Happy as a Clam

2025.02.26
Writer / 記事を書いた人
Sully
United States of America (アメリカ合衆国)

Hi! My name is Sully from Boston, Massachusetts, USA. My hobbies are writing, drawing, and listening to music. I like traveling around Japan, going to the movies, and visiting petting zoos.

Article

Happy as a Clam

▼ 記事の音声を再生

<Let's learn!>
・A, which B
・begin to run low
・(do)ing …,
=====================================

Have you ever eaten clam chowder for school lunch? It is easy to recognize: a white cream stew that has clams in it. But in Japan, clam chowder has many other kinds of ingredients like carrots, corn, onions, potatoes, bacon, and especially pasta. In school lunch, it is not too thick and more like a soup for pasta like fusilli or rotini. But this is very different from the original clam chowder recipe, which is over 300 years old and comes from the northeastern United States of America.

The first people to eat clam chowder were European settlers who lived along the coast in an area called New England. When they first arrived, the settlers only ate the food they brought with them. But as their supplies began to run low, they had to find local food to eat. Living on the coast, they would dig up clams at low tide and use them in a creamy stew called “chowder”. Chowder can be made with other ingredients such as corn or fish. Because clams were the main ingredient, the dish that the settlers made came to be called “clam chowder”.

The original clam chowder recipe is the one that is still popular in New England today. It is simple and hearty. Unlike the kind in school lunch in Japan, it is much more thick and creamy, and there are fewer ingredients. Original New England clam chowder has just clams, potatoes, bacon, milk, cream and butter. It is also popular to use herbs such as thyme and parsley as well as oyster crackers as toppings though.

The traditional way to eat clam chowder is in a sourdough bread bowl. After you eat the chowder, you can also eat the bread. Because you do not need to wash any bowls, cleaning up is easy. Clam chowder can also be eaten with other seafood such as crab cakes or lobster rolls. If you only have eaten clam chowder in school lunch, please try the original-style New England clam chowder!

日本語訳を見る

Key Points

Repeat each word(s) and example sentence(s) after your teacher/tutor.

Key Phrases 重要表現

A, which B

A,(それは)B

関係代名詞

The book, which I borrowed from the library, was fascinating.

begin to run low

少なくなり始める

As winter approached, their firewood supply began to run low.

(do)ing …,

…していたため(ので)、

分詞構文

Having a cold, I saw a doctor yesterday.

Having a cold, I saw a doctor yesterday.

Key Vocabulary 重要単語・熟語

recognize

rékəgnὰɪz

認識する

動詞

to accept that something is true or real

I didn’t recognize her at first because she had changed so much since junior high school.

ingredient

ɪngríːdiənt

具材、材料

名詞

one of the different foods that a particular type of food is made from

The main ingredient in this recipe is fresh basil, which gives it a unique flavor.

northeastern

ˌnɔˈrθistɝn

北東部

形容詞

in or from the northeast

The northeastern region of the United States is known for its beautiful fall foliage.

settler

séṭlɚ

入植者、移民

名詞

one of a group of people who build a place for themselves to live after arriving from somewhere else

The early settlers built a small tent.

supply

səplάɪ

蓄え、供給

名詞

an amount of something that is ready to be used

The hikers made sure to pack enough supply of water for their journey.

coast

kóʊst

海岸

名詞

the land next to the sea

We spent our vacation exploring the beautiful coast of New England.

come to

kʌm tuː

~するようになる

Over time, I have come to appreciate the unique flavors of this dish.

unlike

`ʌnlάɪk

とは異なり

前置詞

different from someone or something

Unlike his brother, Paul prefers quiet evenings at home to going out.

Others その他

clam

klæm

二枚貝(ハマグリ、アサリなど)

名詞

a shellfish with a two-part shell

We collected fresh clams from the beach and used them in our seafood pasta.

fusilli

fjuˈsɪli

フジッリ(螺旋状にねじれた形をしているパスタ)

名詞

a type of pasta in the shape of small twisted pieces

The fusilli pasta held onto the rich tomato sauce perfectly.

rotini

roʊˈtiːni

ロティーニ(フジッリよりきつく巻かれた螺旋状のパスタ)

名詞

a type of pasta that is characterized by its corkscrew or spiral shape

For our picnic, I prepared a cold pasta salad using rotini and fresh vegetables.

hearty

hάɚṭi

たくさんの、ボリュームのある、豊富な

形容詞

large or (especially of food) in large amounts

In America, a hearty breakfast often includes eggs, bacon, toast, and pancakes.

Practice

Fill in the blanks to complete the sentence.

He has two watches, (___) his father gave him.

ヒント:A, which B

回答を見る

He has two watches, (which) his father gave him.

The hikers realized their water (___) (___) (___) (___) halfway through the journey.

ヒント:begin(began) to run low

回答を見る

The hikers realized their water (began) (to) (run) (low) halfway through the journey.

(___) in the countryside, it took us a long time to get to the city.

ヒント:live, (do)ing …,

回答を見る

(Living) in the countryside, it took us a long time to get to the city.

Article

Read the article aloud on your own or repeat each paragraph after your teacher/tutor.

Happy as a Clam

<Let's learn!>
・A, which B
・begin to run low
・(do)ing …,
=====================================

Have you ever eaten clam chowder for school lunch? It is easy to recognize: a white cream stew that has clams in it. But in Japan, clam chowder has many other kinds of ingredients like carrots, corn, onions, potatoes, bacon, and especially pasta. In school lunch, it is not too thick and more like a soup for pasta like fusilli or rotini. But this is very different from the original clam chowder recipe, which is over 300 years old and comes from the northeastern United States of America.

The first people to eat clam chowder were European settlers who lived along the coast in an area called New England. When they first arrived, the settlers only ate the food they brought with them. But as their supplies began to run low, they had to find local food to eat. Living on the coast, they would dig up clams at low tide and use them in a creamy stew called “chowder”. Chowder can be made with other ingredients such as corn or fish. Because clams were the main ingredient, the dish that the settlers made came to be called “clam chowder”.

The original clam chowder recipe is the one that is still popular in New England today. It is simple and hearty. Unlike the kind in school lunch in Japan, it is much more thick and creamy, and there are fewer ingredients. Original New England clam chowder has just clams, potatoes, bacon, milk, cream and butter. It is also popular to use herbs such as thyme and parsley as well as oyster crackers as toppings though.

The traditional way to eat clam chowder is in a sourdough bread bowl. After you eat the chowder, you can also eat the bread. Because you do not need to wash any bowls, cleaning up is easy. Clam chowder can also be eaten with other seafood such as crab cakes or lobster rolls. If you only have eaten clam chowder in school lunch, please try the original-style New England clam chowder!

Questions

Answer the questions based on the article.

What motivated the European settlers to make clam chowder?

ヒント:But as their supplies began to run low, they had to find local food to eat.

回答を見る

Their supplies began to run low.

What’s the difference between the original clam chowder and the one of Japanese school lunch?

ヒント:Unlike the kind in school lunch in Japan, it is…

回答を見る

The original one is much more thick and creamy and there are fewer ingredients.

What is this article mainly about?
A) The history of seafood recipes from around the world
B) The history behind New England clam chowder
C) The history of European settlers coming to America

回答を見る

B) The history behind New England clam chowder

Discussion

Let’s have a discussion about the theme with your teacher/tutor or classmates.

With your teacher/tutor 先生とのディスカッション

Have you ever eaten clam chowder?
If yes→ How was it?

Yes, I have./No, I haven't.
It was ~.

What is one thing you didn’t know about the original clam chowder?

I didn't know that ~./ I learnt ~.

If you could visit New England and eat authentic clam chowder, which toppings or sides would you choose and why?

I would choose ~. Because ~.

With your classmates クラスメートとのディスカッション

What is one Japanese food that you know has a long history?

I know ~.

What Japanese food do you want to introduce to foreigners the most and what is the one fact that might surprise them?

I want to introduce ~ to them. One fact that might surprise them is ~.

What is an American food that you want to try someday and why?

I want to try ~. Because ~.