这个周末，老师让我们挑战吃一道长久以来最不愿品尝的菜。一听就知道是让我们改掉挑食的坏毛病，而我恰好是个挑食的孩子。
This weekend, the teacher challenged us to eat a dish that we have been reluctant to taste for a long time. As soon as I heard it, I knew it was to help us get rid of the bad habit of being picky eaters, and I happen to be a picky eater.
回到家，我无奈地把这个消息告诉妈妈。妈妈立刻领会了老师的意图，她眼珠骨碌一转：“那就凉拌折耳根吧，都不用买食材，你外婆家后院就有。”一听到这，让我印象不佳的折耳根马上浮现在脑海中，顿时感觉咽下去的口水都变味了。但师命难违，我只能拿着小铁锹到后院里去挖。
When I got home, I reluctantly told my mother the news. My mother immediately understood the teacher's intention, and her eyes rolled as she said, "Then let's cold mix and fold the ear roots. You don't even need to buy ingredients, your grandmother's backyard has them." As soon as I heard this, the folded ear roots that left a bad impression on me immediately came to mind, and I felt like the saliva I swallowed had gone bad. But it's hard to disobey my teacher's order. I can only dig in the backyard with a small shovel.
折耳根又名“鱼腥草”。它的叶子青绿，乍一看像平常栽种的绿萝。我顺着叶子迫不及待地挖起来。越往下挖，就会陆续看到乳白色的根。伴随着挖的过程，一阵阵令人反感的鱼腥味总是飘进我的鼻子里，怪不得它叫“鱼腥草”。看来挑战它，对于我来说，并不是一份容易的事情，而是艰巨的任务。
Zhe Er Gen, also known as "Houttuynia cordata". Its leaves are green and at first glance, they look like commonly planted green ivy. I eagerly dug up along the leaves. As you dig deeper, you will gradually see milky white roots. Along with the digging process, waves of unpleasant fishy smell always wafted into my nose, no wonder it was called 'Houttuynia cordata'. It seems that challenging it is not an easy task for me, but a daunting one.
听妈妈说，折耳根凉拌着吃更美味。我半信半疑，用自来水清洗干净根上的泥土，再将上面的”小胡须”去除掉。掐成一节一节的放在碗里，依次倒入葱、姜、蒜、香油、生抽、醋等作料，略微拌一拌就大功告成，可以享用了。闻着喷香的气味，我对折耳根的印象略有改观。折耳根啊折耳根，看我把你拿下，你安心地当我的盘中餐吧！
According to my mother, it's even more delicious to mix folded ear root with cold food. I half believe and half doubt, clean the soil on the roots with tap water, and then remove the 'little beard' on top. Pinch them into sections and put them in a bowl. Pour in the seasonings such as scallions, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar, etc. in sequence. Mix them slightly and you're done. You're ready to enjoy. Smelling the fragrant scent, my impression of folding my ears slightly improved. Zhe Er Gen, Zhe Er Gen, look at me taking you down, you can rest assured and treat me as my plate of food!
我跃跃欲试，用筷子夹起一截折耳根凑近闻了闻。在香油的掩盖下，折耳根并没有那么腥了，反而有一丝清香。嗯，味道应该不错。我便直接往嘴里送。嚼了嚼，醇香的味道立刻消失了，露出了折耳根的本味。它像一头披着羊皮的狼，终于褪去温柔的外衣，露出狰狞的嘴脸。那令人反胃的滋味儿使我连连作呕，仿佛嘴中嚼着一条腐烂的死鱼，胃里一阵翻江倒海。折耳根还没咽到喉咙口，就条件反射似的被我吐了出来。全身的每一个细胞仿佛都在向我严正抗议：“有毒，快吐掉！”眼泪也出来凑热闹，顺着脸颊直往下流。“泪流满面”用来形容我此时的状态非常妥帖。一旁的妈妈用非常怀疑的眼神看着我：“这么好吃的东西，被你白白糟蹋了！”说着，还万分欣喜地夹了一根放进自己的嘴巴里，细嚼慢咽一番，才依依不舍地咽下去，仿佛那不是折耳根，而是琼浆玉液、奇珍异果。“再试一次，男子汉还能被折耳根拿下。”在妈妈半鼓励半逼迫下，我不断尝试。一次、两次、三次，可都以干呕告终。我想不通这么难以下咽的菜，为什么还有那么多人喜欢，尤其是眼前的妈妈让我难以理解。她的胃是铜墙铁壁，还是我太娇气？
I was eager to try, so I picked up a piece of folded earlobe with chopsticks and leaned in to smell it. Under the cover of fragrant oil, the ear buds are no longer so fishy, but have a slight fragrance. Well, the taste should be good. I just put it directly into my mouth. After chewing, the mellow taste immediately disappeared, revealing the original flavor of the folded ear root. It was like a wolf in sheep's clothing, finally shedding its gentle coat and revealing its ferocious face. The nauseating taste made me nauseous repeatedly, as if chewing on a rotten dead fish in my mouth, causing my stomach to churn. Before I could even swallow the tip of my ear, I reflexively vomited it out. Every cell in my body seemed to be sternly protesting to me, 'Toxic, spit it out!' Tears also came out to join the fun, flowing down my cheeks. 'Tears streaming down my face' is a fitting description of my current state. My mother beside me looked at me with a very skeptical look and said, "You wasted such a delicious thing!" She happily took one and put it in her mouth, chewing it slowly before reluctantly swallowing it down, as if it was not a broken ear root, but a precious nectar and exotic fruit. Try again, a man can still be defeated by a broken ear. "With half encouragement and half pressure from my mother, I kept trying. Once, twice, or three times, it may all end in dry nausea. I can't understand why so many people still like such a difficult to swallow dish, especially the mother in front of me who makes it hard for me to comprehend. Is her stomach like a copper wall or am I too delicate?
到了晚上，再次看到被我晾在一边的折耳根。我心中思忖着，折耳根在各种作料中浸泡了这么久，鱼腥味应该淡了不少吧。我又尝了一下，腥味果然比之前淡了一点，但也只能勉为其难地吃下一两根。超过两根，我就要全面崩溃了。
At night, I saw the folded ear root that I had left hanging on the side again. I pondered in my heart that after soaking the folded ear root in various seasonings for so long, the fishy smell should have faded a lot. I tasted it again and the fishy smell was indeed a little lighter than before, but I could only reluctantly eat one or two. If there are more than two, I will completely collapse.
后来，我查了查资料，对折耳根的了解更多了几分。它不仅是蔬菜，还是一种药材。富含多种维生素，在中药里被广泛使用，具有滋补肝肾、明目、抗氧化、提升免疫力等功效。
Later, I looked up the information and learned more about folding the earlobes. It is not only a vegetable, but also a medicinal herb. Rich in various vitamins, it is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and has the effects of nourishing the liver and kidneys, improving eyesight, antioxidation, and enhancing immunity.
可是……可是……就算折耳根有千般好，要彻底爱上它，还真不是一件容易的事啊！这次挑战“折耳根”的经历让我终生难忘。
But... but... even if the broken ear root is a thousand good, it's not an easy thing to completely fall in love with it! The experience of challenging myself to 'bend my ears' this time will be unforgettable for a lifetime.