An egg-and-starch batter pan-fried to crisp, lacy edges with a chewy, gooey centre, scattered with plump fresh oysters. The Teochew char style, prized for the contrast between crispy fringe and soft middle.
Orh luak is the Singapore hawker oyster omelette, brought by Teochew and Hokkien immigrants. The Teochew char style, with its crisp, lacy edges and a chewy, gooey centre scattered with plump fresh oysters, is the canonical Singapore version, prized for the contrast between crispy fringe and soft middle. It is a fixture of every hawker centre's fried-food stalls, eaten with a tangy lime-chilli dip.
Crisp, lacy, almost glassy edges giving way to a chewy, egg-rich, starchy middle bursting with briny fresh oysters. Dipped in lime-chilli, it is crisp, briny, gooey and the decadent face of hawker frying.
The batter is a mix of eggs and sweet potato or rice starch, which gives the chewy, gooey texture and lets the edges fry crisp and lacy. The batter is poured into very hot oil and fried until the edges crisp and the middle sets soft. The fresh oysters are added at the very end, warming through without overcooking. The high heat and the starch-egg ratio are what build the crisp-gooey contrast that defines the dish.
Variations
A crispier version fries longer. Some add garlic chives to the batter.
On the Palate
Where Orh Luak sits in the Singaporean flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
6 steps · 25 min
- 14 min
Mix 4 eggs with 60g sweet potato starch and 100ml water to a smooth batter.
- 22 min
Heat 4 tbsp oil in a flat pan until shimmering; pour in the batter and spread thin.
Watch outSpread the batter thin the moment it hits the oil so it laces and crisps instead of steaming into a thick pancake.
- 35 min
Fry over high heat 3 minutes until the edges are crisp, lacy and golden.
Watch outWait for the edges to go golden and lacy-crisp before touching it — that ragged crackle is the whole point of the dish.
- 43 min
Scatter 150g fresh oysters over the soft centre; cook 1 minute more just to warm them.
Watch outAdd the oysters only at the very end and pull them off in about a minute — the second they plump and turn opaque they're done, any longer and they toughen and weep.
- 52 min
Add a handful of chopped coriander and garlic chives.
- 62 min
Slide onto a plate; serve hot with a lime-chilli dip.
