Another Simple Hawker Dish– Oyster Omelette (耗蛋，耗煎）

INTRODUCTION

This is another type of hawker food commonly found in Singapore..It is sold usually together with those stalls that sell the fried carrot cake. This is another of our favourite hawker dish of Teochew origin.

There are many versions of oyster pancakes. It can be thin or crispy (as in Kuching) or it can be soft and gooey (Melaka and Penang). It can be a version whereby most of the pancake were made from tapioca starch with less eggs called O Luak or O jian (耗煎) or a version whereby it is stir fried with eggs called O neng (耗蛋）. What I am sharing today is the version that uses mostly eggs and less tapioca flour. In my humble opinion, a good oyster omelette should have a balance of crispy eggs and soft oysters that are not overcooked.

“Oyster omelette is a Chinese dish that is widely known in Taiwan, Fujian, and many parts of Asia for its savory taste. Variations of the dish preside in some southern regions of China although the actual taste and appearance of these can vary by a lot from the original version from Taiwan. Oyster Omelette is often sold in night markets, and has constantly been ranked by many foreigners as the top cuisine from Taiwan. It is also popular in other places with Chaozhou and Fujianese influences such as in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand. （http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oyster_omelette）”

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: About 2-3 adults

A handful of fresh oysters or defrosted frozen oysters
Some spring onion (chopped separately for the white portion and green portion)
2 cloves of garlics (not in picture)
2 tablespoons of tapioca starch or corn starch or sweet potato starch
1 tablespoon of rice flour
2 teaspoons of fish sauce (鱼露）
1/2 teaspoon of white pepper
2 tablespoons of the cooking oil
10 tablespoons of water
4 eggs, light beaten
Some sprigs for coriander leaves for garnish

STEPS OF PREPARATION

Defrost the frozen oysters completely, wash carefully in cold water and drain well.

Mix the tapioca/corn starch and rice flour together with the water and make a watery starchy solution. Set aside for later use.

Heat the shallow flat frying pan with 2 tablespoons of oil. Stir fry the white portion of the spring onion and garlic until fragrant. Pour in the starch solution until the batter is half cooked (about 15 seconds). Add in the beaten eggs and when the eggs are almost cooked (set), add in seasonings such as fish sauce and white pepper. Stir until well mixed. Add in the fresh oysters, stir fry for another one minute. Off the heat and garnish with coriander leaves or spring onions. Best served hot as a snack with home made chilli sauce or additional fish sauce dusted with white pepper.

CONCLUSION

A very simple dish. Nothing to shout about. If you like the tapioca flour, do add a bit more and use less eggs to become O Jian. Remember that only add the oyster at the very last step to prevent over cooked. Oyster can get cooked within 30 seconds. Do give it a try.

Hope you like the post today. Cheers and have a nice day

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