The Taste of Sandwiches | 三明治的滋味
Written by: Zhe’an | 折岸
Translated by: Dan Wu
Editor’s Note:
This article is excerpted from Haha! Britain — a charitable bilingual publication co-produced by The Mothers’ Bridge of Love (MBL) and River Cam Breeze. The book is a lively collaboration between 42 Chinese authors living in the UK and 36 university-based volunteer translators. With wit and warmth, the stories capture the everyday realities of Chinese communities in Britain, offering an honest look at the cultural clashes, humour, and adaptation that arise in the space between Chinese and British ways of life. Haha! Britain has been warmly endorsed by several well-known figures in UK-China relations, including Stephen Perry (former Chairman of the 48 Group Club), Luise Schäfer OBE (former British diplomat and Chamber of Commerce chair), Professor Hugo De Burgh (former BBC editor and academic), and British scholar Martin Jacques. The book’s title was handwritten by celebrated British-Chinese artist Qu Leilei, its cover illustrated by bestselling Chinese author and poet Feng Tang, and the postscript contributed by Xue Mo, a prominent voice in contemporary Chinese literature.
Illustrated by Tian Tian
In the first year or two after I arrived in the UK, I thought sandwiches were the most unpalatable food I could ever encounter. The three syllables of this word made me think of another three syllables instead: not tasty. It also became a puzzle to me. How can two slices of dry bread filled with some half-cooked, tasteless meat, cheese and lettuce make it to rows and rows of space on supermarket shelves, each costing several pounds? These were the days when one poundconverted to twelve Chinese yuan, where I could have afforded a decent hot meal with soup and stir-fried dishes in China at the same price.
Long before I relocated to the UK, I already learnt about the origin of sandwiches. The rumour goes that during the 18th century, the 4th Earl of Sandwich was so addicted to gambling that he had no time to leave the table for a meal, so healways grabbed a bite with some bread and meat. Although we are not sure of the reliability of the story, it fits thestereotype of British cuisine: the tastiness of food is not very important.
Leaving tastiness to one side, still, sandwiches do not seem to fulfill even the least I would have expected from food – to make people feel full. Even now, I am still surprised when I see a strong and powerfully-built Brit carefully biting into a sandwich. Some of my British friends gave me a consistent reason as to why they don’t eat much: eating half keeps them awake in the afternoon. Indeed, unlike in some Chinese workplaces, Brits don’t sleep at noon. Most people go off work ata fixed time, and many would rather catch up on work during their lunch break with a sandwich than staying in the office for overtime after five p.m.
What I needed the most during my school days was calories. However, the school canteen always provided the same food:cold with baked beans. And so, I began to explore the world of sandwiches.
As a student without deep pockets, I was looking for good value for money, which meant more calories for the same price.Following this rule, a sandwich with bacon, lettuce and tomato was definitely my top go-to choice. There’s somethingendearingly British about its full name, Classic BLT – as if sandwiches, like the literary world, have to be spelt out between classic masterpieces and ordinary creations. Another two choices were Cheese and Onion and Prawn Mayo. But Cheese and Ham or Egg and Watercress both often left me half-full and failed to feed me. As for Tuna and Sweetcorn, despite the cheerful name in its Chinese translation, it had a fishy flavour that I’d run away from.
My attitude towards sandwiches came about because of a vegetarian sandwich called Ploughman. At first, this sandwichdidn’t catch my eye. The reason, I’m ashamed to say, was simply because I didn’t recognise the word “ploughman”. Whileother sandwiches have self-explanatory names, this had a special one. As I went on living in the UK for a number of years,I started getting used to the lifestyle here, and managed to squeeze out available energy to learn more words and explorethings around me, and subsequently was able to scratch some details from beneath the surface. So then, one day, I finally discovered this sandwich.
The description revealed that it contained cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato and lettuce with mustard and chutney. I didn’t have high expectations. However, after one bite into the sandwich, the pungency of the mustard, the sourness and saltinessof the pickle, and the soft, sweet flavour of the cheddar cheese awakened my taste buds. I was pleasantly surprised – sandwiches could be tasty after all!
Sandwiches hold such importance for British people that they are often used as a metaphor in daily life. After mystudies, and a few years later, I was working in London. I had to both give and receive feedback from colleagues at alllevels for my annual appraisal. My predecessor, who mentored me, suggested that good feedback should look like a “sandwich” in order to be acknowledged: it should start and end with positive recognition, encouragement, or constructive comments, with any issues to be raised in the middle. I once heard a British colleague say, “Just tell me thestuff in the middle!” Most of the time, however, this can be a tried and tested format of communication. If a person is toodirect in the workplace, people might laugh and think it’s too American, or “like a bull in a china shop.”
This kind of thinking may be easy for the Brits, but I had to learn it. For a while, my role involved business development for an accountancy firm. I worked like an octopus, responding to emails, WeChat messages and phone calls externally,while coordinating, translating and delegating internally, all of which was on top of delivering my own allocated work. In the past, I converted every pound into effective calories, and here I was, trying to turn every minute into effective work!One British colleague who worked with me was a senior manager a few years older than me. He was fluent in Chinese, andhis Chinese surname was based on his Chinese wife’s surname. I have to say that he was indeed progressive. I treated himalmost as a compatriot, as if a cultural barrier did not exist.
After becoming friendly with him, I would discuss work with him directly when I met him occasionally. However, I realisedthat no matter how rushed I was, he would always engage me in small talk and ask about my weekend plans before saying goodbye.
I thought it was some kind of daily routine and a simple “I’m fine” or a short polite reply would be enough. If you really go on and on about your plans for the weekend, it may be frustrating for the other person. Once, I couldn’t help askinghim why he couldn’t just go straight to the work topic, given that we were close friends and that we had a lot of work todo.
I couldn’t forget the moment when he turned seriously to me and said, word for word: “These greetings are very important.”
These words took root in my mind at a steady pace, much like the slow- changing scenery of a street in the UK. Many years later, I finally came to understand this way of communication through the simple, everyday object that is thesandwich. The casual small talk at the beginning and end, seemingly mundane, brings a calm, steady and unhurried rhythm to conversations. Gradually, I began to understand why everything in the UK, from food and product packaging tofashion, tends to favour simplicity. It is precisely this simplicity that allowed the UK, when faced with the challenge ofWorld War II, to tell its people, “Keep calm and carry on.”
In recent years, I have unexpectedly discovered something new happening to me. Perhaps because I have long been accustomed to flavours that are not as strong, I now find sandwiches delicious. I have come to appreciate the originaltaste of the ingredients, such as the texture of fresh wholewheat bread, the clean and crisp lettuce and tomato slices, andbeef seasoned simply with salt and pepper. I have also found sandwiches with delightful names besides the classicPloughman’s, such as “Coronation Chicken”, which was created for Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1953 and later became a popular sandwich filling. Sandwiches have evolved with the time; varieties with avocado, which were unheard oftwenty years ago, are now ubiquitous.
In June 2023, while on a business trip back to China, I enjoyed lavish meals for two weeks straight. As I was about to returnto the UK, I suddenly craved the simplest, most refreshing sandwich to cleanse my palate. In the downtown area of earlysummer Shanghai, I searched under the clear blue sky but only found a kind of sandwich with thick mayonnaise. It won’t hurt, I thought. Think of the 4th Earl of Sandwich three hundred years ago – just having something to eat is good enough.Besides, it would still be tastier than the tuna and sweetcorn option for me.
About the author
Zhe’an is a Chartered Tax Advisor and partner at a top accounting firm in the UK. She is the author of the novel FloatingLights, Moving Water, which depicts the lives of contemporary Chinese people in the UK.
在我刚来英国的头一两年，三明治是我觉得全天下最难以下咽的食物。三明治三个字，只换来我的三个字：不好吃。令初来乍到的我费解的是，两片干巴巴的面包，夹上一些半生不熟、缺滋少味的肉片奶酪生菜，可怜兮兮的分量，凭什么就能明码标上好几个沉甸甸的英镑，成排地摆在货架上卖。那可是英镑对人民币 1 比 12 的时代。同样的价格，在国内，还不早就换来热气腾腾、有汤有菜的一顿好饭？
早在出国之前，我就通过文章了解了这种“英式肉夹馍”的来历。18 世纪中叶，据闻第四代三明治伯爵嗜赌，无暇离席用膳，便在赌桌上用面包夹肉，潦草一顿了事。虽不可考，倒是符合大家对英式食物的刻板印象：能吃就行，味道管他作甚。
行，暂且不管味道，为什么还不管饱？时至今日，见到人高马大的英国人，在午餐时间细嚼慢咽一小块三明治，我依然惊诧。有不少英国友人都给了我同样的解释：怕中午吃得太饱，下午会犯困。确实，在英国的办公室，有午休，但却没有午觉一说。多数岗位讲究定点下班，不少人宁可午休期间一手三明治一手敲键盘赶工，也不愿五点之后逗留办公室。
可求学期间的我，是最需要卡路里的。高中女校食堂翻来覆去就那些花样，总不可能天天吃冰凉的沙拉，或是皮夹克土豆（jacket potato）伴茄汁豆。于是，我开始探索三明治的世界。
穷学生的思维很简单：性价比。我要用同样的钱，换取更多的能量。所以一开始，培根、生菜和番茄三明治稳稳占据头号宝座。这货的全名有种端着的英式范儿，叫做经典培根生菜番茄三明治 Classic BLT——仿佛三明治像文坛一样，得在经典名著与普通作品之间拼出个高下。按照同样的思维，芝士洋葱三明治与虾仁蛋黄酱的性价比也不赖。轮到芝士火腿和鸡蛋水芹这两款，吃了总觉得半饱，未能讨得我的欢心。而金枪鱼甜玉米，别看这名字用中文写出来怪欢快，它的腥味令我唯恐避之而不及。
我与三明治的关系的转折点，来自一款素食版三明治“庄稼汉（Ploughman）”。起初它并没有走入我的视野。原因说来惭愧，单纯是因为我早些时候不认识这个词。其他三明治的命名都是所见即所得，这一款则独拥芳名。随着在英国多住了一些年月，我渐渐融入这里的生活系统，每一天都萌发出更多精力，学会了更多用来解密周遭的单词，随之去探索表面之下的细节。于是，终于在某一天，我发现了这款三明治的存在。
一读介绍，切达奶酪、腌菜、番茄和生菜，配上芥末和酸辣酱的味道，没有抱太大期望。然而一口咬下去，芥末的辛辣，腌菜的酸咸，配上切达奶酪绵软甘甜的味道，唤醒了味蕾。原来，三明治是可以有滋味的！
三明治在英国国民生活中的分量之重，重到了日常用语中经常借用三明治来打比喻。求学生涯结束，又过了几年，我在伦敦的职场立稳脚跟。每年考评，要接受各级同事的反馈，也需要给其他同事提供反馈。指导我的前辈提示，一份反馈得长成“三明治”的样貌，才容易被人接纳——开头和结尾都应是积极的认可、鼓励或是建设性意见，需要指出的问题摆在中间。曾听到英国同事对这种套路的吐槽：“直接给我中间的‘馅儿’就得了！”不过，大多时候，这都会是很稳妥的一种沟通方法。一个人若在英国职场里讲话过于直冲主题，大家笑谈中会揶揄说那太美国，或是“瓷器店里的公牛（bull in a china shop）”。
这种思维对于英国人而言可能是手到擒来，但我还是好生把自己刻意培训了一下的。有段时间，我在一家会计师事务所兼任业务开拓经理，每天像只八爪章鱼，对外得回复邮件、微信、电话，对内得协调、翻译、分配，本职工作还得保证交付。以往是每一英镑都恨不得转换成有效热量，如今是每一分钟都想产出有效工作。与我打配合战的是一位大我几岁的英国上司。他中文流利，且中文名是随他中国太太的姓，不可不谓进步人士。我几乎把他当同胞看待，直当文化屏障不存在。工作上熟稔之后，楼道拐角偶尔撞上，忙碌的我时常抓住几分几秒的工夫，直奔主题与他讨论工作。很快，我发现了一点。无论我多么急冲冲地聊工作，他永远是雷打不动地问我：“How are you?”而道别之前，他也会问问周末计划，或是添上几句工作之外的闲谈。
我心想，这题我知道。这些都只是例行公事的打招呼，只要回“我很好”或是大致礼貌作答即可。若是真的洋洋洒洒长篇大论倾吐生活和周末计划，可能反而会给对方带来困扰。有一次，我忍不住问他，既然都这么熟了，又有堆成山的工作要处理，为什么不能掐头去尾，岂不是更高效吗。
还记得那一刻，我这位前上司的脸色一正，对我一字一句地说：“这些问候，非常重要。”
这句话以不紧不慢的速度在我心里发酵，一如英国街景极其缓慢的变化。时隔多年，我终于还是在三明治这一日常物品中，体会出这样的沟通方式。一头一尾的闲谈铺垫，看似淡而无奇，却为言行带来不慌不张、质朴稳当的节奏。我渐渐更能理解，为何英国从食物、商品包装设计到衣着打扮，总体趋向是推崇平实。正因为如此，英国政府才会在二战来临时对公众说出“Keep calm and carry on.（保持冷静，继续前行。）”。
这几年来，我意外地发现，或许是因为味蕾长年来习惯了淡然的口味，我竟然觉得三明治好吃了。我开始喜欢上食材原本的味道，好像新鲜全麦面包的质感，生菜与番茄片的干净清凉，简单用盐和胡椒调味的牛肉片。我还寻到了除了“庄稼汉”以外拥有芳名的三明治， 比如“ 加冕鸡”（Coronation Chicken）， 本是 1953 年为伊丽莎白二世加冕典礼而创的新菜，后来也被“收编”为三明治的馅料。三明治也在与时俱进，二十年前不存在的牛油果款式，如今随处可见。
今年 6 月回国差旅，连着吃了两周的丰盛大餐，临回英国，突然想尝尝最最清爽简单的三明治换换胃口。在初夏的上海闹市区，晴空之下寻寻觅觅，只找到了蛋黄酱厚实的款式。无妨，回想三百年前第四代三明治伯爵——有的吃就行。何况，这可是要比金枪鱼甜玉米那一款好吃呢。
作者介绍
折岸，特许税务师，任英国前十大会计师事务所的合伙人。著有描写当代在英华人的长篇小说《浮灯流水》。
Both the Chinese and English editions of Haha! Britain can be purchased at the following platforms:
· BOOK FAN