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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- 光前村坐落在吉隆坡鹅唛（Gombak）县，毗邻往东延伸至彭亨州文冬的鹅唛路。循着如掌纹般分岔的小径走进村中腹地，正宗酱园的淡黄色围墙圈起上百只大大小小的陶缸。它们井然有序地排列在院子里，敞开口享受日光浴。架在上方的丝网遏制了异物入侵，却挡不住浓郁的酱香弥漫。
炎炎烈日下，黄水宗叔叔掀开酱缸的铁皮盖，轻轻蘸取一点色泽乌亮、质地粘稠的黑酱油。天然酿造酱油的首要步骤是将黄豆浸泡焖煮，加入面粉“捞黄”制曲。制曲以及培育曲菌是酿造酱油的关键技艺，五至七天的发酵过程中所形成的氨基酸是鉴定酱油品质的核心指标。接着便调制盐水，和豆曲一起放入陶制的大缸内，持续日晒发酵长达三个月。
制作酱油的头手像船长一样，决定了酱油的风味和品质航向，精准把控各个发酵阶段以达到合格标准。目前吉隆坡仍活跃制酱的资深头手屈指可数，黄叔叔正是其中一位。他年轻时在吉隆坡一家大规模的酱油园刻苦打工12年，熬过起早摸黑、肩挑百来斤重物的艰辛，累积宝贵经验并掌握酿造技艺。
离开旧东家后，黄水宗叔叔选择在由约300户华人聚居的光前村（Kampung Lee Kong Chian）创业。这座占地30英亩的村庄原本是吉隆坡南益橡胶厂对面的一片椰园，于1960年代供员工修建房屋安顿家庭，后来也开放给外地人落脚。未经规划的村子里房屋分布杂乱无章，村道狭窄，但邻里关系紧密。黄水宗叔叔因着勤勉踏实的个性曾被推选为村委会主席，深受村民爱戴而连任了约30年。
正宗酱油园创立于1973年，以传统手工酿造酱油、黑酱油、醋和其他酱料。商号“正宗”灵感来自黄水宗叔叔的名字，由一名友人建议，黄叔叔非常满意，开玩笑地说适用在任何行业。在创业初期，黄叔叔身兼多职，早上酿酱油，下午与岳母一起挨家挨户兜售酱油。甫开始行销时，需费尽口舌说服顾客尝试自家产品，甚至遭受质疑。
透过黄叔叔的不懈努力，正宗酱园建立良好信誉和口碑后转向批发供应，许多酒楼、煮炒都成为忠实客户。黄叔叔精湛的酿造技艺备受认可之外，所有材料讲究质量上乘，采用颗粒饱满的天然非基因改造黄豆。酱油酿制完毕，提取少许样品，通过了黄叔叔敏锐的味蕾审核后，还需进行过滤、高温杀菌、装瓶，成品才能出厂。
如今，86岁的黄水宗叔叔逐渐卸下肩上重担，步入半退休状态，减少了工作时间，酱园的大部分事务都交由孩子们打理。摆满陈年酱缸的院子里，黄叔叔简单的一看一尝，不仅品出了酱油的醇香，更品出了人生百味、岁月的积淀。
Kampung Lee Kong Chian in Gombak, Kuala Lumpur, is located beside Jalan Gombak heading east to Bentong, Pahang. Forking paths like palm lines led into the village, the yellow boundary walls of Chin Chong Soy Sauce enclosed hundreds of ceramic jars sunbathing in neat lines. The netting above the jars prevented entry of unwanted particles, yet unable to block the delicious aroma of soy sauce from spreading in the air.
Under the hot sun, Uncle Ng Chui Chong removes the lid of the soy sauce jar to yield a rich brown liquid with a slightly viscous texture. The first step of producing naturally brewed soy sauce is to soak and cook soy beans, then coat with flour to form a starter culture. Forming the starter culture and developing the bacterial culture is crucial in brewing soy sauce, as the amino acids produced during the weeklong fermentation process is essential to determine the quality grade of the soy sauce. Then combine the starter culture and brine in a ceramic jar, expose to direct sunlight and continue to ferment for three months.
Soy sauce craftsman plays the role of a vessel’s captain in determining to which direction the soy sauce’s flavour and quality should be heading, precisely controlling each step of the fermentation process to ensure the final outcome meets satisfactory standards. In Kuala Lumpur, there are only a handful of experienced craftsmen currently still active in the industry, Uncle Ng being one of them. During his youth, he worked at a large-scale soy sauce manufacturer for 12 years, began toiling before dawn, carrying burdens over 100 kilograms on the shoulders, accumulating precious experience and mastering the art of brewing soy sauce.
Having left his former employer, Uncle Ng chose Kampung Lee Kong Chian, a Chinese settlement of about 300 households, to start his own business. The village occupying 30 acres used to be a plot of coconut trees opposite Lee Rubber Manufacturing in Kuala Lumpur, in the 1960s it was offered to employees for building their own quarters, later on tenancy was extended to non-employees. The settlement was built without a plan, hence the unstructured character of the village layout and narrow paths, however the residents are very community oriented. Uncle Ng was elected as the community board chairperson for almost 30 years due to his diligence.
Chin Chong Soy Sauce was founded in 1973, producing naturally brewed soy sauce, cooking caramel, vinegar, and various sauces. The brand name was inspired by Uncle Ng’s name, suggested by a friend and heartily approved by Uncle Ng himself, as he jokingly said it is suitable for any line of business. In the initial days, Uncle Ng multitasked by brewing soy sauce in the morning and went selling soy sauce door-to-door with his mother-in-law. It was challenging to convince customers to try their homemade soy sauce, with doubts about product authenticity.
Eventually, Uncle Ng’s hard work paid off, Chin Chong Soy Sauce built a positive reputation and shifted to wholesaling, many restaurants became loyal customers. Apart from Uncle Ng’s excellent brewing skills, premium ingredients such as non-genetically modified soy beans are used. At the end of soy sauce fermentation, a sample of the resulting product is extracted and tasted by Uncle Ng who has a sensitive palate. After being approved by Uncle Ng, the soy sauce is required to undergo filtering, ultra-heat treatment, and bottling before leaving the facility.
86-year-old Uncle Ng Chui Chong now slowly steps into semi-retirement, reducing his work hours and handing over the reins to his children. In the yard full of old-time ceramic jars, by simply observing and sampling the flavorful soy sauce, the taste which lingers on Uncle Ng’s palate is a complex blend of life’s experiences.
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文 Text/ 潘慧雯 Pua Hui Wen
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fantastic video of Malaysia's Chinese heritage. very precious history!! keep up the great work! thank you
精简又感触良多
cinematic 和slow-mo方式拍得好看
赞！
我真的很喜欢你们的视频,每一集都有看,不管是yutube还是抖音,虽然现在流量不多但是请继续加油！不要放弃！
黃伯伯砥礪勤奮創業大半生， 老而彌堅仍在工作， 謹致敬意。 傳統方法釀製醬油， 其味必佳， 希望後續有人承傳發展下去。
有啊 他已交給兒子了 🥰
謝謝您黄先生🙏