Oyster Omelette

Oyster omelette is a griddled snack that mixes fresh oysters with sweet-potato starch batter, egg and leafy greens such as baby bok choy or chrysanthemum greens, fried into a pancake that is crisp at the edge and soft and chewy within, drizzled with a sweet chilli or haishan sauce.

Oyster omelette originated on the Fujian coast and flourished after crossing to Taiwan; folklore says that during Koxinga's time, when his troops were short of food, they fried the island's abundant oysters with sweet-potato starch to stave off hunger. It has since become one of the most classic Taiwan night-market snacks, the oysters of Tainan's Anping prized above all.

Fried to order at a night-market stall and eaten hot with a bamboo skewer, the sweet chilli sauce meeting the brine of the oysters, it is a must-taste bite when walking Taipei's night markets.

The chewy bounce from the sweet-potato starch, the briny freshness of the oysters and the singular sweet-chilli sauce are the vivid marks of oyster omelette.