你吃螃蟹吗？

nǐ | chī | páng xiè | ma

Do you eat crabs?

每到秋天，

měi dào | qiū tiān

Every autumn,

就是吃螃蟹的时节。

jiù shì | chī | páng xiè | de | shí jié

it’s the season for eating crabs.

我们家以前从没吃过螃蟹，

wǒ men | jiā | yǐ qián | cóng méi | chī guo | páng xiè

Our family never ate crabs before—

这也是少有的事情，

zhè | yě shì | shǎo yǒu | de | shì qíng

which is quite rare,

因为很多人都喜欢吃螃蟹。

yīn wèi | hěn duō | rén | dōu | xǐ huān | chī | páng xiè

because many people love eating crabs.

几年前，朋友送给了我们一些螃蟹，

jǐ nián qián | péng you | sòng gěi | le | wǒ men | yī xiē | páng xiè

A few years ago, a friend gave us some crabs,

我们就试着开始吃螃蟹。

wǒ men | jiù | shì zhe | kāi shǐ | chī | páng xiè

so we started trying to eat them.

螃蟹被绳子绑住，

páng xiè | bèi | shéng zi | bǎng zhù

The crabs are tied up with strings,

把它们放进蒸锅里，

bǎ | tā men | fàng jìn | zhēng guō | lǐ

put them into a steamer,

蒸十几分钟就好了。

zhēng | shí jǐ | fēn zhōng | jiù | hǎo | le

and steam them for more than ten minutes—they’re ready.

我觉得好残忍，

wǒ | jué de | hǎo | cán rěn

I think it’s really cruel;

每次我都不敢去弄，

měi cì | wǒ dōu | bù gǎn | qù | nòng

I never dare to handle them myself.

可是他们说，

kě shì | tā men | shuō

But others say,

要吃就不要想这些。

yào | chī | jiù | bù yào | xiǎng | zhè xiē

"If you want to eat them, don’t think about it."

但是我是一个善良的人，

dàn shì | wǒ | shì | yī gè | shàn liáng | de | rén

But I’m a kind person,

或者说是一个软弱的人，

huò zhě | shuō shì | yī gè | ruǎn ruò | de | rén

or perhaps a weak person.

我喜欢吃鱼，

wǒ | xǐ huān | chī | yú

I like eating fish,

但是从来不自己去买鱼，

dàn shì | cóng lái | bù | zì jǐ | qù | mǎi | yú

but I never buy fish myself.

买鱼的时候，你跟老板说“要这一条”，

mǎi yú | de | shí hou | nǐ | gēn | lǎo bǎn | shuō | “yào | zhè | yī tiáo”

When buying fish, you tell the boss "I want this one,"

然后这条鱼就被抓起来、杀掉。

rán hòu | zhè | tiáo | yú | jiù | bèi | zhuā qǐ lái | shā diào

and then this fish is caught and killed.

尽管每天、每分钟，有无数的鱼被杀掉，

jǐn guǎn | měi tiān | měi | fēn zhōng | yǒu | wú shù | de | yú | bèi | shā diào

Even though countless fish are killed every day, every minute,

但这条鱼是因我的指认而死，

dàn | zhè | tiáo | yú | shì | yīn | wǒ | de | zhǐ rèn | ér | sǐ

this particular fish dies because of my choice,

而且我无法去看鱼被杀死的过程。

ér qiě | wǒ | wú fǎ | qù | kàn | yú | bèi | shā sǐ | de | guò chéng

and I can’t bear to watch the process of it being killed.

说回来，

shuō | huí lái

Back to crabs—

螃蟹蒸熟了就变成红色，

páng xiè | zhēng shú | le | jiù | biàn chéng | hóng sè

when they’re steamed, they turn red.

拿出来，剥开吃，

ná chū lái | bō kāi | chī

Take them out, peel them, and eat—

不蘸料就很美味。

bù | zhàn | liào | jiù | hěn | měi wèi

they’re delicious even without dipping sauce.

螃蟹的结构很复杂，

páng xiè | de | jié gòu | hěn | fù zá

Crabs have a very complex structure,

我们会搜一些视频来看怎么“解剖”，

wǒ men | huì | sōu | yī xiē | shì pín | lái | kàn | zěn me | “jiě pōu”

so we search for videos to learn how to "dissect" them.

我老公已经熟练了，

wǒ | lǎo gōng | yǐ jīng | shú liàn | le

My husband is already proficient at it,

我没有学习，所以我只是等着吃。

wǒ | méi yǒu | xué xí | suǒ yǐ | wǒ | zhǐ shì | děng zhe | chī

but I haven’t learned, so I just wait to be served.

螃蟹的肉和蟹黄非常鲜美，

páng xiè | de | ròu | hé | xiè huáng | fēi cháng | xiān měi

The crab meat and roe are extremely fresh and delicious.

这些味觉上的感知，

zhè xiē | wèi jué | shàng | de | gǎn zhī

These taste sensations

只能亲自品尝才能知道，

zhǐ néng | qīn zì | pǐn cháng | cái | néng | zhī dào

can only be known through personal tasting—

靠文字描述是不行的。

kào | wén zì | miáo shù | shì | bù xíng | de

words alone can’t describe them.