中国的夜宵社交

By Xu Wanyan

中国的夜宵社交

Late-night Snacks in China

By Xu Wanyan

吃夜宵的年轻人

虽然已经吃过晚饭，也明白过了饭点加餐不是个好主意，然而到了晚上10点多，你还是会迫切渴望，甚至觉得必须得叫上你的朋友：“走，咱们吃点儿什么去！”

在中国，夏天的夜晚最适合吃小吃和夜宵了，各式各样的烧烤——海鲜、鸡翅、臭豆腐、麻辣小龙虾都成了夏日主打菜。

这样的夜宵算不上精致，多数夜宵都是含高脂肪的食物，有些餐馆还存在卫生问题，不过这些都阻挡不了食客们大快朵颐。

除了用食物来满足自己，中国人吃夜宵也是一种社交和放松方式。

“夜宵一定要在外面吃，而不是在家里做。” 31岁的白领钱毛佳说，“我觉得夏天晚上穿着普通T恤、短裤、凉拖出去，简直太放松了。这已经成了我的一种习惯，而且我相信身边的很多人都用这种方式来消暑。”

其实，世界其他地方的人们也有这样的冲动。夜市在韩国、泰国等很多亚洲国家都很流行。在西方国家，商场很早（一般6点前）就关门了。而餐厅和酒吧通常会营业到很晚，为那些想要吃点夜宵、或者单纯想跟朋友小聚的人提供服务。

以西班牙为例：在那里人们通常不吃夜宵，不过他们的传统就是非常晚才会吃晚餐，一般在晚9点到午夜之间，类似晚餐与夜宵的结合。不像中国人晚上吃大餐，西班牙人则喜欢吃得比较简单。通常包括一小块鱼肉、烤鸡或烤羊肉，一份沙拉和一份白米饭。

（ChinaDaily 供稿）

You’ve already had dinner, and you’re fully aware that after-hours eating is probably not a smart choice. Yet you feel urged, even obliged, to say to your friend at 10pm-ish, “Let’s go get something to eat!”

In China, summer is the season of late-night snacks, or yexiao, with all kinds of barbecue – seafood, chicken wings and stinky tofu – and spicy crayfish dominating the menu.

It’s not fine dining – most of the food is high in fat, and some of the restaurants have dubious hygiene, but that doesn’t stop customers from chowing down.

Apart from sating your appetite for food, latenight snacks in China are also about socializing and relaxing.

“Yexiao should be eaten outside rather than cooked at home,” Qian Maojia, a 31-year-old white-collar worker said, “I feel so relaxed going outside late at night in the summer, in a casual T-shirt, shorts and slippers. It has become a habit of mine, and I believe many people around me in this city spend great summer nights this way.”

This impulse is shared by other places around the world. Night markets are popular in many Asian countries such as South Korea and Thailand. In Western countries, shopping malls close early, often before 6 pm, but restaurants and bars stay open until late to serve those who want to have some midnight munchies or simply hang out with friends.

Take Spain as an example: People there don’t have yexiao, but they traditionally have a very late dinner, usually between 9 pm and midnight, which can be interpreted as a combination of dinner and yexiao. Instead of having a big feast like Chinese people do, Spanish people like to have a lighter dinner. It often includes a small portion of fish, roast chicken or lamb, a salad and white rice.