Xinfeng Oyster Omelette Introduction
"Xinwen Oysters" has its roots in the late Japanese colonial period at the Zhoushui River and has now reached its third generation, having gone through over 80 years. It has become a place of nostalgia for the people of Xinwen. When expatriates return home, they must come to eat here; not having Xinwen Oysters is like not returning to Xinwen at all. Cai Chongji (born in 1956) has a grandfather, Zhou Shuihe, who was a salt worker in the Budai salt fields. During the rainy or winter months when there was no salt production, to supplement the household income, he set up a stall to fry oysters at the Jiajing Temple entrance. Oysters were once called "bitter dumplings" because they contained a higher proportion of chives, and at that time, people preferred them to be deep-fried to a crispy black, which made them taste somewhat bitter, hence the name. The people of Xinwen prefer meat dumplings filled with pork over those filled with oysters, so while the stall is named "Xinwen Oysters," it primarily serves meat dumplings. During the Japanese colonial period, there was no pork available, so when dolphins were caught, dolphin meat was fried, and when mullet was in season, mullet meat was fried, changing according to the seasons. Cai Chongji's father, Cai Huannan (born in 1923), was also a salt worker and lost his job due to the consolidation policy. He then took over the oyster stall at Jiajing Temple. In the 1980s, after marrying Xiao Yulan, she took over her father-in-law's oyster stall and became the third generation inheritor of "Xinwen Oysters." The batter for "Xinwen Oysters" consists of rice paste and yellow soybean flour, and the filling includes cabbage, chives, and more.
