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一年一度的端（粽）午（子）节又到啦~不知道各位小伙伴今天起床后想到的第一件事，是不是就是吃粽子呢？
那么，一个终极问题来了：你，是甜粽党还是咸粽党？
咳咳，本君知道，不论是软糯的甜粽还是鲜香的咸粽，你们都对粽子这一美味爱的深沉。而粽子的美名，也早已漂洋过海，传到歪果仁的耳朵里去了……
而外国美食博客The Woks of Life（wok，就是咱们的炒锅的意思~）更是连着两年偷偷围观了咱们的端午节，不光学到了怎么包粽子，还对几种常见口味的粽子进行了测评！
辣么，粽子在歪果仁视角下，究竟是什么样的一种存在呢？
The Woks of Life 的博主给出了这样的解释：
It’s basically a Chinese version of a tamale: rice wrapped inside a leaf, then boiled in water until it’s cooked through and softened. They can be made savory or sweet, and everyone has their favorite flavors.
“粽子其实就是中国版的墨西哥玉米粽：将米包裹在叶子里，然后水煮至熟透变软。它们可以是咸的或是甜的（←歪果仁看来也知道甜咸之争呢），每个人都有自己最喜欢的口味。”
本君搜了一下这位博主所说的墨西哥玉米粽，长这样↓↓↓
（不得不说还是有种谜の相似的画风，只是，玉米味的粽子，究竟会是什么口感啊……）
单单是品尝粽子并不过瘾，于是这位外国博主还研究出了包粽子的方法……
在这里，这位博主最终选择了包咸粽。不过甜粽党们也别伤心，自己包粽子的时候把下面这些内容换成枣泥豆沙，大概（？）成品也是一样的……
Step One：材料准备阶段
First, soak the leaves overnight. The next day, wash and rinse each leaf front and back, keeping them in a large bowl or tub of water until wrapping time so they don’t dry out.
首先，将叶子泡上一晚。翌日将叶子两面都清洗干净，将它们放在一个装满水的大碗/盆里，这样在包粽子的时候，粽叶不会变干。
Soak the sweet rice overnight. The next day, drain completely in a colander. Mix the soaked, uncooked rice with light soy sauce and salt in a large bowl and set aside.
将糯米也泡上一整夜，第二天将水分沥干。在泡过的生糯米中加入一点酱油和盐，放在大碗中静置。
Soak the peanuts overnight. The next day, boil for 5 minutes, drain, and set aside.
花生也需泡上一夜，第二天用滚水煮5分钟后，沥干静置。
然后就来到了关键的准备五花肉这一步：
In a bowl, toss the pork belly with the light soy sauce, sugar, shaoxing wine, salt, and white pepper. Marinade overnight. The goal of this step is to make the pork belly slightly too salty, because the rice will absorb the excess salt, giving the zongzi its distinctive savory, umami flavor.
将五花肉与生抽、糖、绍兴酒、盐以及白胡椒放在一个大碗中混合，并腌制过夜。这一步的目的是令五花肉微微过咸，因为米饭将会吸收多于的盐分，令粽子有一种独特的咸香口味。
Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Cook the pork belly for a few minutes before adding the water. Cover the wok with the lid, and cook for 5-10 minutes until the liquid is gone. Remove from the wok and let cool.
用中火加热锅中的油。翻炒五花肉几分钟后加水。盖上锅盖5-10分钟，直至水分被完全蒸发。最后拿掉锅盖，令五花肉慢慢冷却。
Cut the egg yolks in half. Cut the Chinese sausages into equal pieces. Set aside in separate bowls.
最后把咸蛋黄、腊肠等配料切好，准备阶段就完成了~
Step Two: 包粽子（←最难的一步来了！）
You must use kitchen shears to cut away at least half an inch off the bottom of every leaf where the leaf stem is since can easily puncture your precious zongzi while wrapping.
首先，你需要把粽叶底部剪掉至少半英寸（←大概就是1-2厘米的样子），因为在包粽子时，尖锐的叶茎很容易就把粽子给戳穿了。
Start by layering a couple leaves together and folding up the bottom to create a cone.
将粽叶层层叠放，并叠出一个小小的圆锥体↓↓↓
Fill with a little rice on the bottom, along with your egg yolk, peanuts, pork belly, and Chinese sausage.
将一小部分糯米塞入底部，再放上咸蛋黄、花生、五花肉以及腊肠↓↓↓
Top with a bit more rice.
然后再铺上一层米。
Fold the two sides into the middle lengthwise, cupping your hands at the bottom of the cone so it doesn’t fall apart.
将两边的粽叶叠至中间，手握住粽子底部，这样包的时候不会散架~
Pinch the leaves at the top so you get a tight seal.
捏紧上部的粽叶，将粽子包紧。
Fold the leaves down…
把上部的叶子折下来。
And tie the zongzi securely. Just get it tightly sealed. Cut off the excess on the leaves with your trusty kitchen shears.
用绳子把粽子捆紧，并把粽叶过长的部分用剪刀剪掉。
然后，你就会get一个可爱的小粽子啦~
Step Three: 煮粽子（需要的就是耐心！）
不要以为煮粽子这步很简单，其实也很费功夫呢！
Get a medium-sized pot and neatly nest the zongzi inside, avoiding large gaps. Put a large plate directly on top of the zongzi to weigh them down. Fill the pot with cold water, until the zongzi are submerged. Place the pot on the stove over medium high heat. Once the water boils, turn the heat to low/medium-low, and let it simmer for at least 7-8 hours.
准备一口中等大小的锅，将粽子整齐地码放在里面，粽子间不要有太大间隙。把一个大盘子扣在粽子上将其压下。然后将锅灌满凉水，直至没过粽子。用中高火加热锅子。水滚后，将火调至低/中低火，文火慢炖7-8小时。
You must check the pot fairly often to make sure the zongzi are always submerged in water. Only add boiling water to adjust the water level—do not add room temperature or cold water. Keep a kettle of hot water on the stove so that you’re prepared throughout the 7-8 hour cooking time.
你需要时刻关注锅里的状况，确保锅中的水总是没过粽子。往锅里加水时只能加开水 —— 千万不要加常温下的水或是冷水。在7-8个小时的烹饪过程中，在炉子上时刻准备好一壶热水吧。
Once the 7-8 hours is up, eat the zongzi while they’re hot! Sweet zongzi can be enjoyed at room temperature, but savory zongzi are really the best when they’re steamy and delicious.
7-8个小时后，你就能吃到热乎乎的粽子啦！虽然甜粽可以常温下食用，但咸粽果断还是热着吃更美味喔！
（港真，能等上7、8个小时，这位博主对粽子也是真爱了）
这样看起来还真的是有模有样呢，感兴趣的咸粽党们不妨试试这个法子，看看做出来的是否正宗美味~
当然，这位博主也深知没有吃过甜粽的人生不够完整，于是人家还专门跑去了上海著名的南京路，买了各种口味的粽子进行试吃测评！
好的，检验美味的时刻到了~
The first Zongzi we opened is Cantonese style and has a distinctive white color, since soy sauce is not used to season the rice.
博主打开的第一个粽子是广式粽子，看起来白白的，应该没有加酱油调味。
Basic seasoned pork belly is the only ingredient in this zongzi rice dumpling, but there are many ingredients that are frequently used in homemade versions. This was basic but delicious!
给粽子“开膛破肚”后发现，里面只有基本款的调味五花肉，但如果是自家包的粽子应该会有更多材料。不过，虽然是基本款，但依然很好吃！
Notice this next Zongzi is darker in color and is more typical of what you see in Shanghai. The people of Shanghai love their soy sauce, and incorporate it into most of their dishes. Zongzi is no exception, as the rice in this version is flavored and darkened by soy sauce.
第二个粽子看起来颜色更深点，是那种在上海更常见的粽子。上海人很爱酱油，在大部分菜里都喜欢加点酱油调味。粽子也不例外，这款粽子里的米饭就经由酱油调味上色~
博主表示，家人们都更喜欢二号粽子~
The next version of rice dumplings we tried contained a salted duck egg, which is a luxurious addition. The salted duck eggs in this Zongzi were really fresh, high-quality, and bursting with flavor.
三号粽子是豪华升级版的粽子，里面有个咸蛋黄。粽子里的鸭蛋黄新鲜、优质、口味丰富（←听着就好想吃啊……）
Sweet Red bean paste is also a favorite of the Shanghainese, who are generally known to have a sweet tooth. The sweet red bean paste and sticky rice complement each other and go together nicely.
豆沙粽也是上海人的最爱之一，他们本身也好甜口。甜甜的红豆沙和软糯的米饭相得益彰，搭配得恰到好处（←不说了豆沙粽请给我来一打）
（这个粽子，看起来有点神秘……）
Lye water sticky rice dumplings, or Gangsui Zongzi are quite hard to find these days. We were told that they have gone a bit out of style and are not very popular––to the point where much of the younger generation have never tried them. This is actually not surprising, since Gansui Zongzi are more common in Guangdong and Hong Kong.
如今，碱水粽可并不好找。我们听说它们已经有些过时，并不太受欢迎 —— 许多年轻一代都没吃过这种粽子。事实上这也并不令人感到意外，因为碱水粽在广东和香港一带更常见~
所以，碱水粽长这样↓↓↓
Gansui zongzi have the color of transparent yellow jade stone and have a mild flavor. It is a bit of an acquired taste that is very much dependent upon honey or other syrups for sweetness.
碱水粽带有一种透明玉石的黄色色泽，口味清淡。惯用吃法是蘸着甜甜的蜂蜜或是其他糖浆吃。
（不行，本君都看饿了……）
当然，我国地大物博，还有很多什么枣泥粽、烧肉粽、八宝粽等等这位博主没尝过的粽子~本君还听说四川还有麻辣口味的粽子，不知道有没有四川的盆友能出来描述一下此粽的口感↓↓↓
什么都不多说了，本君起床吃粽子去~不知道，你最爱的粽子是什么馅的呢？
哦对，记得提醒你身边的歪果仁朋友，粽子的正确打开方式哦~
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