学妈妈做的菜

妈，我今天想自己做你常做的那个菜，但是不知道怎么做，你能在电话里教我吗？

Mom, I want to make that dish you always cook, but I don't know how. Can you teach me over the phone?

可以，很简单。你先让锅变热，然后把菜放进锅里。

Sure, it's easy. First let the pot get hot, then put the food into the pot.

好，菜放进去了。现在锅里要放盐了吧？要放多少盐？

Okay, it's in. Now I add the salt to the pot, right? How much salt should I add?

差不多就好，你自己看着放。

About enough is fine. Just add it by feel.

"差不多"是多少啊？我是第一次自己做菜，我需要知道放多少盐才对。

How much exactly is "about enough"? This is my first time cooking on my own. I need to know exactly how much salt is right.

我做菜从来不是这样想的。我先放一点盐，吃一口看看味道，不够再放一点。

I've never thought about it that way when I cook. I add a little salt first, take a bite, check the taste, and if it's not enough I add a little more.

那如果我放的盐不够，菜的味道不好，怎么办？

But what if the salt I add isn't enough and the dish doesn't taste good? What do I do then?

没关系，再放一点盐就好了。做菜不是一次都要放对，是边做边放的。

It's fine, just add a little more salt. You don't get it right in one try when you cook. You add as you go.

妈，你做菜四十年了，你说的"差不多"跟我说的"差不多"是不一样的！

Mom, you've been cooking for forty years. Your "about enough" and my "about enough" are not the same thing!

你说得对，很多人做菜都是这样，我小时候也是这样学的。

You're right. A lot of people cook this way. I learned to cook the same way when I was little.

真的吗？那我今天自己放盐做一做，一会儿给你打电话，告诉你味道怎么样。

Really? Then I'll add the salt myself and give it a try today. I'll call you back in a bit and tell you how it tastes.

妈，我做好了！我吃了一口，味道跟你做的差不多，不多不少，刚好！

Mom, I made it! I took a bite, and it tastes about the same as yours, not too much, not too little, just right!

你看，你现在知道"差不多"是什么意思了。放盐放得多了，你自己就知道放多少才够。

See, now you know what "about enough" means. Once you've added salt enough times, you'll know how much is enough yourself.

我明白了，做菜的"差不多"不是不知道放多少，是放得多了以后才知道的。

I get it now. "About enough" in cooking isn't about not knowing how much to add. It's a feeling you only get after cooking enough times.