屋外天寒地冻，屋内热气腾腾……作为一个土生土长的南方人，对于冬季的唯一念想就是火锅了，可最近却有位“食神”在一档娱乐脱口秀节目中号称“让火锅消失”。
且这位“食神”并非凡夫俗子，而是曾经受邀担任《舌尖上的中国》节目的总顾问，与金庸、黄霑、倪匡并称“香港四大才子”的作家、美食家蔡澜先生。他是世界华人健康饮食协会荣誉主席，带货能力相当之强，被其点赞的餐厅常常门庭若市。
此话一出，顿时让众人惊掉了下巴。不论吃货与否，也不论身处中国的东西南北，火锅这种烹调方式可说是众口皆可调了。不论是偏爱重口味还是清新寡淡的味道，大家都能通过不同的底料和调料让自己的味蕾得到最大程度的欢愉和满足。
(Via supchina.com)
而蔡澜先生的这番言论也立时将他自己置身“水深火热”之中，并引起了外媒的关注。
(Via theguardian.com)
据英国《卫报》报道，蔡澜是在参加湖南卫视的《天天向上》脱口秀节目时说出此番言论的。
He was asked by one of the hosts what dish he would like to see vanish from the world and said: “hotpot”.
当他被一位主持人问道，假如可以让一道菜消失，他会选择哪道菜时，他的回答是“火锅”。
“Because hotpot is a cooking method totally lacking cultural significance. You just throw some ingredients into a pot. I don’t get what’s delicious about it,” he said. “If hotpot fandom continues to grow, you’ll see fewer and fewer chefs in the years to come.”
而他的理由是：“因为火锅是完全没有文化内涵的烹调方式。你只要把一些食材扔进一口锅里煮一煮。我完全理解不了它哪里味美。如果火锅的粉丝继续增长，在不久的将来厨师会越来愈少”。
(Via theguardian.com)
蔡澜对于火锅烹调方式相比其他中华料理过于简单粗暴、缺乏意境和技巧的评论的确没错。
Hotpot is a popular Chinese dish that is eaten communally, with people putting raw meat, vegetables and noodles into a shared pot of hot seasoned broth. Eating hotpot is often a social occasion, with groups gathering around and eating from the same pot.
火锅是非常受欢迎的一种众人一同享用的中华美食。人们把生的肉类、蔬菜和面食一起放进经过调味的热汤，吃火锅常常是一种社交，大家聚在一起同吃一口锅。
(Via theguardian.com)
不过，正如《卫报》这篇报道所述，美味共享，同食一锅粥一锅汤不正是中华文化的体现嘛。此外，不管是北方的涮羊肉火锅，四川重庆的香辣、麻辣火锅，还是南方一家人自己包蛋饺涮火锅，品尝的不仅是味道，更是一种情怀。
因此，蔡澜的这番解释并不能让众人买账。
Chua’s comments provoked a storm of outrage (in Chinese) on Chinese social media, with a legion of die-hard hotpot lovers slamming him for being indefensibly wrong about the dish.
他评论随即引发了中文社交媒体上一群火锅死忠粉狂风暴雨般的回击，他们认为这种观点是无可争辩的谬论。
“Do you know anything about a soup base?”
“Chinese hotpot has an abundance of cultural significance, from its broth to the order that you put ingredients into various sauces. Trashing hotpot exposed your ignorance and your inability to discover cultural details in things.”
“Chinese hotpot is all about atmosphere.”
“Apparently, Cai never had a good hotpot. I feel sorry for him.”
“Steaks should disappear. You just place them on a pan and fry them on two sides.”
(Via supchina.com)
火锅不仅是国人的心头好，而且还有不少外国拥趸。在Quora上就有不少关于中国火锅的话题。
I can see why many people like hot pot because it allows people to cook their food to their own liking. You do not have to worry about under or overcooked food. It is up to you how you eat the food. You can also have a quality conversation with those around you because you have time when you are cooking your food.
我可以理解为什么许多人喜欢火锅，因为人们可以按照自己的喜好煮自己的食物。你也不用担心食物没有得到充分烹调或者烹调过了头。怎么吃完全取决于你自己。你还可以和旁边的小伙伴进行有质量的交流，因为在你们涮火锅的间隙有充分的时间。
Those who are adventurous eaters will enjoy the novelty and excitement of the hot pot dining experience, and it’s interesting to develop an appreciation for the many different varieties and regional styles of hot pot, as well as sample different ingredients and sauces.
爱冒险的吃货会享受这种新奇和刺激的涮火锅经历。而且，开发不同种类和不同地区风格的火锅，尝试不同的食材和调料也很有趣。
One of the best parts for me is that everyone can choose what to take - if you only pick certain things from a soup bowl in Germany, you are being very rude. It is also very social and the cooking is all part of the fun. I like very much that you can see the fresh ingredients as well, to judge the quality, and not only the overcooked version you might get in a ready-to-eat soup.
对我来说，火锅的一大好处就是每个人都可以选择自己喜欢的食材。假如你在德国，从一锅汤中专挑某种自己喜欢的食材，你会显得很无礼。而涮火锅的过程可以交际，很有趣。我非常喜欢的一点是你可以亲眼看到新鲜的食材，判断它的品质，而不是煲好了的汤里那些烹调过了头的食物。
Hotpot is one of my favorite kinds of meals in China. There's always something for someone to like and the number of different flavor combinations you can get from each dish/soup/sauce is incredible.
火锅是我在中国最喜欢的美食。总能找到合你胃口的火锅。你可以从每道食材、汤底和调料里找到不同的味道组合。
(Via Quora)
不过，当然也有对中式火锅嗤之以鼻的歪果仁。前不久，澳大利亚的音乐人Jona Weinhofen就在社交媒体上嘲笑中式火锅像“洗锅水”。
这位素食主义者写道：“肉食看起来和尝起来都很恶心，肉食者老是吃一些看起来像洗锅水的东西。”
(Via Twitter)
不过，他的言论立时引来不少抨击。
Weinhofen’s tweet was criticised for its cultural insensitivity and for not acknowledging that hotpot can be made from entirely vegan ingredients, and for being classist, as hotpot developed as a way for working class people to make their supply of meat and vegetables stretch further.
Weinhofen的推文因其文化不敏感和对火锅常识的无知——火锅完全可由素食烹调——而受到批评，他还被指带有阶级偏见，因为火锅的发明是源于食物匮乏的劳动群众为了最大限度地利用好稀缺的肉类和蔬菜等食材。
(Via theguardian.com)
因此，他的言论不仅激起了中国网民的愤怒，其他亚洲国家的网友也是群起而攻之，毕竟，不仅在中国，火锅在日本、韩国、泰国等亚洲国家和地区都是国民美食。
一位日本网友对Jona Weinhofen如此形容火锅表示很遗憾。他给Weinhofen科普了下火锅的博大精深，告诉他火锅完全可以做成素食的，是素食主义者不错的选择，也很健康。他希望Weinhofen是无意识地选了一张不太能引起食欲的火锅图片，而不是有意为之的精挑细选，故意侮辱中国料理，让自己陷入争议。
另一位网友告诉他所有亚洲料理都有类似火锅这样的食物。日本有日式火锅，韩国有韩式火锅，等等。这个家伙没有理由侮辱美食。
还有网友表示他应该从此被禁止进入亚洲的餐厅，禁止进入亚洲。
另外，还有网友表示Weinhofen太无知。
而另一位网友则用图示的方式给Weinhofen扫盲。
(Via Twitter)
不过，不管“食神”也好，对中式火锅不甚了解的澳大利亚音乐人也好，那都是他们的一家之言。喜欢美食的吃货们怎么可能在如此寒冷的冬季放弃火锅呢？
