How to make an oyster omelette, also called an oyster pancake – hawker-style

Oyster omelette, also called oyster pancake, differs according to where you eat it, and from cook to cook, even within the same country.

In Singapore and Taiwan, it tends to be sticky and stretchy due to the addition of sweet potato starch; in other places, the oysters are barely held together by the most delicate of batters, and they are deep-fried, rather than pan-fried. Sometimes, the tiniest baby oysters – about 1cm long – are used while other cooks choose plumper, larger and more succulent oysters that are about 3cm long.

Oyster omelette

In addition to the various styles of omelette, this dish also varies in presentation. Restaurants tend to serve neat, perfectly circular oyster omelettes while the street-food versions made by hawkers – who often cook several orders at once on a large flat griddle – can look a little messy, even if they are just as delicious. My version looks more like the hawker omelettes – in other words, a little untidy.

An un-enamelled cast-iron skillet is the best pan for getting the desired crispy edge and bottom of the omelette, which contrasts with the soft interior. The crispness is harder to achieve using a non-stick skillet. It is important that you don’t crowd the pan; I make mine one at a time in a 30cm skillet. If you are serving more than one person, and you want to eat at the same time, use two skillets or a large griddle.

This version was taught to me by Tass, an excellent Thai cook. It doesn’t contain sweet potato starch (also called sweet potato flour), although you can add it if you like – use it sparingly, in place of some of the cornstarch. Tass says that in Thailand, it’s usually made with mussels, and it’s called hoi tod (fried mussels). I prefer it with oysters.