The dried sea pepper is like a private restaurant, and the store is located in the "82 mailbox dormitory" house. The so-called "82 mailbox" is a product of the planned economy era, and military enterprises and secret units often refer to it with mailboxes and numerical codes, and "82 mailboxes" are state-owned Hongming Radio Factory. It is reported that in its heyday, the number of employees (or including family members) of the factory exceeded 5,000, so the dormitory station is quite spectacular, and this kind of residential community composed of old Soviet-style buildings is also a major feature of the old area in the north of Chengdu.
The owner, Li Qing, once worked in the 82 mailbox hospital, claiming that the dried sea pepper was his own originality. However, there are no self-taught geniuses in the catering industry, and there are reliable sources that the owner has at least engaged in the business of skewers, steamed vegetables, and Sichuan cuisine after going to the sea, and has deep experience in catering operations, so he can run a small shopkeeper that only opened in 2014. The flavor of the store is very rare in Chengdu, and a large number of diners taste it every day after the fame spreads, and the restaurant is very secretive about the details of the meal, except that the quality of the dried sea pepper is very important.
According to the store, dried sea pepper powder is refined from at least 5 types of dried peppers. In order to make the taste outstanding, each bowl of sea pepper in the hand is made on the same day, the dried pepper is first fried in the pot to dry the water, and the whole body is crispy and then pounded finely. Eventually, the dry powder is sprinkled directly on the hand, and the accessories include peanut crumbs, sesame seeds, and chopped green onions. The color and flavor of the finished product are commendable, and "fragrant but not spicy" is a more appropriate evaluation. In addition to the condiments mentioned above, the secret red oil must be poured before serving, and the taste is somewhat similar to the oil splashed noodles.
The dough is tough and elastic, so that the hands will not fall apart after a long time, and the thick filling makes the hands full and full of meaty aroma. However, compared to traditional pork, there is still a shortage of fillings in the store. Its shrimp and crab roe filling is extremely rare in Chengdu, and this combination scheme is mainly popular in Guangdong (although Yangzhou, Wuxi and other places have fresh shrimp and fish filling, but not the mainstream of the Yangtze River Delta). Compared to Cantonese-style wonton noodles, the dough is more elastic, and the crab roe also brings a perfect taste like bursting pulp. In terms of soup base, chicken soup is the main base, and the base is subdivided into three schemes: porcini mushrooms, bamboo sunflowers, and matsutake mushrooms, all of which are fresh soups, which is undoubtedly a good choice for diners who are not spicy. Rather than pork filling, we recommend local diners to try shrimp and crab roe.
As mentioned earlier, the shop is located in an old-fashioned neighborhood. The interior of the store is in the style of a private house, with only 10 dining tables, bunches of dried sea peppers hanging on the walls, and poems describing dried sea peppers. It is worth mentioning that the author of the poem is actually the uncle of the owner, who is a member of the Chengdu Calligraphy Association. The style of the small shop is very marketable, and the simple dining environment brings a lot of trouble to customers.
The smallest table is only suitable for four people at the same time, but due to the large number of customers, the number of seated diners is often higher than the number of seats. The shopkeeper chooses a family-run business model, and due to manpower constraints, the store hardly tries to maintain order. Customers rely on grabbing seats and communicating by roaring. Ordering has nothing to do with seating, and in a standard process, customers place an order at the door of the unit and then send the handwritten menu to the back kitchen. When the waiter calls the corresponding order number, it will also be handed over directly, so there are also customers who have no seats to eat on the ground outside the unit, and it is inevitable to be rough in the face of the temptation of food.
The shop is only open for 4.5 hours a day, and there are usually a large number of diners in line before opening, with a turnover rate of about 2-3 people/seat/hour, so it is recommended to go to the store early to pick up the number. In addition, according to senior diners, the priority of fresh shrimp and crab roe is higher than that of ordinary pork, and the delivery of food is faster, which can be used to "overtake in corners" in individual cases. And don't forget to try the pickles that are provided free of charge, which is also a must-eat item in the eyes of many customers.
Tip：
The "sea pepper" as the locals call it is the chili pepper, a plant native to the Americas that only entered China after the Age of Discovery. As we all know, the Suez Canal is a modern product, and the shipping between Western Europe and the Asian Sea in ancient times could only be detoured from the Cape of Good Hope, coupled with the backward ship technology, so sweet potatoes and other American crops with the word "fan" were mainly spread to the hinterland of East Asia through the western land route. However, chili peppers have various names such as "sea pepper", "sweet pepper", "Qin pepper", etc. Southeast Asia, known as the land of the winds (monsoons), had a long history of spice trade with Europe, and as a free ride, chili peppers were the first to land in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Therefore, it is believed that the "sea" may mark the circulation path of chili peppers, which is one of the more reasonable explanations. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Huguang region in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River called chili peppers sea peppers, and Sichuan received a large number of Huguang immigrants in the Qing Dynasty. People are like what they eat, food is life, and the characteristics of food and beverage sometimes mark social changes.
