新春将至,全球华人都开始为迎接虎年春节忙碌,这当然少不了要准备饺子、汤圆等传统食品。

饺子在中国被视为最具代表性的传统食品。但同时,它在全球的美食版图上拥有掌控力。通过馅料与面皮的组合,就可以搭配出无数风味,因此世界各地诞生了多元的“饺子”文化。

不论你身处地球哪一端,不论你是哪国人,“饺子”这种食物都可能会以某种方式出现在你的生命中。来看看世界各地的饺子吧!

先说东亚三国。日韩的饺子与中国有许多相似之处。

韩国饺子在英文中被称为mandu,馅料可以是肉馅、豆腐、大蒜和生姜等。当然韩国的饺子也有自己的特色,比如说泡菜馅饺子。

Dumplings in South Korea are called mandu in English, and are typically stuffed with minced meat, tofu, garlic and ginger. Some mandu are stuffed with the country’s signature kimchi.

韩国饺子跟中国饺子在长相上也有区别,他们的饺子更长、更扁。为了凸显特色,有时会将头尾捏在一起,制成圆形饺子,十分可爱。

日本饺子被称为 gyoza,这是一种煎饺,也类似于中餐里的锅贴,在日本很有人气。但跟中国饺子不同,这种饺子通常作为一种菜肴,跟米饭一起吃,而不是主食。

The dumplings in Japan are called gyoza, and are fried like Chinese guotie. This style of dumplings are very popular in Japan. But unlike Chinese dumplings, they are usually eaten as a dish with rice rather than as a staple food.

印度炸咖喱角,也暂且可以被称为一种“饺子”。这种“饺子”在英文中被称为samosa,是三角形的,外壳被炸得很脆,馅料通常有牛肉、土豆、豌豆等。当然,味道肯定是以咖喱味为主。

The Indian samosa can also be regarded as a kind of dumpling. This crispy deep-fried triangular pastry is usually filled with curried beef, potato and peas.

中欧及东欧地区也有圣诞节吃饺子的习俗。他们吃的饺子叫做pierogi,外形跟中国饺子很像,但口味却很不一样,有肉馅、土豆馅、奶酪馅、水果馅等等,还会配上当地特色的酸奶油一起食用。

The people in Central and Eastern Europe eat dumplings at Christmas, called pierogi. Though they look very similar to Chinese dumplings, the flavors are very different. They are often filled with meat, potato, cheese, fruit and so on. They are usually be served with sour cream.

意大利还有一种“小方饺”,内馅多为火腿、牛肉和奶酪,制作方法通常并不是用手包,而是用刀切,所以成品是方形的。

Italian dumplings are called ravioli. The stuffing is often ham, beef and cheese. To make ravioli, people often don’t wrap them with their hands, but cut them with a knife, so the finished product is square.

墨西哥人也爱吃饺子,他们习惯吃一种叫做empanada的扁饺子,皮不是手擀,而是压出来的。非洲人也爱吃饺子。在埃及就有一种甜饺子叫做qatayef,馅是奶油和坚果,在众多咸味饺子里独树一帜。

随着全球化的进一步发展,世界各地的饮食习惯也在进一步融合。近年来,这些充满异国风情的“饺子”屡次出现在中国人们的餐桌上。与此同时,中国的饮食品牌也在借势走出去。这得益于实力不断增强的中国企业和不断壮大的中国文化自信心。

抓住外国人的胃

行走在国外的超市里,中式食品早已随处可见,饺子、汤圆、龟苓膏、八宝饭应有尽有,这些产品在国外的超市十分走俏,牢牢抓住外国人的胃。

在这些玲琅满目的中国美食中,我们看到了一个熟悉的品牌——思念。

是的,你没有看错,这些在中国已经家喻户晓的思念水饺、汤圆、云吞,已经来到北美、欧洲的超市中。这些产品,包装看起来似曾相识,又稍有变化,细看它们的产地都是美国洛杉矶的思念工厂,早已是货真价实的ABC了。

在采访思念食品海外事业部总经理、美国思念公司CEO仝文娟女士后,我们对思念食品全球化战略,有了更近一步的认识。

据仝文娟女士介绍,思念的美国工厂早在2015年就开始动工。在美国建厂,是思念食品高层的一个战略性决策,旨在突破不少国家为限制他国产品进口而设置的食品安全贸易壁垒。思念食品的产品中有大量的生肉制品,多年来一直受限于严苛的他国进口食品门槛,在海外市场的大门口屡受阻碍。2018年起,思念的洛杉矶工厂全面投产,主要生产水饺、煎饺、春卷等明星产品,并销往北美、欧洲、亚太等海外市场,终于实现了思念食品走出国门的梦想。

当然,为了在海外市场打开销路,思念食品的海外事业部也做了很多中国美食的本土化研究,以适应当地市场。首先,是口味上的调整,比如说中国人吃水饺一般青睐传统的猪肉口味,但国外消费者更习惯吃牛肉、鸡肉,所以思念在海外的水饺口味就多了牛肉、鸡肉、全素等选择。

In order to open up in overseas markets, the overseas business department of Synear Food has performed a large amount of research on localization to make their Chinese food products more adapted to the local market. First, there needs to be an adjustment of taste. For example, Chinese people generally prefer traditional pork dumplings, but foreign consumers are more used to beef and chicken. Therefore, there are new flavors added for overseas customers, such as beef, chicken flavor and those for vegetarians.

第二个本土化的策略是降低烹饪的难度。中餐的确是好吃,但在外国人眼中,中餐的烹饪方式十分复杂,标准也较难统一。因此思念美国工厂生产了一批微波食品,还有为西方人更习惯的煎、烤等烹饪方式而改良的新产品。

The second localization strategy is to reduce the difficulty of cooking. Chinese food is indeed delicious, but in the eyes of foreigners, the cooking methods of Chinese food are very complex and the standards are diverse. Therefore, the US factory has designed a batch of microwaveable products, as well as new products fit for western cooking methods such as frying and baking.

全球疫情之下,越来越多的人为了避免堂食,赶着去超市囤货,这为海外速冻食品销售带来了利好机会。

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, people tended to store goods from supermarkets in order to avoid eating outside, which brought opportunities for quick-frozen food sales.

据仝文娟女士介绍:“在美国流传这么一句话——华人三件宝,方便面、老干妈和思念水饺。因此我们的水饺是疫情期间必囤的。回顾疫情期间的市场表现,2020年比2019年销售额增长50%到60%,2021年比2020年销售额增长40%,这给了我们很大的信心。”

According to Tong Wenjuan, head of the overseas business department of Synear Food, Chinese people have three treasures, instant noodles, Laoganma chili sauce and Synear dumplings. Therefore, Synear dumplings were a must-try during the pandemic. As for the market performance during the pandemic, the sales in 2020 increased by 50 to 60 percent compared with 2019 and 40 percent in 2021 compared with 2020, which gives the brand great confidence.

借助在华人中良好的口碑,思念食品在北美也不断拓展全新渠道。不仅在2019年荣获沃尔玛2019中国供应商大奖,还一举通过 Costco Addendum under SQF Code Edition 8.0 认证,正式拿到全球仓储式商业巨头Costco的入场券,敲开了美国主流市场大门。

中国水饺终于要开始大规模登陆美国人的餐桌了。

安抚海外游子的心

美食,对于平日来说可能就是充饥的食物,但对于春节来说,这就是对家乡的牵挂。

一大批在海外定居的留学生、工作人员一直是思念水饺、汤圆的忠实购买者。因此在进军海外市场时,在如何跟本土市场结合的同时,又保持食品原汁原味,安抚海外游子的心,也是另一个需要解决的课题。

仝文娟女士向我们展示了思念在海外销售业绩出色的思念金牌虾水饺。这款思念的知名产品进入美国市场后,一直坚持传统的中式调味。在尊重相关国家法律的情况下,从国内进口中国原产的马蹄、荠菜等原材料,以保持这款水饺的原汁原味。确保了美国工厂生产出来的饺子,跟国内的味道几乎没有差别。同样的产品还有好几款,每到春节,就成为异乡游子回味中国味道的必选品。

思念品牌在国内已有25年的历史,不少海外留学生们都是从小吃着思念长大的一代人,身在异乡依然坚持着对思念食品的信赖,这也给了思念食品海外事业部带来了继续耕耘发展的自信和动力。

Synear Food has been cultivating the domestic market for 25 years. Many overseas students are a generation who grew up with Synear Food. Living in a foreign land, they still adhere to their choice of Synear Food, which brings confidence and motivation for the furtherd evelopment of the overseas business department.

正如仝文娟女士形容的那样,思念品牌对海外华人而言,是一个有温度的品牌,她就像是你的姐姐、你的小姨、你能干的闺蜜……只要她一下厨房,就能做出美味的一餐,把家的温暖和快乐带到你的身边。

According to Tong, the brand holds to the concept of bringing warmth to overseas Chinese. Synear Food is like your sister, your aunt and your best friend who is capable of making a delicious meal as soon as she steps into the kitchen, just like bringing the warmth and happiness of home to you.

虎年春节即将来临,思念正在全球举办丰富的海外节庆活动和商场促销活动,愿海内外所有华人都能端起热腾腾的思念水饺,共同期许吉祥如意的中国年!

本文为推广