Xinhua Oysters Omelette Introduction
"Xinwen O-A-Tiao" started as a stall by the Zhou Shui River during the late Japanese colonial period and has now passed on to the third generation, having traversed over 80 years. It has become a place of nostalgia for the people of Xinwen. When overseas compatriots return home, they make sure to eat here; not having Xinwen O-A-Tiao is like not having returned to Xinwen at all. Cai Chong-Ji (born in 1956)’s grandfather, Zhou Shui-He, worked as a salt worker in the Budai Salt Fields. During the rainy season or winter when salt production was halted, he set up a stall at the Jiajing Temple to fry O-A-Tiao to supplement the family income. O-A-Tiao was once called "Bitter Tiao" because it contained a higher proportion of chives, and people at the time liked to fry it until dark brown, resulting in a bitter taste. People from Xinwen prefer meat-filled Tiao rather than those filled with oysters, so although the stall is named "Xinwen O-A-Tiao," the main product is actually the meat Tiao. During the Japanese colonial period, pork was unavailable, so they would use dolphin meat when available or black fish meat, changing with the seasons. Cai Chong-Ji's father, Cai Huan-Nan (born in 1923), was also a salt worker but lost his job due to the consolidation of salt fields and took over the O-A-Tiao stall at Jiajing Temple. In the 1980s, after marrying Xie Yu-Lan, she took over her father-in-law's O-A-Tiao stall, becoming the third-generation heir of "Xinwen O-A-Tiao." The batter for "Xinwen O-A-Tiao" consists of rice milk and yellow soybean flour; the filling includes cabbage, chives, and more.
