Oyster omelette

O-a-tsian
(Oyster omelette)
Course	Breakfast, lunch, and dinner
Place of origin	Minnan region and Chaoshan, China
Created by	Hokkien and Teochew people)
	Media: O-a-tsian; (Oyster omelette);

The oyster omelette, also known as o-a-tsian (Chinese: 蚵仔煎; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ô-á-chian), o-chien (Chinese: 蚵煎; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ô-chian) or orh luak (simplified Chinese: 蚝烙; traditional Chinese: 蠔烙; Peng'im: o⁵ luah⁴), is a dish of Min Nan (Hokkien and Teochew) origin that is renowned for its savory flavor in its native Minnan region and Chaoshan, along with Taiwan and many parts of Southeast Asia, such as Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia or Singapore, due to the influence of the Hokkien and Teochew diaspora.

Ingredients

The dish consists of an omelette with a filling primarily composed of small Pacific oysters. Starch (typically sweet potato starch) is mixed into the egg batter, giving the resulting egg wrap a thicker consistency.^[1] Pork lard is often used to fry the resulting omelet. Depending on regional variations, a savory sauce may then be poured on top of the omelette for added taste.^{[citation needed]}

Spicy or chili sauce mixed with lime juice is often added to provide an intense kick. Shrimp can sometimes be substituted in place of oysters; in this case, it is called shrimp omelette (蝦仁煎).^[2]^{[failed verification]}

Names

In different Chinese languages, the "oyster omelette" is known by various names in different Chinese geographical regions.

Chinese name	Pronunciations in different spoken variations	Geographical areas that use such a name
蠔烙	In Teochew: o⁵ luah⁴ In Mandarin: háo lào/luò	In Chaoshan region and overseas communities connected to the region.
蚵仔煎	In Hokkien and Taiwanese Hokkien: ô-á-chian In Mandarin: ézǎi jiān	Southern Fujian, Taiwan, and Philippines
蚵煎	In Hokkien: ô-chian In Mandarin: hé jiān	Southern Fujian, Malaysia, Singapore, and Philippines
牡蠣煎	In Hokkien: bó͘-lē-chian In Mandarin: mǔlì jiān	Most areas of mainland China
海蠣煎	In Hokkien: hái-lē-chian In Mandarin: hǎilì jiān	Southern Fujian
蠔煎	In Cantonese: hòuh jīn In Mandarin: háo jiān	Chaoshan, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia
煎蠔餅	In Cantonese: jīn hòuh béng In Hakka: Tsiên-hàu-piáng (Pha̍k-fa-sṳ) In Mandarin: jiān háo bǐng	Hong Kong, Macau and neighboring Liangguang
蠔仔餠	In Cantonese: hòuh jái béng In Hakka: hàu-tsái-piáng (Pha̍k-fa-sṳ) In Mandarin: háo zǐ bǐng	Hong Kong, Macau and the Pearl River Delta
蠔仔煎	In Cantonese: hòuh jái jīn In Hakka: hàu-tsái-tsiên In Mandarin: háo zǐ jiān	Hong Kong, Macau and the Pearl River Delta

Thailand

In Thailand known as hoi thot (Thai: หอยทอด; lit: "fried shellfish"), it was adapted to mussel omelettes (hoi malaeng phu thot, Thai: หอยแมลงภู่ทอด), though the original oyster version (hot nang rom thot, Thai: หอยนางรมทอด) also popular but more expensive. In Bangkok, notable areas for oyster omelettes include Talat Wang Lang near Siriraj Hospital and Wang Lang (Siriraj) Pier in Bangkok Noi where there are two restaurants,^[3]^[4] Yaowarat neighborhood, where there is one Michelin-Bib Gourmand restaurant^[5]^[6] with Charoen Krung neighborhood in Bang Rak, among others.^[7]^[8] In 2017, the World Street Food Congress announced that oyster omelette is one of the three most notable street foods among the street foods of Thailand.^[9]