Hong Kong Deep-Fried Oyster Pancake 港式炸蠔餅 (Cantonese: gong sik zha ho beng) is one of my favourite Hong Kong street foods. The batter is light, airy and crispy. I love the soft and sweet oysters with lots of aromatic fried green onions. The MSG makes it over the top good!
This dish stems from the Chaozhou pan-fried oyster pancake 蠔烙 (ho lok). The pan-fried oyster pancake uses sweet potato starch for the batter and you get a soft texture with a little bit of chewiness. In the Hong Kong version, flour replaces the sweet potato starch. They also add oil to the batter to get the light and airy texture. And of course, how can you go wrong with deep-frying it? It’s a flavour and texture explosion in your mouth!
Even when I was in Hong Kong in December 2019, I couldn’t find this dish during the day. Apparently, the street restaurants that make this are open only in the evenings and I didn’t get a chance to have it. With the pandemic still going on, it may be a while before we can go to Hong Kong again. With this in mind, I was determined to make my own Hong Kong Deep-Fried Oyster Pancake 港式炸蠔餅.
This dish usually uses small oysters 蠔仔 (ho zai), but here in Vancouver, I’ve only seen frozen small oysters. I’ve tried using these frozen oysters, but they’re pretty flavourless. I’d rather use the fresh local larger ones and then cut them into small pieces. If you have access to fresh small oysters, definitely use those for this dish.
After a few attempts, I have finally made a simple yet delicious batter. In my Hong Kong Deep-Fried Oyster Pancake 港式炸蠔餅 recipe, I’ll show you how to make this seemingly difficult dish right in your own kitchen. You’ll be pleasantly surprised, just as I was, at how good it tastes. It’s just like on the streets of Hong Kong!
Check out my Hong Kong Cafe recipe section for more HK classics!
Hong Kong Deep-Fried Oyster Pancake 港式炸蠔餅
Ingredients
- 660 g Oyster meat (22 oz)
- 2 tbsp Corn starch for washing oysters
- 5 stalks Green onions
- 3 tbsp All-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp Corn starch
- 3 tbsp Oil
- 1 Large egg
- 100 ml Water
- 1 tsp Fish sauce
- ½ tsp Salt
- ¼ tsp Baking powder
- 1 L Oil for frying
- Small bunch Cilantro (optional)
Seasoning Ingredients:
- ¼ tsp White pepper powder
- ¼ tsp Black pepper powder
- ¼ tsp Chicken broth powder or MSG
- ¼ tsp Sugar
Dipping Sauce Ingredients:
- 2 Red chilies , chopped
- 1 tbsp Fish sauce
- 1 tbsp Sugar
- 1 tbsp White vinegar
Instructions
*If you’re using small oysters, no need for step 4
- Rinse oysters
- Add 2 tbsp corn starch to the oysters and mix and rub them gently. You want the impurities to be absorbed by the cornstarch. Sometimes adding a little bit of water will help the cornstarch adhere
- Rinse each oyster separately and then rinse it 1-2 more times together. Set aside
- For large oysters that need to be cut into small pieces: bring a pot of water to a boil. Add oysters and boil until cooked. This may take 30 seconds to 3 minutes, depending on the size of your oysters and the amount of water in your pot. Remove the oysters from the water and let it drain in a colander or sieve
- Combine the seasoning ingredients (1/4 tsp white pepper powder, ¼ tsp black pepper powder, ¼ tsp chicken broth powder and ¼ tsp sugar) into a small container and set aside
- Make dipping sauce by heating up 1 tbsp fish sauce and dissolve 1 tbsp sugar into it. Once sugar is dissolved, turn off heat. Add 2 chopped chilies and 1 tbsp white vinegar. Set aside
- Make the batter by mixing 3 tbsp flour, 2 tbsp corn starch, ¼ tsp baking powder, 1 tsp fish sauce, ½ salt, 3 tbsp oil and 1 large egg. Mix well
- Chop green onions and add to the batter
If adding cilantro, you can chop it up with the green onions and add to batter together - Cut the oysters into your preferred size, pat dry and add to the batter. Mix well
- Heat 1L oil to 160˚C or 325˚F
- Use a ladle to scoop the batter and pour into the oil. This batter is quite delicate so don’t flip it until it solidifies.
You can make the pancakes any size you’d like but they are easier to control when they’re smaller in size. Little bits will break off during frying, but they’re still delicious. Just be sure to remove them from the oil as they will burn - Use a ladle to pour some hot oil on the top of the oyster pancake to help cook the tops. Do not over crowd. Fry in batches
- Fry until golden colour. It will take approx. 3-5 minutes
- Remove from oil
- Use a small sieve to help sprinkle the seasoning powder onto the oyster pancake while it’s still hot so that the sugar can dissolve
- Repeat steps 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 until all the batter is fried
- Serve with dipping sauce
The Oyster Pancake recipe I have been looking for a long time. The flavor is on point! My family definitely enjoyed it when I made it for dinner. Reminds me so much about the ones my a-ma would make growing up. I think my batter was a little more wet since it didn't hold the oysters together when frying. Just gotta work on my patience in frying them up in batches. Would definitely make again.
Hi Hannah, deep-fried oyster pancake is absolutely on my top 10 list! So glad you like the recipe! Happy cooking!