I went to Xiamen during the Spring Festival and ordered a dish called scallion oil tube while eating near a scenic spot. At first I thought it was something like vegetables, but the boss took a moment to tell us that it was actually fried squid with green onions.

Traveling during the Spring Festival is the golden week among the golden weeks. There is no extravagant expectation on the speed of serving food. While waiting for the food, I looked around. The travel team was operating like a flow, one after another. The boss and the waiters were busy. We were on our backs, and after a few minutes, the three dishes and one soup we ordered were finally served.

In fact, what I was most looking forward to at the beginning was the oyster pancake. Xiamen’s signature dish that frequently appears in major food guides is really fascinating. However, when I actually met it, I felt that it was really ordinary, eggs and oysters. Fried together, neither the fresh aroma of seafood nor the flavor of eggs can be tasted. They are piled together in a muddle, and it is like one side of soil and one side of vegetables. Outsiders really can't appreciate it. Okay, maybe we didn't get the most authentic one.

The small tube of scallion oil gave us a surprise. I have never eaten such fresh squid. Squid is a cephalopod creature with a long and narrow body. The boss’s knife skills are rough and he cuts it horizontally, as if one by one. The straw tastes fresh and springy. As soon as the tip of the tooth touches the squid meat, it can't wait to pop open. The taste is between tendons and crispy bones, and it is extremely delicious.

Probably because Xiamen cuisine is relatively light, the ingredients for this plate of squid are only a little onion, ginger, and chili. It seems that there is no soy sauce, and the chili is purely a decoration, not spicy at all.

This is fine, it is light and retains its original taste, and the deliciousness of the main ingredients can cover up other shortcomings.

After coming back from Xiamen, I always looked for "small tubes" in the market, but the results were all semi-finished products made of soaked dry goods. They were lifeless and daunting. Today, I accidentally found someone selling chilled squid, and there were large ones. Although it is not as fresh as the one in Xiamen, it is still good.

Things are rare and expensive, so everyone came to join in the fun. The boss asked for a high price, thirty-one kilograms, which was better than the ribs. I still picked the two kilograms big one, but I found out that the boss was underweight, so I thought twice. Ichiban, fifty-seven yuan per pound.

The squid traveled a long way to come to us, so I had to do as the locals do, so I carefully prepared millet peppers, garlic sprouts, and lettuce to go with it. It's fragrant when served, but not as crispy as Xiamen's. A closer look shows that the meat is too thick. Instead of the "small tube", it's clearly the "big tube". From this point of view, the taste of squid is better. Short and sweet.

Even with its flaws, this plate of "big tubes of scallion oil" was quickly swept away, with half of it left in the kitchen. Everyone agreed that they should cut it thinner next time to make it taste more tender. . I asked to add some vinegar to bring out the spicy and sour taste of the squid, but no one responded, so I had to give up.

However, whether it is spicy or sour or fragrant with green onions, it does not taste like that day in Xiamen. Sure enough, food also has to pay attention to artistic conception, haha.