餐桌上的一抹荷塘秀色

王珍

喜欢穿一件粉白的短褂、一条豆绿的绸裙，从城市的一个街角一闪而过，像一抹透明的清风从田田蓮叶间悄悄地走过，风说：“到了可以采莲的季节！”

一群像芸娘一样的女子从《浮生六记》的字里行间走了出来，用小纱囊包裹着一小撮绿茶，找一池荷塘，选几株含苞欲放的荷花，把绿茶轻轻地寄托于花心，任一晚的荷塘月色酝酿一桩风花雪月的故事。第二天清晨，荷花绽放，取出那撮“寄生”荷花茶，煮泉水泡开。茶还是一样的茶，喝一口，唇齿间早已氤氲着挥不去的袅袅荷香。于是，一个夏季，就恋上了这样的荷花绿茶。

其实，像这样喝茶的人不一定全都是有闲的小资一族，也并非只是故弄玄虚、玩情调、装风雅，杭州城里不少家有荷塘的农家就是这么过日子的。因为经荷花、荷叶熏润后的茶叶化解了部分苦涩，又增添了些许清新的荷香。更重要的是，荷花茶具有清心凉血、消暑解毒、生津止渴等功效，炎炎夏日怎么可以没有它？

当然，家有荷塘对于许多人而言，终究还是奢侈的事，于是就有了更简便的方法——选一支含苞待放的荷花，用手指把花瓣轻轻拨开，把用纱布包好的茶叶放进去，再顺次把花瓣合拢。用保鲜袋封好，放到冰箱里冰冻。一两天后拿出来，烘干、放凉，荷花茶就做好了。

水乡的夏季和秋季，光是一片荷塘，就足以让一日三餐天天有不重复的菜单。秋季，杭城的不少主题餐厅主打的菜品大多和荷香有染。其实有不少简单而美丽的荷塘菜肴，我们自己在家中就可以搞定。比如，我们最最常见的那道荷塘小炒，以莲藕为主，配上各色时令蔬果，诸如：山药、莲子、荷兰豆、白果、芦笋、马蹄、胡萝卜、黑木耳、鲜百合、香芹、西兰花、红椒、黄椒，总之，家里有什么都可以用上，变化灵活，丰俭由人。就那么简单地用素油一炒，简单到像笔者这样连菜鸟级都不是的人也敢下厨操刀。

这道简单的菜，却可以有许多美丽的理由：首先，可以给它一个美丽的造型——取一张稍微焯过水的新鲜荷叶，铺在盘子底部，将炒好的菜摆放于荷叶上，不仅吃起来荷香四溢，荷塘小炒的名字也就更贴切了。它看上去很美，听起来悦耳，吃起来爽口，是一道愉悦身心的蔬菜。再则，莲藕富含维生素C和粗纤维，既能帮助消化、防止便秘，又能供给人体所需的碳水化合物和微量元素，防止动脉硬化，改善血液循环；且可以排毒养颜、美容祛痘、保持脸部光泽，有益血生肌的功效，尤其适合减肥中的女孩子吃。

还有，以莲藕、莲子、菱角为食材炒出来的一盘菜，名字叫荷塘三宝；以菱角、黄瓜合炒的菜也有个美丽的名字——菱角青玉。

除了既可以直接当水果吃又可以做菜的菱、藕之外，西湖莼菜和同样是长在水中的茭白，也是餐桌上的明星。西晋时的吃货们就把莼菜、菰菜（茭白）、松江鲈相提并论为江南三大名菜。宋代诗人陆游有“店家菰饭香初熟，市担莼丝滑欲流”的诗句；苏东坡也有“若问三吴胜事，不惟千里莼羹”的赞美。关于它们的诗句、传说和故事有许多，爱下江南的乾隆皇帝，每到钱塘“必以莼羹为食”。看到这些，笔者都会立马跑去超市买回几袋莼菜，用清水冲洗干净，煮汤或凉拌，简单又可口。茭白也不摆明星的架子，最适合让不谙厨事的吃货们得瑟，一青二白的茭白炒毛豆，甚至与米饭同煮、原汁原味的饭焐茭白，都是盘中佳肴。

清淡素食多日，想开荤了怎么办？还是莲藕盛装出场！

用豆腐皮一圈圈缠绕于切成细长条的藕上，两端露出莲藕，像极了子排。在油锅里炸至金黄色后捞出，浇上糖醋汁，撒少许白芝麻。糖醋“排骨”搞定了。如果出自大厨之手，甚至可以吃出“肉”味。

荷也是做甜品的好食材，比如美丽的荷花，不仅仅是用来看的，也是可以吃的——在荷花瓣上抹一层豆沙馅，卷起来将豆沙馅包在花瓣里。沾上蛋泡糊，逐个下锅炸至呈浅黄或黄白色时捞出。沥净油后，入盘撒上白糖。美味荷花酥含有维生素以及人体所需的钙、锌、铁等多种微量元素，食之可安神镇心、益肝健脾、止血利耳目、除口臭，还可解热清火。

给红枣、花生、桂圆、莲子做的炖盅用谐音取一个好听的名字：“早生贵子”。如此美丽的祝福是不是已经征服了你的心？莲子与苹果、银耳、枸杞子、黄冰糖相遇，又会是一个甜美的故事。盛于骨瓷小碗中，温热或者冰镇，细细地品味每一颗莲子的粒圆、饱满、色白、肉绵、味甘。慢慢地咽下去，把莲子植入心田里，定有莲花开放。

还有杭州每家餐馆的菜单上必有的蜜汁糯米藕，一入口，除了甜、糯、软、香之外，舌尖还会告诉你更多。藕粉，小小一瓷碗，剔透若琼脂，晶莹如玉石，几点鲜黄的糖桂花撒在藕粉上，还没吃，心已醉。

荷一和人类相遇就有了很好的口碑，人们爱它始终如初次相见，且越相知越觉得它全身都是宝，甚至连荷叶、莲子心都可以泡茶，是很好的药食同源饮品。利尿、消脂、清心火、解毒……种种好处，不由得让人感慨：生命中，可以与荷相遇，幸福一定不会太遥远。

因为有了荷塘，夏日也不那么炎热了；因为有了荷塘，吃吃喝喝，已然成了艺术行为。荷塘是那么神奇的一片世界，可画可诗，是世外桃源中的世外桃源；荷塘小炒则是如此简单、平常的一种菜肴，是百姓人家餐桌上最最朴素的人间烟火。

荷塘确实让我们平常的生活变得简单而有文艺范儿。所以，走在杭城的街头，总能在不经意间遇见几个美若出水芙蓉的女孩，恰似那位被林语堂誉为“中国最可爱的女人”的芸娘，穿过五百年的风尘，依旧水灵、清纯，无关岁月的风霜——那是因为，一方水土养一方人，吃什么补什么呵！

Lotus as Tea， Food in Summer

By Wang Zhen

In Six Chapters of a Floating Life， by Shen Fu of the Qing Dynasty （1644-1911）， the author describes a way to enjoy lotus tea： place a handful of tealeaves in a small gauze sachet and place it in a lotus flower not yet in full bloom. After the flower blossoms next day， get the tealeaves and make a cup of tea. The drink is full of the delicate aroma of the lotus flower.

Nowadays， sipping a cup of lotus flower tea is by no means a bourgeois way of life and available only to some people fastidious about the best of life. A small lotus pond is not something extremely rare in the rural suburbs of Hangzhou. And tea processed with lotus leaves or flowers is indeed available. It offers more than an enjoyable sipping. The herbal drink offers health benefits. For many people， it would not be very difficult to make lotus flower tea at home in the DIY manner. Find a lotus flower not yet in full bloom. Insert a small gauze sachet of tealeaves inside the flower. Seal the flower with a freezer bag and place it in a refrigerator for a day or two. Take it out. Dry the tealeaves in a baking oven and let the leaves cool. Then make a cup of lotus flower tea.

Lotus ponds across Hangzhou supply an adequate amount of food ingredients for restaurants in the city to offer a long menu of lotus dishes. The lotus root alone can be cooked separately with a wide range of food ingredients. A homemaker can easily make anything out of lotus root. The best known dish is the honey lotus root stuffed with sticky rice， available in restaurants all over Hangzhou. It is served with a sweet and refreshing osmanthus syrup as an appetizer.

Lotus root， wrapped up with the skin of soy-bean milk， deep-fried and doused with a mixture of sugar and vinegar， and sprinkled with white sesame， looks like pork ribs. It is a pure delight for those who practice veganism.

Lotus flower petals， coated with a layer of sweet bean paste and then coated with a watery mixture of egg and flour， deep-fried， and sprinkled with soft white sugar， can make gourmets forget themselves for a while.

And a lotus leaf， steeped in the boiled water for a while and taken out and dried， can be placed as a thin cushion on a plate and the food can be heaped upon the leaf and served directly.

Lotus seed， a key food ingredient， appears in quite a few dishes. It sounds auspicious in Chinese and is often prepared with peanut， red date， and longan as a soup which suggests being blessed with a son as soon as possible， a concept popular in old times. It can be also prepared with apple， Chinese wolfberry， white fungus， and sugar as a desert.

For many， a lotus pond in summer is a place of coolness. With a lotus pond， life becomes poetic and artistic. It inspires poetry and art. It serves as a window on Shangri-La. A lotus pond provides food ingredients which can morph into dishes that make home comfortable and life delicious. Some even go so far as to ascribe girls of striking beauty in Hangzhou to lotuses on the West Lake. They are beautiful simply because lotuses are a part of their upbringing and worldviews.