林葆靈隨筆：料理與創作的自由——從「馬齒莧怎麼吃」聊起｜The Freedom of Cooking and Creating—Starting with "How to Eat Purslane

洗淨的馬齒莧

(↓ English version below )

買馬齒莧。

結帳時，有位大姐很好奇，說她從沒看過這種菜，問我：「這要怎麼吃？生吃嗎？你都怎麼煮？」

每當聽到有人問「這要怎麼吃」，我常常都會想起小時候一位曾短暫跟隨學過螳螂拳的老師父。他曾經分享，剛來到台灣時沒看過鳳梨，不知道怎麼吃，結果連皮一起吃，覺得很好吃很甜，沒想到後來胃痛。

然而，馬齒莧沒有必須先去除的厚皮，也沒有什麼需要先去除的澀味，更不像黃豆一類食材不適合生吃；它要煎、煮、炒、炸都行，我便回答：

「都可以啊，我都隨便煮。」

結果店員笑了，幫忙回答：

「這算是一種野菜，我媽媽都會煮成帶一點湯的料理。」

我不太確定店員為什麼笑，也許是覺得我的回答跟沒回答一樣。

但其實，做菜對我來說就跟創作一樣，沒有標準答案。除了與個人健康有關的原則（如畫油畫使用松節油一定要在通風好的環境），或與作品保存性有關的原則需要遵守之外，至於你想怎麼畫，就怎麼畫，全看你自己的喜好；做菜亦同，想怎麼料理，就怎麼料理。

離開前，想起蔣勳有在podcast介紹過馬齒莧

便轉頭告訴大姐與還在笑的店員，有興趣可以去聽聽看。

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延伸收聽資訊

蔣勳_美的沉思 回來認識自己

Ep23 談料理｜五行九宮蔬食餐

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How to Cook Purslane?

Buying purslane.

At the checkout, a lady was quite curious. She said she had never seen this kind of vegetable before and asked me, "How do you eat this? Raw? How do you usually cook it?"

Whenever I hear someone ask "How do you eat this?", I often think back to an old master from whom I briefly learned Praying Mantis Kung Fu as a child. He once shared that when he first arrived in Taiwan, he had never seen a pineapple and didn't know how to eat it. As a result, he ate it with the skin on, finding it very delicious and sweet, only to end up with a severe stomachache later.

However, purslane has no thick outer skin that must be removed, nor does it possess any bitterness that needs to be leached out beforehand. It is unlike ingredients like soybeans, which are unsuitable to be eaten raw. It can be pan-fried, boiled, stir-fried, or deep-fried—anything goes. So I replied:

"Anything works, I just cook it however I feel like."

The clerk laughed and chimed in to help answer:

"It's a type of wild green. My mother usually cooks it into a dish with a bit of broth."

I wasn't entirely sure why the clerk laughed. Perhaps they thought my response was as good as no answer at all.

But in truth, cooking to me is just like creating art—there are no standard answers. Aside from adhering to principles related to personal health (such as the absolute necessity of using turpentine in a well-ventilated area when oil painting), or principles concerning the preservation of the artwork, as for how you want to paint, you just paint—it all depends on your own preference. The same goes for cooking: however you wish to prepare it, just prepare it that way.

Before leaving, remembering that Chiang Xun had once introduced purslane on his podcast, I turned back to tell the lady and the still-laughing clerk that they could go check it out if they were interested.