Nomadic Space 流浪空間

據說世界上最薄的兩本書，就是德國笑話、英國食譜。
I've heard a saying that the thinnest books in the world are the German joke and the English recipe.

一轉眼我也在英國待了快一年，在這個美食沙漠裡，倒也是存活得好好的。一方面想吃什麼自己煮、再來就是謝天謝地我認識很多英國朋友，他們都有跟我推薦英國料理，至於好不好吃，就見仁見智了。
Time flies, I survive quite well in England throughout the year. Of course I managed to cook almost everything I want to eat, and more importantly, thank god that I met loads of English friends who are very willing to introduce their dining culture to me!

Sunday Roast & Yorkshire Pudding 週日烤肉 與 約克夏布丁

傳統上英國人禮拜天中午、或下午，會全家人一起吃一頓大餐，吃完之後喝下午茶吃茶點，晚餐基本上就不用吃了。 
English family's tradition is to eat a big meal together in Sunday's noon or afternoon, and have some tea afterward. Since the meal is usually in a very large portion, dinner is not necessary on that day.

Roast烤肉，正統的作法是烤一大塊肉，烤完之後切片，而烤出來的肉汁加蒸熟蔬菜用的水、麵粉等等，調成類似滷汁的醬料，淋在肉跟蔬菜上一起吃。
The 'decent' way of cooking the meal is cook a huge portion of meat in the oven. When it is well-done, slice the meat and add water, flour into the juice of the meat to make gravy.

Yorkshire Pudding 並不是甜的布丁，而是類似麵包的一種餅。以前人比較窮，傳統吃法是先吃 Yorkshire Pudding 墊肚子有點飽足感，再吃肉，這樣比較省錢。
Yorkshire pudding is not sweet but a pastry similar to bread. Traditionally, Yorkshire pudding is served first to make people feel full without consuming too much meat which is more pricy.

而且重點是，通常負責這種特別日子的料理的 (Event meal)，都是男主人！從洗青菜、切青菜、烤肉注意火侯、作約克夏布丁、到調醬汁、切肉片上菜，男主人幾乎是一手包辦！(還有英國男生很丘的跟我說 “That’s the easiest thing in the world! (這是全世界最簡單的事情了！)”)
Instead of women, men are usually the one in charge of this kind of 'Event Meal'! Answering my question, "Do you know how to make Sunday roast and Yorkshire pudding?", one of my English male friend said proudly, "Of course! That's the easiest thing in the world!"

這也是典型的 Pub food (酒吧食物)之一，有些酒吧是讓你選三片肉(火雞、火腿、牛肉)，然後配菜跟醬料自己拿。跟 Fish & Chips 比起來，營養均衡太多了！算是營養又好吃的英國食物！ 
This is also a typical 'Pub Food'. Compared with fish and chips, this is such a nutrition balanced English food! And plus, if it's well cooked, it could be very delicious.

* I noticed that English people tend to cook vegetable without seasoning. They ususally serve the boiled or steamed vegetable with sauce instead.
I once complained in a joky way, "Why don't you at least cook them with some salt?"
My tutor who is an English man said, "So that we can keep the natural sweetness of the vegetable!"

Jacket Potato 馬鈴薯外套

 

其實我個人相當鄙視這道菜，鄙視的程度大概僅次於三明治，但是因為名字實在太可愛了、也算是俗又大碗的英國菜，所以還是介紹一下。
To be honest, I personally don't appreciate this dish very much. In fact, jacket potatoes only rate higher than sandwiches in my menu. But I still want to introduce a bit of this for the cute name and it's friendly to low budget dining.   

This food is very simple. Just cut the potato, put something inside it, and roast it. That's all.

就這麼簡單的東西，他們也可以因為中間的料不一樣 (起司、鮪魚、豆子、生菜沙拉等等)，就在菜單上落落長的寫好多種，我一開始還以為這是多麼厲害的東西，殊不知就是烤馬鈴薯！他贏過三明治的唯一原因，就是他是熱的…
I first thought it was something very special since it usually has a loooong list on the menu. But it turned out to be JUST POTATO with some different fillngs (or dressings)! The only reason for me to rate this higher than sandwiches is simply because it is served hot...

但如果你到英國酒吧，很餓又不想花太多錢，這大概是菜單上最便宜的食物 (僅次於薯條)，配上一杯啤酒，馬鈴薯可以讓你一下子就吃飽。
Of course jacket potato still has it's value. If you went into a pub with a empty stomach, just order a pint of something with a jacket potato, then you can be kind of full without harming your wallet too much.

Sandwich 三明治

我對三明治本身沒有意見，自己在家也常作三明治當早餐，但我這一年來，始終沒有辦法說服自己花錢買英國的三明治。
Basically, I've got no problem with sandwiches. In fact, I do make sandwiches quite often by myself. However, I never managed to persuave myself to buy an English sandwich from a shop.

但是基於盡量保持中立的原則，我還是要介紹一下英國朋友解釋：
But in order to keep the neutral principle (which is obviously not possible), here are some explanations from my English friends to tell the reason why they love sandwiches so much:

第一，三明治很方便，拿了付錢就走，不用等。(台灣人內心吶喊：滷肉飯也不用等啊！)
Firstly, sandwiches are very convenient. Just pick one, pay the money, take it away. No need to waste the time on waiting. (So glad that we've got loads of food that are also veyr convenient in Taiwan. And they are made fresh!)

第二，三明治很便宜。(我說：成本那麼低，又是冷的，這價錢怎麼叫便宜！英國朋友就說：在這邊就是什麼都貴！接受事實吧你…)
Secondly, sandwiches are cheap.
I said, "It's not cheap! It's made with cheap ingredients and it's COLD! How can you say it's CHEAP?"
My friend said, "Well, everything is expensive here, just accept it."

第三，作得好的三明治很好吃。(但是也相對更貴) (英國人現身說法：It’s very easy to make a BAD sandwich, but if it’s a good sandwich, it could be VERY good! (要把三明治作的難吃很容易，但是如果作的好，三明治是可以很好吃的！)←我相信，因為我在法國有吃到讓我五體投地的三明治！但在英國… 我不想冒然花錢嘗試)
It’s very easy to make a BAD sandwich, but if it’s a good sandwich, it could be VERY good!
True, I believe that. I did have very good sandwiches in France which worth more than the price. But I'm afraid that the ones in England just don't seem to be that attractive.

第四，我朋友說，因為他很懶，所以他喜歡去買現成的。
My friend said, he likes to buy food that is ready-to-eat because he is lazy.

三明治適合中午不想吃太飽的人，很多地方都有三明治+飲料+洋芋片的午餐組合。(但是對我來說這樣只會開胃而已！比沒吃還慘！)
Sandwich is a good option for those who don't want to be too full in mid-day. Lots of shops offer lunch deal with combination such as sandwich+drink+crisps (or 'chips' in American English). For me, half-full is worse than full, so I have never tried them.

Butter & Bread Pudding 奶油麵包布丁



顧名思義，這就是加了奶油跟麵包的雞蛋布丁。(英國人幫食物取名字沒什麼創意可言)
As the title tells, this is a kind of egg pudding with butter and bread added. (I'm afraid that English people are not very creative in naming the food.)

聽起來很普通，食譜也不難，但偏偏就是很好吃！尤其上圖是英國奶奶親手作給家人吃的奶油麵包布丁，簡直是驚為天人！好吃到讓我連上面點綴的葡萄乾都吃掉了，因為實在是瑕不掩瑜啊！尤其是熱騰騰的、淋上一些鮮奶油，吃下去，麵包裡充滿了布丁滑潤的口感，加上濃濃的奶油香… 讓人胖也胖得心甘情願！
Souds simple, and the recipe is indeed simple, but somehow it just tastes SOOOO good! The picture is taken in an English familiy. This bread and butter pudding made by their grandmother is absolutely amazing! Especially when it's served hot with creme, the smooth pudding mixed with soft bread... yum!

結論是，只要他們願意花時間花心思，英國人還是有辦法作出好吃的食物的！這真的因人而異，有些英國人真的只把食物當成維持身體運作的熱量供應來源而已。但也有些英國人非常重視食物，相信人生就是要享受美食！

下次再介紹其他食物，尤其是甜點！英國人很愛極甜的甜點，我也有找到一些不錯的英式甜點，太甜，就配茶或黑咖啡囉！

I believe that when they are willing to spend some time to care about food, English people do produce quality food!
This really depends on people. Some English people only consider food as the fuel of their body, whilst some English people believe the point of life is to enjoy good food!

I will introduce more English food in the future, especially desserts! English people generally love extremely sweet desserts. I enjoy quite a lot of them very much. If it's too sweet, than I'll have it with unsweetened tea or coffee!