well aren’t I?]. I still have something I need to do [you dian shi]. I must go tell the two people in the textbook dialogue, that when they order, they need to ask for MSG. Today I’ll stop here, but thanks everybody.
各位，这个对话我不能相信。服务员当然说不放味精。我想厨师一定会说，“一定要放味精。如果我的菜好吃，放味精会更好吃。我的菜不好吃，一放味精就会好吃。“所以服务员当然会说不放味精，可是做出来的菜大概会有味精。
你大概会说，关谷兰在胡说。可是我觉得我说得很有道理。请各位想想看。味精两个字是什么意思？很明白，味精的意思就是味道而精致的意思。 把话说得容易一点，味精就很好吃。
我们知道很多中国菜少不了味精。那，美国的东西呢？我告诉大家，我每天早上都吃玉米片，喝杯咖啡。我保证，玉米片撒一点味精很香，咖啡放点味精也有一个特别的味道。从早上吃到晚上，我都吃味精。有人会说，“味精对健康不好。”可是，我不是活的好好的呢?我还有点事。我得去告我们课本对话里的人，点菜，一定要放味精。我今天说到这里，谢谢大家。
http://kwikchinese.com/3398/prepspeeches/weijingdemeiwei.htm