ラジオ英会話　クリスの英語でよもやま話、イギリス料理がテーマだったので復習しました。
2021年5月号

第2回　British Food is Boring? That’s history!
イギリス料理は味気ない？そんなの昔の話だよ！

Tasteless, awful, horrible …These adjectives are frequently used to describe British food. Well, it’s high time I jumped to the defense of my country’s culinary expertise.
The fact is that Britain has a host of amazingly tasty traditional dishes. Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding is perhaps number one. Actually, the French nickname for Brits is all part of the love/nate relationship between the two countries.
But I digress! Back to traditional dishes. Fish and chips is another national institution, and probably the dish that most British expats, including me, miss the most. Now, if you want to have a truly genuine experience, you should go to a local chip shop, or “chippy “, and eat the fish and chips with your fingers. When I was in kid, the fish and chips used to be wrapped in old newspapers, but this was ruled unsafe in the 80s due to the danger of ink poisoning. I have to mention a few more of my favorite dishes like bangers and mash, shepherd’s pie, steak and kidney pie, and toad in the hole. Huh? Are these really food? Well, do some research and find out for yourselves!
For those of you who have a sweet, like me, afternoon tea is an absolute must. This tradition dates back to the mid 19th century and is still going strong. Many of my Japanese friends tell me and how much they enjoyed this quintessential English experience in one of London’s finest hotels, or in a quaint tearoom in the Cotswolds. My mouth is watering just writing about this! I think I’ll take a break and make a batch of scones. OK, I’m back. Mmm…those scones with clotted cream and jam were scrumptious, even if I do say so myself!
Another reason why the negative image of food in the Uk needs to be smashed is that you can find a huge variety of foods from around the globe: Japanese, Chinese, Thai, French, Italian and, of course, Indian. In fact, the Indian dish Chicken Tikka Masala was voted the most popular dish in the UK and named “a true British national dish “ in 2011. With more Brits travelling abroad, it’s no wonder they have developed a taste for more exotic dishes.
So, are convinced that the stereotype of boring, bland British food is history? I hope so.
Now, excuse me. I’m making Mexican enchiladas with guacamole for dinner, so I’d better get cracking.

Word &Phrases
history 昔のこと
awful ひどい、とんでもない
high time 〜する潮時
culinary 料理に関する
expertise 専門的な知識
a host of 多数の
Yorkshire pudding ヨークシャプディング
les rosbifs フランス語でローストビーフの複数形に定冠詞がついている
digress 脇道にそれる
expat 国外移住者、国外在住者
bangers and mash ソーセージのマッシュポテト添え
shepherd’s pie シェパーズパイ　
steak and kidney pie ステーキアンドキドニーパイ
toad in the hole ソーセージ入りのヨークシャプディング
sweet teeth 甘い物好き
quaint 古風な趣のある
Cotswolds イングランドの南西部の丘陵地帯
water よだれなどが出る
a batch of パンなどのひと焼き分
clotted cream 濃厚なクリーム
scrumptious とてもおいしい
smash 粉砕する
Chicken Tikka Masala イギリス発祥のインド料理
bland 味がほとんどしない
enchilada エンチラーダ、メキシコ料理
guacamole ワカモーレ
get cracking 急いで取りかかる