Oyster Omelette (O-a-chian)

The oyster omelette, also called o-a-chian, is a Minnan classic: small fresh oysters folded into a loose sweet-potato-starch batter with egg, scallion and garlic, then pan-fried into a cake that is crisp at the edges and tender within.

With little farmland but a generous sea, Xiamen long counted oysters among its biggest harvests, while its thin, dry soils suited sweet potato. Marrying the two from what lay close at hand, Minnan cooks created a dish that reads like a map of the local land and water.

Cooked to order and eaten hot, often with a sweet-chili dip, it is a fixture of Xiamen night markets and snack shops, and a common side at a full meal.

Its hallmark is contrast—plump, briny oysters and a soft starch batter against a lacy, fried-crisp edge; a good one tastes of fat oysters and fragrant egg.