口味多样的方便面，真是越吃越上头

The distance is great, I admit, between true poverty and the choices we make from a less precarious position.

我承认，吃不起饭的情况下不得不吃方便面和吃得起饭的情况下主动选择方便面差距还是蛮大的。

Still, I have marveled recently at the leaps and bounds made by way of instant noodles in the decades since, as a relatively impoverished college student, I often ate such noodles less by choice than through weight of circumstance.

我还是惊讶方便面食品能在数十年间发生突飞猛进的变化。大学时代，我吃方便面是因为经济窘迫，而非真心喜欢。

In those days, distant now in memory, there was but one choice when buying what passed at that time for instant noodles — really just an inexpensive, belly-fooling food substitute, since to actually call it food would be a gross exaggeration.

在过去的那段遥远时光里，购买方便面时基本没得挑——称其为食物都有些夸张了，因为当时的方便面只不过是用来饱腹的廉价食品替代物而已。

Instant noodles back then came in a small Styrofoam cup, as if it had never occurred to the makers of this mundane snack (who weren't very imaginative to begin with) that such a paltry amount was little better than going completely hungry.

那时方便面都用发泡胶杯来装，杯体还特别小。方便面生产商好像完全没考虑过这么一点儿净含量吃了就跟没吃一样，他们真的一点想象力都没有。

Once hot water had performed its unimpressive alchemy on the ho-hum contents, we dipped our spoons into a "broth" that tasted, truth be told, no different from the water just added. An impossibly green pea or two and a few freeze-dried carrot cubes would float to the top of this dreary concoction, giving a smidgen of color but not much more.

往杯口倒入开水，泡发的面饼开始冒热气，用勺子搅开后喝上一口，你会发现撒了调味料的面汤跟开水的味道没什么两样。一颗不起眼的绿豌豆和几片干萝卜浮在表面，给这碗看上去没什么食欲的面倒是填了几分色彩。

In the intervening years, instant noodles gradually improved. 

那是方便面最初的模样，而近些年来，这款速食开始逐渐改善了。

Shortly after my arrival in China some seven years ago, I discovered that among the shelf after shelf of such noodles then available, some were very good soup starters, though not yet able to stand on their own. I would prepare the noodles per instructions, and then add ingredients according to taste, whether corn or other vegetables or chunks of hot dog or fried Spam or chicken, and let it simmer. 

我发现这种变化大约是在七年前。当时我刚来中国不久，在一次采购中，我在一排排的货架上看到琳琅满目的方便面。有的泡面里的汤包是非常不错的选择。我会依照说明准备好面条，煮面时会根据个人口味添加配料，比如玉米粒、蔬菜、大块热狗或是炸鸡肉。

Fast-forward to the mostly awful year of 2020, when apparently through divine inspiration I decided one afternoon to buy, in an attempt to economize after overspending, a pot-sized portion of instant noodles whose label, in English, said it was "pork bone" flavored. (Now, in fairness to other good brands, I will note only that my favorite noodles feature bright yellowish-green packaging and a cartoon image of a boy holding a large bowl of noodles.)

时间快进到最可怕的2020年，某天下午，为了弥补超出预算的开销，我鬼使神差地决定吃一顿方便面。当时买的那款方便面，面碗跟小炖锅似的，包装上用英文写着“猪骨”。（现在，为了不偏不倚，我要补充一句我最喜欢的这款方便面外包装是黄绿色的，封图底部有个捧着面碗喝汤的小男孩。）

译者注：此处提到的是汤达人产品中的豚骨拉面

Let me tell you, I was in for a surprise. 

这么跟你说吧，我真的被这款方便面的味道惊艳到了。

The "pork bone" (whatever that means) delicacy was astounding due to the fact that no additional ingredients were needed to make a meal so satisfying that I actually have chosen to consume it several times a week. 

“猪骨味”（管他什么意思）拉面真的好吃到上天。我根本不需要加其他配料，这款面就已经足够美味了，事实上我经常一周吃上好几次。

The first couple of times I followed my instincts and added some fried egg. Then I tried the noodles and scrumptious broth just as they were, and I kid you not, these quick noodles provide instant bliss, as is.

前几次我凭直觉加了煎蛋，之后我就什么配料都不加了。我真没骗你，这款方便面真正让我体会到了“方便”带来的幸福。

Much to my inner pig's squealing delight, I've also discovered that a generous portion in a medium-sized cup that needs just hot water, and no microwave, is available for those on the go.

更让我内心狂喜的是，中碗面的吃法根本不需要使用微波炉，打开盖子倒入热水，几分钟后立刻就可以吃了。

And things keep getting better. There's now make-it-yourself hotpot using a water-activated heating packet, so that even in a tent in the wilderness without a fire, you can sup on spicy seafood or beef cooked piping hot with lotus root, sliced bamboo shoots and all the other fixings. 

方便食品的加工和种类都在不断改进，现在市面上还能买到自热锅，就是利用热水煮沸的加热包。有了这种产品，即便在荒郊野外搭帐篷，在没有明火的情况下，你也可以吃到一碗配有莲根、竹笋片、海鲜和牛肉的自煮鲜辣锅。

So it's true that the options nowadays for fighting hunger on a meager budget have come a long way.

因此，现在花少量预算解决温饱的选择可谓是越来越多了。

I had occasion recently to recommend these noodles to two Chinese friends who I know are living on a shoestring budget. When it occurred to me they might think I was merely being charitable, I pointed out, with a touch of solidarity and satisfaction, that I eat them myself — and often.

最近，我有两个中国朋友生活预算上也面临了问题，于是我便有机会向他们推荐我爱吃的方便面。他们以为我推荐他们吃方便面只是为了帮他们解决预算问题，但我以过来人的身份指出：我平时也经常吃，因为真的很好吃。

Perhaps these options might not seem so inviting when you are forced to eat thusly. But if you can find a certain Zenlike joy in life's simpler delights, as I do in this case, you'll probably agree that the culinary "powers that be" pretty much work wonders these days with hot water. I'd even say it's nothing short of a miracle.

吃方便面听起来可能不算什么诱人的选择，尤其是当你因生活困境而别无他法时。但如果你能像我一样试着从生活中体会某种禅宗般的喜悦，说不定你也会赞同我的观点：仅用热水居然就能烹饪出如此美味的食物，简直是奇迹。