Oyster Cake (Hawker Style) DIY Recipe (w/ Step by Step instruction)

I LOVE oyster cake, also known as Owa Jian. This is cooked in multiple styles – the most common one found in the Philippines and in Chinese restaurants is kind of like this egg omelet with oysters dotted all throughout (although they’re normally SUPER stingy with the oysters)

Whereas when you go to Taiwan or Singapore or Malaysia, you get these hawker style oyster cakes, where the omelet is mixed with this glutinous substance, which makes this crispy yet gooey batter, and the oysters aren’t necessarily IN the omelet, if you know what I mean.

My mom already makes a great egg omelet with oyster, so I decided I should learn how to make the hawker style oyster cake. Took me several tries, but I think I am now pretty happy with the results, and it’s ready for sharing at last!

DELECTABLE DISH FOR THE DAY: OYSTER CAKE (HAWKER STYLE)

DIFFICULTY: Easy

SERVING SIZE: Good for 5 people

COOKING TIME: 30 minutes (but the actual prep time aka cleaning the oysters takes ONE HOUR)

INGREDIENTS FOR OYSTER CAKE (Hawker Style)

All ingredients below are enough for SIX servings. Just divide accordingly if you’re cooking for less.

One serving = One person’s meal for my family.

Oyster mix

~50 medium-size oysters (around 600g fresh oysters)
12 large eggs beaten
3 tsp fish sauce

Batter mixture

180 gr tapioca flour
60 gr all-purpose flour
60 gr potato starch (or sweet potato starch)
600 ml water
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS TO MAKE OYSTER CAKE

Clean the oyster

This is SUPER painful, but it needs to be done. Drain the oyster of the water, then place it in a large bowl filled with water. Use your hand to mix it around and get rid of the dirt, then drain.
Handle the oysters one by one, and clean gently. If any shells remain, clinging onto the oyster meat, gently disentangle

Prepare the batter first

Place all these ingredients into a large bowl and mix

- 180 gr tapioca flour
- 60 gr all-purpose flour
- 60 gr potato starch (or sweet potato starch)
- 600 ml water
- 2 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp salt

Prepare the eggs

Just crack the 12 eggs onto a bowl and beat them so they’re well mixed

Cooking (I recommend cooking 1 serving at a time, because it does take some trial and error):

Drain off any excess liquid from the oyster and pat dry (I skip this step though, no idea if it’s critical)
Pre-heat a non-stick pan. Add oil. Give your batter mixture a stir as the starches (flour etc) have a tendency to settle at the bottom.

Pour about 2 ladles of the batter onto the pan and swirl around to spread the batter thin. If your pan is small, stick to 1 ladle of the batter instead. You want to make sure the batter is spread thin so you can fry until the edges are crispy, and the middle is still slightly soft and gooey

Afterwards, add half a ladle of the beaten egg and add it on top of the thin batter. Fry until the eggs are starting to solidify but still slightly wet.

Once that happens, flip to the other side and add another half ladle of the eggs until they’re set

Once you’re happy with the results, I like to make indents onto the batter/omelet, where I want my oyster to go in. Alternatively, you can just push the existing batter/omelet onto the side

Fill your ladle 1/2 full with the batter mixture, add around 8 pcs of oyster plus some fish sauce. Pour this onto the pan and quickly stir fry for ~30 seconds. The oysters cook really fast so don’t overdo.
Once done, dish onto a serving platter. We like to eat our oyster cake with a dollop of ketchup or chili sauce.

Bon Appetit!

Goldie Goes Global