Hi, I'm Aaron.
嗨，我是 Aaron。
I'm Albert.
我是 Albert。
And we're part of the family that runs Din Tai Fung in the United States.
我們是鼎泰豐家族的成員，在美國經營鼎泰豐。
Our grandpa opened Din Tai Fung in 1958 as a cooking oil retail store, and in 1972 he converted it to a restaurant with only four tables. And, you know, because of his dedication to service and the quality of food, it started getting recognized abroad. And that's really how it started, and it kind of grew from there.
我們的爺爺在 1958 年創立鼎泰豐，原本是一間食品油零售商，後來在 1972 年轉型成一間只有四張桌子的餐廳。然後，你知道，因為他致力於提升服務及食物品質，鼎泰豐逐漸名揚海外。鼎泰豐的創立過程就是這樣，大致是這麼起家的。
Xiao long bao means soup dumpling. "Xiao" means small, "long" means basket, and "bao" means dumpling. So literally translated, it means "little dumpling in a basket."
小籠包的英文是 soup dumpling（湯包）。「小」對應到英文的 small，「籠」對應到 basket，「包」對應到 dumpling。所以從字面翻譯，就是 little dumpling in a basket（在竹籠裡的小湯包）。
The xiao long bao is so special because there's soup inside the dumpling, which makes it so hard to make. It's just also a food that's so different than anything you've had before. Nothing really has that burst of flavor in your mouth like a soup dumpling does.
小籠包的特別之處在於裡頭有湯汁，所以製作上相當困難。它跟你之前吃過的食物都不一樣。它能瞬間衝擊你的味蕾，這是其他食物做不到的。
The xiao long bao skin is very basic ingredients: flour, water, and the fermented starter. They go in the mixer, and we put it in the machine for several minutes. After the dough is mixed up, the dough is placed into the dough sheeter. It takes about six to 10 times to knead the dough to create that perfect xiao long bao skin.
小籠包的麵皮材料很基本：麵粉、水，以及發酵麵種。這些材料放到攪拌機中，在機器中攪拌幾次。等到麵糰充分混合，再把它放到壓麵機。麵糰前前後後大概要揉壓六到十次，才能製作出完美的鼎泰豐小籠包麵皮。
Xiao long bao is really a very difficult thing to make, especially up to Din Tai Fung standards, because we really want every dumping to be the same. So it takes three to six months for someone to even learn the basics of how to make the xiao long bao. And it takes years and years to truly master the craft of making it. It felt really good to finally make one that was up to the quality of Din Tai Fung because we probably made, like, 10,000 that we had to throw away before we made the first one.
小籠包的製程真的很不容易，要做出達到鼎泰豐水準的小籠包更是難上加難，因為我們希望做出來的小籠包都是一樣的。要學會製作小籠包的皮毛，就要花上三到六個月。之後年復一年不斷練習，才能真正掌握這項技藝。成功做出一個鼎泰豐水準的小籠包真的很有成就感，因為要能成功做出第一個成品，可能要先丟掉一萬個做壞的湯包。
Yeah, we spent months and years practicing, and it was really nice finally being able to cook one and being able to sell it up to the quality that we achieve.
對，我們經年累月地練習，所以最後能成功做出一個的感覺真的很棒，成功做出鼎泰豐水準的湯包並賣出去。
Every single dumpling is weighed down to the gram, including every single dumpling skin.
每個湯包都會秤重，以克計算，而這包括每一張麵皮。
So the ideal weight that we're going for is five grams. We don't pass anything unless it's between 4.8 or 5.2 grams.
所以我們選擇的理想重量是五公克。介於 4.8 到 5.2 公克才算符合要求。
So, I think the way we make our dumplings skins is really special because we make it thinner on the outside rim and thicker in the center. And the reason for that is because with the thinner outside edge, you can make very delicate crimps so that you don't have a very thick knot at the top of the dumpling.
所以，我想我們製作麵皮的方式真的很特別，因為我們麵皮外圍較薄，中間較厚。原因是如果外圍麵皮較薄，你可以做出非常精細的摺子，這樣湯包上就不會有太厚的結。
And we definitely pride ourselves on having the thinnest skins of all the xiao long bao stores out there. So everyone needs to work very quickly because the skin dries out in a manner of just a couple of minutes. Everything needs to be kept extremely fresh to deliver the best quality to our customers.
我們當然很自豪我們是同業中麵皮做最薄的店。所以每個人速度都要很快，因為麵皮在短短幾分鐘之內就會乾掉。每件食材都必須保持在非常新鮮的狀態，才能將最好品質提供給我們的顧客。
The flavor of the soup dumpling, a lot of it comes from the soup itself. And we make the soup from a really rich bone broth of chicken and pork. And from there, we have to figure out how to get the soup into the dumpling. And the way we do that is by gelatinizing the soup and turning it into a Jell-O form. And then once that, you're able to wrap it up in a dumpling. When you steam it, it turns back into a soup.
湯包的滋味，很大一部分來自本身的湯汁。我們用雞骨和豬大骨熬製出濃郁高湯。然後，我們必須找到方法把高湯弄到湯包裡。我們的做法是把高湯製成高湯凍。如此一來，就可以包進湯包裡。高湯凍一經蒸煮，就會變回湯汁。
Over the years, Din Tai Fung has discovered that 18 folds is the golden ratio. It brings a perfect amount of both texture and the best aesthetics to each xiao long bao that we make.
這些年來，鼎泰豐發現 18 摺是黃金比例。能讓我們做出的每個小籠包都擁有完美的口感跟美感。
So, a lot of restaurants, they make their xiao long bao with a machine, or they make a lot of them and freeze them. But here at Din Tai Fung, we don't really care about making the process easier. We think that even though a machine makes it easier, you lose a lot in the process because it's such a delicate food, so we choose to make our dumplings by hand and to order.
所以，很多餐廳會用機器製作小籠包，或一次做很多並冷凍起來。但在鼎泰豐這裡，我們並不那麼在意製作過程是否能更簡單。我們認為儘管機器能簡化程序，但過程中也會喪失很多東西，因為小籠包是很精緻的食物，所以我們選擇手工現點現做我們的小籠包。
We steam them inside of a bamboo steamer. We think that's actually a really important part of the flavor component of the dumpling because some of that bamboo flavor ends up seeping into the skin.
我們把小籠包放到竹製蒸籠。我們認為竹子香味其實也是湯包很重要的一味，因為竹子的部分香氣會滲到湯包麵皮裡。
If you're eating it for the first time, it's really special because when you bite into it, you get really an explosion of flavors from the soup that, you know, kind of bursts out when it's in your mouth, and it's a just, like, truly unique experience.
如果你是第一次嚐這道菜，它真的很特別，因為你咬下的那一刻，裡頭的湯汁會衝擊你的味蕾，你知道，就像在你口中炸開一樣，而這就是，就像，真的是很獨特的體驗。
Means a lot for us to take over the business because, you know, we pretty much grew up in this environment. And we really think it's important that we have the opportunity to take authentic Chinese cuisine to the mainstream, and really change people's perceptions of what Chinese cuisine can be.
由我們接下公司別具意義，因為，你知道，我們差不多就是在這個環境裡長大。而我們真的認為有機會把道地的中華料理帶到美國主流社會非常重要，並確實改變大眾對中菜的觀感。
It brings great pride in me when one of our customers or guests come up to us and they tell us, oh, how proud we are of bringing this Chinese experience to the United States, and just how proud they are to be Chinese. And it really means a lot to us.
我感到很自豪，當客人過來跟我們說，喔，把這種中菜體驗帶到美國是多麼值得驕傲的事，還有他們多自豪自己是華人。這些話對我們很有意義。
