Wednesday, March 19, 2008

符家牛屎挞 (UFO)



1955年,当日本军宣布投降,开始撤离马来西亚的同一年,在沙巴州山打根这个小地方,一名薄有名气的蛋糕师傅,制作了全世界第一个别具一格的早餐小点,也就是现在被统称为“牛屎挞”或者“UFO”的甜点。那位蛋糕师傅起初只是将自创的甜点派送给家人和左邻右舍尝试。岂知那种独特的香味和口感竟然让人回味无穷,牛屎挞的名字不径而走,慕名而来的人渐渐多了,他隐隐觉得这种甜点可能会受到广大接受,于是开始大量制作牛屎挞,先在自家经营的海南茶室‘美珍’零售,然后批发给各大茶室贩卖。从此之后,牛屎挞便成山打根其中一个独有的象征。他就是牛屎挞的创始人符和安。


名称的典故

所谓《名字取得好,一生不用愁》,牛屎挞的成功,有一小部分是归功于它名字的怪异和好记,但就算是土生土长的山打根人,也很少人知道牛屎挞这个不雅名称的由来,原来源自一个错误的制作程序。话说有一天,符先生正在烘烤牛屎挞时,好友忽然来访。符先生一时兴起,搁下工作就与朋友闲聊起来。一席话下来,直到闻到一股焦炭味道才匆匆回到厨房揪开烤箱,发现甜点已经被烤焦了。朋友见了打趣说像路边经过看到的牛屎堆,以致往后每次来找符先生时都以这个作为笑柄,逢人就说要来买牛屎堆。久而久之,旁人学着学着,就一起将“牛屎挞”这个称号发扬光大了。
“UFO”这个名号,则是由牛屎挞的外形演变而来。沙巴州共有个民族,而且相互邻居,其乐融融。一些商家在零售给友族朋友时,若将牛屎挞直接翻译,就会显得拗口,基于方便,便根据外形给牛屎挞取了个有趣的名称——UFO。

UFO is a famous dessert originating from Sandakan over 50 years ago. As a dessert, UFO sounds alien. However, it had a unique name in the Cantonese dialect - “ngao si” tart, which means “cow dung” tart. This name came about when a Hainanese baking master, Fu Ah On, was chatting with his old friends one day. He smelled something burning in the kitchen and realized that all the tarts he was baking had been scorched. His friends made fun of him as the burnt tarts resembled piles of cow dung. They nicknamed the dessert “ngao si” tart and the name lingered to this day.
Fu Ah On created the original recipe and started selling the tarts at his Hainanese Kopitiam. The natives who frequent the restaurant called the dessert UFO due to its characteristic shape and appearance. It was well received and turned into a popular dessert. Today, UFO can be found in many local restaurants and has become one of the delicacies unique to Sandakan

简介
牛屎挞的外形其实非常讨好可爱,薄薄一片金黄色的蛋糕垫子,托着胶状似的白色圈圈,一点点烧焦的感觉,包围着中心奶黄馅,像极童年时电视机看到的飞碟模样。这也是UFO这个统称的由来。

牛屎挞奶香浓郁,却依然掩盖不了淡淡的香草香甜,一口吃下去,甜而不腻。底垫表层稍微有爽脆的感觉,咬下去松软适中,加上顶部蓬松的蛋白沫和奶黄馅,若在配上一杯苦涩香浓的咖啡,简直让人回味无穷。


UFO is kind of dessert with a pillow-soft vanilla-flavoured cake base topped with fluffy egg white and centered with smooth creamy custard - each mouthful with a perfect balance.