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故鄉春景中的薺菜 紀毓鼎（1915-2005）
Shepherd's Purse in the Spring Field of
My Hometown
譯者 Tanslator：Crystal Tai (the author's granddaughter)
農曆二月，故鄉杏花開遍，最喜春雨貴如油。那時的雨細細霏霏，如煙似霧，沾衣欲濕，帶動草木萌芽，一片勻黃嫩綠。柳線舒眉，溪流漲碧。桃李爭妍，花香襲人。惠風和暢，綠草如茵。於是村姑村婦結伴踏青，田野壠頭，尋尋覓覓，挑著野菜，恰是一幅絕妙的仕女圖畫。
In the second lunar month (roughly coinciding with March),
apricot trees blossomed everywhere in my hometown. The spring rain was the most
enjoyable, just as precious as oil in our view. During that season, it was usually
just sprinkling, looking romantically misty. The almost invisible sprinkles
would hardly wet our jacket when they lightly touched us on their way to make
grasses and trees sprout, painting the field in juicy yellow and tender green.
When willow trees extended their eyebrow-shaped long leaves, creeks were full
of crystal clear water. Peach and plum blossoms were entering a beauty contest.
Their fragrance enthralled every pedestrian. Under gentle breezes, the field
rolled out a green carpet. Then village girls and housewives joined one another
to go sightseeing. In the field, they were also seeking and searching for wild
vegetables. They looked like being in a fantastic painting.
我最懷念的野菜是薺菜。它有一股特殊的香氣，味道鮮美。它體積小，直徑最大棵的也不超過二吋。葉梗很細嫩。主根入土甚深。如果用手去拔，不是折斷，就是捏碎，所以村姑們別具慧心，用纖纖玉手拔下頭上金釵，在近薺菜根處插入半吋，然後向下一壓，輕輕一挑，整棵薺菜就可以拿起來了，絲毫無損。
The wild vegetable I miss most is shepherd's purse. It has a
special scent and tastes superb. It's small. The tallest stem of its kind won't
exceed two inches. Its leaves are tender and roots deep into the soil. If you
grab it by hand, you will either break it or crush it. So, village girls had a
smart way to deal with it. They would take off a metal hairpiece and insert it
into the soil near a shepherd's purse plant for about half an inch deep. Then
they pressed it down and tilted it up. The pressure would push the entire plant
to come out of the soil. At this moment, it would be easily picked up without
any damage.
家鄉吃薺菜的方法很多，有薺菜炒冬筍，薺菜煎豆腐，薺菜春捲，薺菜餛飩，薺菜包子...不勝枚舉。
There were many ways to eat shepherd’s purse in my hometown,
such as stir-fried shepherd’s purse with bamboo shoots, pan-fried tofu with
shepherd’s purse, shepherd’s purse spring rolls, shepherd's purse won-ton,
shepherd’s purse buns, etc. There are too many of them for me to name all of
them.
薺菜要趁嫩時摘，一旦開花結子就不好吃了。鄉下兒歌有唱出：“三月三，薺菜花兒赛牡丹。”形容其多其美。以當地的土壤肥沃，氣候温和，草木茂盛，薺菜應是自然繁殖。
Shepherd's purse has to be picked up when it's tender. Once
it starts flowering, especially when it reaches fruition, it won't taste good
any more. A ballad in my hometown goes, “When the third of the third lunar
month comes, shepherd's purse flowers outshine peony blossoms.” The song
describes how plentiful and beautiful shepherd's purse flowers are in my
hometown. Given the fertile land, mild climate, and lush vegetation in the
local area, shepherd's purse just naturally grows.
我到臺灣之初，沒有發現薺菜。後來經濟發達，江浙口味餐舘興起，有薺菜冬筍推出。南門市場亦偶或見之。其實以今日的農業技術，不難推廣培植，只看有無經濟效益而已。記得薺菜食用之外也供藥用，功能疏散，尤能驅風去寒。常吃薺菜可以預防感冒！
When I first arrived in Taiwan, I didn't find any shepherd's
purse. Later, as Taiwan's economy was booming, Shanghai-style restaurants
emerged, and some of them began to serve stir-fried shepherd's purse with
bamboo shoots. Occasionally, I saw shepherd's purse at the Southgate Market in
Taipei, too. Actually, with today's agricultural technology, it must be
feasible to cultivate shepherd's purse in large quantities. Whether to do it or
not just depends on how much economic value it can produce. I remember
shepherd's purse was not only made into dishes but also used as an herb in my
hometown. It can help the body get rid of pathogens. It's especially good at
expelling the invading wind and coldness. Eating shepherd's purse frequently
can prevent the common cold.
我到美國之後曾經要到薺菜種籽試種。可惜並沒有成功。
After immigrating to the US, I once obtained some shepherd's
purse seeds to try growing them. Unfortunately, I didn't succeed.
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【法奶日報www.lulijen.com2015.4.20.出刊，第9-1374號】