粽子是端午節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)食物，想必每個中國人都再熟悉不過了?？墒悄阒劳鈬顺贼兆邮鞘裁锤杏X嗎？他們知道粽子的正確吃法嗎？對粽子的味道又是怎樣一種感受呢？本文，滬江的美國實習(xí)生Josh和Sekou用親身經(jīng)歷告訴你。

備注：文中的第一人稱為Josh，Josh和Sekou都是在滬江實習(xí)的美國人。本文為二者親歷。

It is Friday, a day from the Dragon Boat Festival. People from the office at Hujiang I work in are rushing to the kitchen, with the word zongzi radiating through their dialogue. My co-worker Sophia explains to me that zongzi is a traditional Chinese dish that consists of rice stuffed with different pieces of food or pastes, all wrapped together in a bundle of leaves. I make my way to the kitchen and there on the table I find myself face to face with two boxes full of zongzi, one filled with dates, the other filled with pork.
周五距離端午節(jié)還有1天，我所實習(xí)的公司滬江的同事們正涌入公司的廚房，從他們的對話中我聽到一個高頻詞“粽子”。我的同事索菲亞告訴我，粽子是端午節(jié)的傳統(tǒng)食物，由粽葉包裹的米和餡兒組成。隨著人流，我也走到了廚房，發(fā)現(xiàn)面前擺了兩箱粽子：一箱是蜜棗餡的，另一箱是豬肉餡的。

My fellow international worker Sekou and I both look at the triangle shaped leaf bundles with questioning expressions, each waiting for the other to make the first move. I pick a pork zongzi up in my hand and untie the small strings that keep the leaves, containing the ricey contents within, tightly pressed together. I have never been more unfamiliar with a piece of food in my life, and neither Sekou nor I knew the proper way to go about eating it.
我和另一位國外實習(xí)生Sekou看著這些被綠葉包裹、被線繩困扎好的三角食物，面面相覷，我們倆都在等著對方先做嘗試。我挑了一個鮮肉粽，解開粽葉外面的線繩，這些線繩緊緊地系在葉子外、幫助保持形狀，粽葉里面是米。我人生中從沒見過如此陌生的食物，Sekou和我都不知道怎樣吃粽子。

“Do I just bite into the leaf?” I ask.?
我問他，“我應(yīng)該直接在葉子上咬一口嗎？”

Sekou shrugs.?
Sekou聳聳肩表示他也不知道。

“I was a little skeptical about eating it because of it’s presentation being wrapped in bamboo leaves and not being fully aware of what’s on the inside”, said Sekou at the end of the day.
Sekou在下班閑聊的時候說，“當(dāng)時我有點懷疑到底該怎么吃粽子，因為從外形上你只能看出外面包裹著竹葉，根本不知道里面是什么?！?/div>

“I assumed that you just take the strings off from around it and eat it all together with the bamboo leaves, which looked edible. Apparently that’s all wrong so don’t be the uninformed American that everybody laughs at." Sekou explained, "The proper way to eat it is by unwrapping the strings, removing the bamboo leaves and eating what’s on the inside.”
Sekou解釋說：“竹葉看上去好像是可以吃的，所以一開始我還以為只要把線繩解開，就可以直接從竹葉下口了呢。顯然這是完全不對的，所以（你要知道粽子的正確吃法，）不要讓大家嘲笑無知的美國人。正確的吃法是把線繩解開，然后剝開竹葉、吃里面的東西。”

I finally determine that I must unwrap the leaves, which reveals a piece of the rice beneath, which I boldly bite into. The rice is sticky, tastes somewhat like?oatmeal, but with the?chewy?consistency of a gummy bear. The flavor is noticeable, but not overbearing. Finally I reach the middle and bite into the pork filling, which gives the zongzi an overall savory taste. Content with my snack but craving more I pick up one of the date filled ones. This time I confidently unwrap it like a pro and look around with a?smug?smile on my face for anyone who might of taken notice in admiration, which I suppose, in retrospect, was no great?feat?at all.
最后我發(fā)現(xiàn)，我得把葉子剝開，然后里面的米就可以大膽地直接吃啦。粽子里的米黏黏的，嘗起來有點像燕麥片、但是軟軟黏黏的。粽子的味道很明顯，但也不是很過。最后我吃到了粽子里面的豬肉餡，感覺整個粽子好吃極了。我對粽子的味道很滿意，但是我想再吃點，于是我又拿了一個蜜棗粽。這一次我像內(nèi)行一樣信心十足地剝開粽葉，然后臉上帶著一種自鳴得意的笑容看著周圍的人，我想如果有人注意到的話他一定是帶著欽佩的目光看我，雖然這其實也沒什么大不了的。

I bite away at this zongzi until I reach the middle and am met with an entirely new palate of flavors, this time sweet and savory. I have concluded that I do in fact like zongzi and the rice makes for an excellent counterpart for various different fillings. With the Dragon Boat Festival upon us, I look forward to eating many more.
我享受著粽子的美味，突然發(fā)現(xiàn)了中間和剛才完全不同的味道，蜜棗粽甜甜的很可口。我覺得我真的很喜歡粽子，以及粽子米里面不同的餡料和口味。端午節(jié)馬上就要到了，我想多吃點粽子。

Sekou also loves Zongzi. He told me, "It was so good I could not help myself but to eat three of them while others where still trying to unwrap their first one. I’m glad to have been able to experience this celebration in Shanghai and can’t wait to blow my friends mind when I tell them about Zongzi."
Sekou也很喜歡吃粽子，他告訴Josh：“粽子真好吃，我忍不住吃了3個、而別人還在剝第一個粽子的皮。我很開心可以在上海體驗到端午節(jié)，迫不及待想把粽子告訴給我的朋友們?！?/div>