又中又英｜Hit-or-miss

Fried rice is not totally healthy, but it is one of my favourite dishes. Restaurant fried rice can be hit-or-miss. My friend and I ordered fried rice in a Taipei restaurant a few weeks ago and we both agreed it was perfect. We went to a different restaurant last week in the same shopping mall. The fried rice this time was a bit oily. That’s why I say fried rice, or other dishes, can be hit-or-miss depending on which restaurant you go to. If something is hit-or-miss, it means it is more likely to be bad but can sometimes be very good.

I read media reports recently about a mainland celebrity chef who got into hot water for posting on social media how to make egg fried rice. He got into hot water because he posted the video on a sensitive date. I have tried to make fried rice, but it always turned out to be a flop (unsuccessful). A celebrity chef is a cook who has become famous. To get into hot water means to get into trouble. I am never sure how much oil to use or how hot the oil should be. I don’t know if it’s better to fry the eggs separately or mix them into the rice first.

Some recipes say fry the eggs first. Others say mix with rice before frying. Recipes are instructions on how to cook dishes. I feel fried rice is not totally healthy because white rice has very little fiber and is mostly carbohydrates. Brown rice is healthier, but I have not seen fried rice made with brown rice in Hong Kong, Taiwan, or mainland China.

炒飯並不完全健康，卻是我最喜愛的菜式之一。餐廳的炒飯可以是很碰運氣的（hit-or-miss）。幾個星期前，我和朋友在一間台北的餐廳點了炒飯，我們都認為那是完美的。上星期，我們去了同一商場的另一間餐廳，這次的炒飯就有點太油了。因此我說，炒飯，又或其他菜式，可以是很沒準的（hit-or-miss），視乎你去哪間餐廳。若某事物是 hit-or-miss，意即它時好時壞，更大可能是差的，但有時卻可以非常好。

我最近讀到一篇報章報道，一個內地的名廚（celebrity chef）因為在社交媒體上載了如何煮蛋炒飯的影片，而惹上麻煩（got into hot water）。他惹出禍來（got into hot water）是因為他在一個敏感的日子上載影片。我曾經嘗試自己炒飯，但它總是變得一塌糊塗（a flop）。A celebrity chef就是變得出名的廚師。To get into hot water是指陷入困境、遇到麻煩了。我永遠不知道應該用幾多油，又或那油應該有幾熱，又不知道是分開炒蛋和飯，抑或先將蛋和飯混和較好。

一些食譜（recipes）說應該先炒蛋，另一些則說，在炒之前先將蛋和飯混和。Recipes 就是教你如何烹調的食譜。我覺得炒飯並不完全健康，因為白飯只有很少的纖維，而且大部分都是碳水化合物。糙米比較健康，但我在香港、台灣又或中國內地都從未見過用糙米炒的飯。

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Michael Chugani褚簡寧
中譯：七刻