A Timeworn Classic Snack That Teeters Between Our History And Modernity [ Food Week: Hawker Food ] When we think of hawker food, the usual suspects likely come to mind: Laksa, hokkien mee, mee siam, briyani etc. Rarely — for me at least — does my mind wander towards snacks sold in hawker centres like rojak, savoury kueh, tutu kueh, apam balik, and other snacks that make up my childhood.
And usually when I get one as a treat from my folks, I rarely bother to document the moment, feeling like a between-meal indulgence doesn’t warrant enough significance to be immortalised in my food dairy.
This Phase 2, while we are seeing a profusion of heartfelt adoration for hawker stalls, many of their neighbours who sell desserts or small bites tend to slip under the radar. After all, when we think of hawkers, most of us associate them with our major meals of the day — everything else is filtered by the feathered edges of the hours that revolve around proper breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I struggled to find a snack that would induce a similar effusion of ardour. Hopefully this uncommon treat — that teeters on the precipice of extinction — can remind us to support hawkers who devote their time and craft to perfecting small bites that tide us until our next meal.
This, my friends, is the Fuzhou oyster cake (aka the aptly named UFO oyster cake). Brought to Singapore by Fuzhou immigrants, this is a rather laborious treat to make, consisting of a thin, fried shell of batter made from rice (sometimes blended with soya beans) encapsulating a potpourri of minced meat and cilantro, pierced with the occasional oyster (or whichever other topping you prefer), and finally dusted with fried peanuts and/or anchovies.
It smells absolutely amazing — the rich brine of the meat-oyster combination is tempered by gentle whiffs of sweet rice batter, melded into a coherent whole by the bite of cilantro and weight of oil.
And yes, it’s as — and likely even more — sinful than it looks.
There are several big names that still serve excellent Fuzhou Oyster Cakes. Each has its own signature, but they all share the same denominator: Crisp and fragrant shell of burnished bronze, a generous dollop of filling, accompanied by fresh and succulent seafood/oyster.
