Taste Xiamen - Oyster Omelet

Xiamen is gearing up to hold the meeting of so-called BRICS nations that include Brazil, Russia, India and South Africa as well as China, in the three days up to Sept. 5.

Oyster omelet is one of the classic snacks of South Fujian. Sweet potato flour is mixed with water to create a paste in which local oyster is stirred along with beaten eggs, scallions and garlic. It is then shallow fried to produce a tasty omelet crispy on the outside but smooth on the inside.

According to a folk legend, in 1661, Chinese national hero Zheng Chenggong led an army from Lu'ermen to attack Tainan, which was occupied by Dutch troops. Zheng’s army crushed the Dutch, and in desperation, the Dutch troops hid all the grain. The troops were soon short of food, but Zheng Chenggong, showing resourcefulness in an emergency, decided they might as well make the most of local resources. He took some of the local oysters, mixed them with sweet potato flour, and fried them up into an omelet. Little did he imagine that this dish would eventually attain tremendous popularity.