July 15, 2021

Thai Crispy Oyster Pancake

This is my version of Hoi Tod – หอยทอด – AKA Thai crispy oyster pancake. If you are unfamiliar with this dish, think of it as somewhere between a savory pancake and an omelet. It is not unlike a Korean seafood pancake with the addition of eggs, a crispy/chewy batter, and a zesty, spicy sauce to accompany it. I have been lucky to taste a number of these pancakes in Bangkok, as well as many Malaysian and Taiwanese versions. I have taken what I like from these different examples and come up with this recipe.

There are four primary components to this dish; the batter, the egg, the oysters, and the sauce. Besides these components, there are just a few bean sprouts and herbs for garnish. The dish is prepared in a large, well-seasoned cast-iron or non-stick pan. The batter is cooked in a thin and uneven layer in a bit of oil. It is then formed into a rough pancake shape as it cooks. When the batter is crispy and almost completely cooked, a couple of eggs are broken onto the pancake and allowed to cook. This crispy, eggy pancake is placed on a bed of lightly wilted bean sprouts along with fresh oysters that are quickly stir-fried with garlic. The dish is finished with herbs and a zesty chili-garlic sauce.

The omelet starts with a very thin batter that is spread in a thin, rough layer on the bottom of a non-stick pan. It is then formed into its smaller, final shape and cooked with egg.

The Batter

The batter for this dish is quite simple. Rice flour, tapioca starch, water, sugar, fish sauce, scallions, and salt. The rice flour gives the batter its crispiness, the tapioca starch adds chew, the fish sauce adds flavor, and the sugar lends a touch of sweetness and aids in browning, Make sure to use regular rice flour for this dish, not mochiko, mochi, or sweet/glutinous rice flour.

Other tasty dishes:

Thai Crispy Oyster Pancake – หอยทอด

Ian Benites

A crispy Thai-style oyster pancake.

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Prep Time 25

Cook Time 5

Course Snack

Cuisine Thai

Servings 1 pancake

Equipment

large non-stick skillet OR a large well-seasoned cast-iron skillet

Ingredients

Pancake Batter

1/3 cup water
4 Tbsp rice flour (do not use mochi/mochiko rice flour or sweet/glutinous rice flour)
2 Tbsp tapioca starch
.5 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar
.5 tsp kosher salt
1/2 of a whole scallion, thinly sliced (green and white parts ok)

Chili-Garlic sauce

1.5 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp finely chopped red Thai bird chili
1 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp white distilled vinegar
2 Tbsp ketchup
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar

Finished dish

1 scant cup bean sprouts
2 large eggs, cracked into a small bowl
8-16 fresh, live, oysters (as few or as many oysters as you like)
1 large clove garlic, chopped
1/4 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1/2 of a whole scallion, thinly sliced (green and white parts ok)
about 6-7 Tbsp neutral flavored cooking oil (canola, vegetable, corn….etc)
salt

Instructions

Make the sauce

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Set sauce aside.

Make the batter

Whisk together all of the batter ingredients. Set batter aside.

Prepare the oysters

Carefully shuck the oysters. Make sure to discard any shell fregments.
Place the oysters in a small bowl and pour off any excess oyster liquor. Put the chopped clove of garlic on top of the oysters and set aside.

Final Assembly

Make sure you have the batter mixed, eggs cracked, sauce made, oysters shucked, and herbs cut before beginning to cook.
Heat up a large nonstick skillet or a well-seasoned cast-iron pan over medium-high heat. If you are using cast-iron, it is very important that the pan is seasoned to the point of being non-stick. When the pan is hot, add 1 tsp neutral oil to the pan as well as the bean sprouts. Season with a pinch of salt and cook until the bean sprouts are very lightly wilted, about 1 minute.
Place the lightly wilted bean sprouts in the center of a serving plate. The oyster omelet will be placed on top of these bean sprouts.
Wipe out the pan and add about 5 Tbsp neutral oil. Keep pan on medium-high heat.
The next few steps will take place quickly. When the oil is shimmering, stir the batter well and then pour in a thin layer all over the pan.
Let the batter cook for about 10-20 seconds or until is has started to set around the edges but the middle and top are still a bit undercooked. You can tell the parts that are undercooked because they look a bit more opaque.
Before it sets up completely, use a spatula to slightly break up the pancake and then push it in on itself to form an approximately 5-inch diameter pancake. The pancake should look a bit rough and it is ok if there are holes in the pancake. The reason for breaking it up a bit is to create more nooks and crannies to get crispy as it cooks in oil.
Allow the pancake to cook for about 2-3 minutes over medium-high heat or until the bottom and edges start to get crispy and there is almost no raw batter left on top. Make sure there is enough oil in the pan to allow the pancake to crisp. Add more oil to the pan if necessary. Run the spatula underneath the pancake to ensure it is not stuck to the pan.
When the batter has crisped, place the 2 raw eggs on top of the pancake. It is ok if the eggs fall off the edges of the pancake.
Immediately break up the eggs with the spatula and spread the broken egg mixture all over the top of the pancake. Egg will inevitably spill over the sides of the pancake. That is ok. Simply use the spatula to pull the eggs back towards the pancake and "shape" the finished pancake. Try to move the raw egg in a way that fills in any holes or cracks in the pancake. Let the pancake cook like this until the egg is about 80% cooked, 1-2 more minutes.
When the egg is 80% cooked, Flip the pancake over.
As soon as you have flipped the pancake, make sure there is a little oil on the other side of the pan and add the oysters and garlic.
Stir fry the oysters for about 10-15 seconds, or until they start to just barely cook and firm up. Do not allow the oyster to stay in the pan longer than 30 seconds. Get ready to quickly remove the pancake and the oysters from the pan.
Place the pancake on top of the wilted beans sprouts. Scatter the oysters on top of the pancake and then scatter the scallions and cilantro on top of everything. Drizzle the pancake with half of the sauce and keep the rest of the sauce on the side to add as you eat.