Youdunzi is one of the most memorable delicacies that many Shanghainese remember! When I was a child, there were stalls selling oil piers in many places, and at that time, just standing at the edge of the stalls and looking at the oil piers that were "poofing" in the oil pot, many children would not be able to help but salivate down. The oil mound in the memory, the outer layer of golden crisp, the inverted radish shreds are sweet and juicy, people can't get tired! Nowadays, oil mounds are usually available in vegetable farms or tourist attractions, but I always feel that the taste is not the same as in memory, and the traditional old taste has become less and less.
This is located in Shanghai Huangpu District Bureau Gate Road a small oil pier shop, said to be a small shop, but in fact, it is almost the same as a small stall, just a very small façade, above is a red background yellow characters of the shop name signboard, the shop name is called Grandma Oil Pier, the owner is an old couple, wearing white overalls Grandma is 83 years old this year, next to the grandfather is nearly 90 years old, Grandma is responsible for frying oil mounds, Grandpa is responsible for packing and collecting money.
It is said that more than a decade ago, because of the failure of the son's business, he owed a lot of foreign debts, and the old couple who had entered the old age came out to set up stalls to sell oil piers to pay off their son's debts. The two have been working here for nearly 10 years, selling every day from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., basically all year round, even on 40 °C hot days. Because Grandma's craftsmanship is very good, she has made a name for herself at once, and many people even cross most of Shanghai to eat, and in less than 10 years, the couple has repaid almost 900,000 debts for their son. A very humble small storefront, simple food, carrying a story, a microcosm of society, which has to be said to be a very inspirational story!
Although the oil pier thing seems simple, this traditional craft is basically not available to young people. But from another point of view, with the development of the social catering industry, traditional food has gradually been replaced, not because it is not delicious, to a large extent is also because of the troublesome operation, hard physical labor, no effort and no money, small profits and high sales, resulting in many people will not choose to learn to do or re-engage in the old business, so for the two elderly people, in fact, this work is not easy, especially on hot days.
The oil mound is mainly made of flour and shredded white radish, shredded white radish, supplemented by unsatisfactory green onions, mixed into batter, grasped the batter to the mold, and fried in the frying pan. It needs to be grasped by the heat, the outer skin is golden and crispy, and the filling is full of cooked flavor. Shaped like a wooden mound or cupcake, the oil mound tastes like a croquette ball, except that it is larger and tenderer to eat.
Due to its proximity to residential areas, there are many enthusiastic neighbors who like to help Grandma's business and chat from time to time. Someone asked Grandma, "Grandma, how does your skin look so good?" Although Grandma didn't talk much, she was a very optimistic person, and she always replied with the same smile as before: "Every day to give oil smoke, it is this oil that smokes the skin well, haha!" ”。
Now that Grandma has a storefront, the environment is much better than before, and the price of oil piers has been adjusted from 2.5 yuan a year to 4 yuan a year. Grandma generally only accepts cash, can not use mobile phone payment, may be Grandma is afraid of people who do not give money, after all, Grandma is also older, not very confident in electronic products, so friends who come to buy things are best to bring cash to eat Oh.
The oil pier of 4 yuan is full of radish shreds, and the shredded radish filling is very crisp, not too salty, very fresh, and you can eat the taste of the food itself. In fact, the taste of the oil pier is no longer important, the memory and fireworks retained in the small food are the most beautiful taste of the city, I hope that this temperament can be retained for as long as possible!