Known as orh chien in Hokkien and orh luak in Teochew, oyster omelette is like a minor luxury as it costs more than a typical serving of noodles in Singapore and Malaysia. The dish is still commonly found in Singapore though not every hawker centre has an orh chien or orh luak stall. Most Teochew or Hokkien restaurants have oyster omelette on their menu as it is popular among Singaporeans.
Though a slightly premium hawker dish today, orh chien / orh luak was actually created during famine in southern China. The dish helped fed people during famine and survived in the cuisine of southern China (and Southeast Asia) to this day.
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| Photo credit: Wikipedia |
Besides oyster, of course - another of the defining ingredients of traditional Fujian and Chaoshan, Guangdong oyster omelette is sweet potato starch.
According to legend, sweet potatoes were first brought to China from Luzon (the Philippines) by 陳振龍 Chen Zhenlong in 1597 (21st year of 萬曆帝 Emperor Wanli of Ming Dynasty). Aspiring scholar Chen Zhenlong, unsuccessful in the Imperial exams, gave up and became a trader which took him to the Philippines.
The Philippines was under Spanish rule at that time and the colonialists brought sweet potatoes from Central America to the Philippines. At that time, the Spaniards prohibited export of sweet potatoes. Chen Zhenlong seeing the opportunity in the hardy and adaptable crop risked his life to smuggle a section of sweet potato vine to Fujian.
As Chen Zhenlong hoped, sweet potatoes, soon became popular in Fujian and Guangdong provinces as the hardy vegetable could grow even during drought and in poor hilly soil. During the Qing dynasty (1636 - 1911), sweet potato spread across China as a solution to rice crop failures and famine. In order not to waste food, unused sweet potatoes were made into powder for longer storage (in the old days, food security is a matter of life and death).
When famine struck, people in Fujian and Chaoshan (Guangdong) created a pancake with oysters, sweet potato starch and eggs. Oysters were plentiful off the coasts of Fujian and Guangdong. In orh luak / orh chien the sweet potato starch is the necessary carb in the dish, so it is not strictly speaking an omelette. Affordable and nutritious, the oyster omelette dish became a staple in Fujian and Chaoshan which stood the test of time.
Another legend has it that Ming dynasty general Koxinga (Zheng Chenggong 鄭成功) was sent to evict the Dutch from Formosa (today's Taiwan) in 1661. To starve their enemies, the Dutch kept supplies, especially rice away from Koxinga's forces. To feed his troops, Koxinga created a dish of oysters mixed with sweet potato starch which was fried into pancakes. The oyster pancakes helped Ming forces drove the Dutch out of Formosa.
A common thread between the Chen Zhenlong and Koxinga legends is sweet potato starch was used to replace rice during rice shortages.
Over the centuries, many versions of fried oyster omelette have emerged in Fujian and Guangdong, but the basic ingredients remain. Fried oyster omelette will always have oysters, starch, eggs, sauce and oil.
Some hawkers (not many) do serve a version without starch known as orh neng 蠔蛋 which is literally, truly oyster omelette. There's also a version from Chaoshan with oyster, eggs and minimum starch known as orh swung 蠔爽.
Traditional oyster omelette use duck eggs or a combination of duck and chicken eggs. Most oyster omelette today use only chicken eggs.
In the old days, only lard is used and preferably lard from a pig's head which is the most aromatic. Nowadays, it is common to find oyster omelette fried with vegetable oil and no lard.
Traditional Teochew oyster omelette uses fish sauce for its savoury umami flavour. Hokkien oyster omelette do not have fish sauce. Nowadays, some hawkers use oyster sauce, chili sauce, etc.
In Chaoshan, Guangdong, large oysters, chopped scallion, eggs (chicken or duck) and thick potato starch are mixed in a bowl. The concoction is poured onto a flat pan with a shallow pool of lard making the oyster omelette look like a pancake. The oyster pancake is then fried in the pool of sizzling lard till the outside is crisp golden brown while the inside remain softly chewy and juicy. The pancake is served with garnish of coriander and a puff of powdered pepper. The 蚝烙 orh luak is eaten with fish sauce dip.
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| Image courtesy of National Archives of Singapore |
When migrant labourers from Fujian and Chaoshan came to British Malaya between 1830s and 1930s, they brought their cuisine with them, including orh chien / orh luak. Fried oyster omelette remains popular to this day and is an important part of Singapore's hawker culture.
In Penang, the sweet potato starch, chopped scallion and eggs are fried in a pan of lard till the outside is crisp and the starch-egg mix turned soft-tender chewy like small pieces of 果 kueh or "cake". Oysters are stir fried with a portion of the fried starch-egg kueh and served together in a heap when the oysters are done.
In Johor Bahru, sweet potato starch is first splashed onto the sizzling lard greased flat pan, followed by eggs which are beaten while on the hot pan. The starch and egg concoction is fried till the outside is browned. Oysters mixed with starch and chopped scallion is then added to the pan and stir fried briefly with a portion of the fried starch and egg (there's more egg than starch). Transfer together to serving plate when the oysters are done.
There are many variations and interpretations of orh chien / orh luak within each country, even city but the basic defining ingredients remain - oyster, starch, eggs and oil.
Orh chien stalls in Singapore
Toa Payoh Ah Chuan Fried Oyster Omelette 👈 click
Lim's Fried Oyster 👈 click
Written by Tony Boey on 18 Sep 2022
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