Hualien, Jian。Wild Vegetable Market

阿美族是台灣最擅於食用野菜的民族，在海邊、河流、山林，還是田間及路邊，幾乎都能找到可以果腹的食材。這些長在野地裡，被大多數人視為雜草或不可食用的食物，在阿美族人手中都能變成一道道美味佳餚。目前在花蓮吉安鄉的黃昏市場裡有一個「邦查野菜街區」，裡頭販售著各式各樣的野菜、海菜與少見的食材，是全台灣獨一無二的野菜市場。

The Amis tribe in Taiwan is the one that knows how to cook wild vegetables. They find available plants at places like beach, creek, forest, farm field, and streets. Most of us may see those plants as inedible items, but those plants could become delicious dishes by the Amis. There is a “Bangzha Wild Vegetable Street” in the evening market in Hualie Jian where a variety of wild vegetables, seaweeds, and rare ingredients are sold. It is a unique wild vegetable market in Taiwan.

採集一日所需的食物，是阿美族婦女每日一大清早的主要工作。六○年代時，日本人在吉安開設網球拍工廠，部落婦女紛紛投入工廠工作無暇採集，於是有些部落老人家就在工廠附近叫賣起採集來的野菜與自製麻糬，而逐漸發展成現今的黃昏市場。目前在「邦查野菜街區」聚集約有二十餘攤的菜攤，每日下午二點陸續開市，直到七點才收攤。

The Amis women need to buy the daily food every early morning. The Japanese established a tennis racket factory in Jian during the 60th’s. All the women working factory had no time to buy any household food. The elderly in the tribe therefore started to sell the wild vegetable and homemade mochi next to the factory gradually evolving into today’s evening market. Now there are at least 20 vegetable vendors gathering on the “Bangzha Wild Vegetable Street”. They open around 2:00pm and close around 7:00pm.

Bitter Gourd

野菜是野地裡自行生長的，不僅能採集到的種類無法估算，產量也相當有限。在養生當道的今日，越來越多人了解到野菜的高營養價值，於是開始有人專業栽植，如山苦瓜就是一般人比較常見的，在其他地方也購買的到。

Wild vegetable grow by itself on the ground, therefore, you can collect lots of variety of the plants, but with very limited amount. Because eating healthy is the trend now, more people are aware of the good nutrition that the wild vegetables offer; therefore, some of the wild vegetables are planted by the professionals. Bitter Gourd is one of them and can be purchased in many places.

Tire Bitter Gourd

這一顆顆圓潤可愛的綠色果實，因嚐起來甘苦，外型又長的像輪胎，所以阿美族人把它叫做「輪胎苦瓜」，但其實是於屬於茄科的植物。食用方法除了汆燙後，沾鹽或醬油吃外，阿美族人還會拿來煮湯、涼拌或炒小魚干。

The cute round shape green fruit tastes dry and bitter and has the look of a tire; therefore, Amis named it “Tire Bitter Gourd”. It belongs to the eggplant family. The method in preparing the Tire Bitter Gourd is to boil first and then add salt or soil sauce. Sometimes it can be cooked for the soup, salad, or stir fry with small dry fish.

Yellow Rattan Core

一般人都知道，黃藤的莖部是來製作藤椅、藤床等用品，但顯少人知道，藤莖頂端嫩心的部位，竟然還可以拿來食用。藤心最常被料理的方式，就是切段後與排骨一起熬煮成湯，味道濃苦後的甘甜，是最受阿美族喜歡的一道菜。

As we all know, the stem of the rattan can be made into rattan furniture, such as, rattan chair, rattan bed… and so on. We rarely know that the top core stem are also edible. It can be cooked with pork chops to make soup. It has a bit sweet and dry flavor after the first bitter taste. It is a popular dish in the Amis tribe.

Lover’s tear (Rain Mushroom)

除了野菜外，阿美族婦女還會到潮間帶去採集各式海菜及海藻，照片中這個被部落族人稱為「情人的眼淚」的雨來菇，並不是生長在海邊，而是在下過雨後的草地上採集來的，吃起來清脆可口，涼拌或入湯都很好吃！

Beside the wild vegetables, the Amis women would collect the intertidal seaweed and algae. The Rain Mushroom (Lover’s tear) in the photo does not grow on the beach. It grows on the grass after the rain. It tastes crispy and fresh. It can be prepared as salad or cooked in soup.

Small Onion ( Fire Onion)

這一袋袋看起來很像大蒜的，其實是迷你版的小洋蔥，又稱火蔥，吃起來有洋蔥的口感與味道，但沒有洋蔥的辛辣味。

They look like the garlic, but they are actually small onions. It is also named “Fire Onion”. It tastes like the onion, but it is not as spicy as onions.

Bread Fruit

每年七至八月是麵包果的盛產季節，這時候來到野菜市場，幾乎每一攤都看得到它的蹤影。麵包果一般是拿來煮湯，據說味道相當不錯！

The Bread Fruit are in season from July through August. If you come to the wild vegetable market during this time, Bread Fruit can be seen. It tastes very good in the soup!

Handmade Mochi

Betel Nut Bud

檳榔樹除了果實拿來做檳榔外，檳榔樹的嫩芯及花苞也可以拿來入菜，我曾吃過涼拌檳榔花，味道爽口清甜，非常好吃。

The fruit of the Betel Nut is made for the chewing Betel Nut. The bud can also be cooked as a delicious dish. I tasted the Betel Nut Bud Salad which is very fresh and sweet.

Marinade Hot Red Pepper

在野菜市場裡，還可以看到很多部落媽媽醃漬的產品，這些瓶瓶罐罐裡有紅辣椒、青辣椒、鹹豬肉及海螺肉等。

Lots of marinade products can be seen in the market. They are in the jars with hot red pepper, green pepper, salted pork, and sea snails.

市場是感受市井生活，探尋在地美食的極佳之地，有機會到花蓮吉安來，不妨走一趟黃昏市場，一窺阿美族的野菜文化！

The market is the place to see the local life and taste the local delicacies. When you come to Hualien Jian, make sure to stop by the evening market and have a glance of the wild vegetable culture of the Amis!

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