Xinzhuang Oyster Omelette Introduction
"Xinwen Oysters Cake" originated from Zhou Shui River during the late Japanese colonial period and has been passed down to the third generation. After over 80 years, it has become a nostalgic spot for the residents of Xinwen. When overseas compatriots return home, they make sure to eat it, as returning home without having Xinwen Oysters Cake feels like not returning to Xinwen at all. Cai Chongji (born in 1956) is the grandson of Zhou Shui River, who worked as a salt worker at the Budai saltfield. During the rainy season or winter, when there was a break in salt production, he set up a stall at the Jiaying Temple entrance to fry oysters cakes. Oysters cakes were once called "Bitter Cake" because the proportion of chives was higher, and people at that time preferred them to be fried dark and crispy, resulting in a slightly bitter taste, hence the name. People in Xinwen prefer meat cakes filled with pork over oysters cakes filled with oysters, so although the shop is named "Xinwen Oysters Cake," it primarily serves meat cakes. During the Japanese occupation, pork was not available, so dolphin meat was fried when dolphins were caught, and mullet meat was used when it was in season, changing the filling according to the seasons. Cai Chongji's father, Cai Huan-nan (born in 1923), also worked as a salt worker but lost his job due to the consolidation policy and took over the oysters cake stall at Jiaying Temple. In the 1980s, when Xiao Yulan married into the family, she took over her father-in-law's oysters cake stall, becoming the third generation inheritor of "Xinwen Oysters Cake." The batter for "Xinwen Oysters Cake" consists of rice flour and yellow soybean flour; the filling includes cabbage, chives,...
