Deep fried oysters are often associated with Chinese New Year, but a recipe this good should be enjoyed all year round! The oysters are crunchy on the outside and sweet and salty in the inside, just scrumptious!
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
- 20 Colchester Rock Oysters
- 120g plain flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- Pinch of ground white pepper
- Pinch garlic powder
- Pinch onion powder
- Pinch of salt
- 500ml vegetable oil for frying
- 75ml ice cold sparkling water
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- Iceberg lettuce shredded
- 1 spring onions finely chopped
For the dipping sauce
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- Pinch salt
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornflour
Open the oysters and tip away any liquid in the shells. If you aren't confident opening oyster, buy our Colchester Pyefleet Oysters that are pre-shucked.
Remove the oyster meat in a colander and let all the liquid drain away. The shells can be discarded or cleaned if you want to use them to present your oysters.
To make the dipping sauce add a splash of water to the corn flour and mix to combine. In small saucepan add the ketchup, soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt, sugar and the cornflour and water. Mix well and heat to a simmer. You can adjust the sauce to your own tastes by adding more vinegar to make it more tart, more sugar to make it sweeter or more cornflour and water mix to make it thicker.
Prepare the batter by mixing 50g flour, baking powder, white pepper, garlic and onion powders and salt until well combined.
Heat the oil to about 170C in a small but deep pot.
Right before you are about to start cooking the oysters, add the sparkling water to the dry batter mix and mix quickly until smooth, then add in the sesame oil and mix again.
Pat the oyster dry and dip each one into the batter so it's fully coated and scrape off any excess batter.
Check the temperature of your oil and if ready lower the oyster halfway into the oil and swirl it for 2 to 3 seconds then drop it into the oil to prevent it from sticking.
Lift the oysters out of the pan with a slotted spoon when golden brown all over and place on some kitchen roll to drain.
Fry the oysters in batches depending on their size and the size of your pan, as you don't want to overcrowd your pan or the temperature of the oil will drop too low.
To serve, place the oysters on a bed of sliced Iceberg lettuce or place the oysters back in their shells and sprinkle over the chopped spring onions. Serve with the dipping sauce nice and warm.
One final word of warning, the deep fried oysters are delicious and incredibly moorish so whilst we say this serves 4 it's only 5 oyster each, you may want to make more!