Tuck into this Teochew version of the classic Fuzhou oyster cake that's replete with delicious pork and seafood filling, even though it's undeniably a crispy calorie bomb!
The oyster cake, or some call it the "UFO oyster cake" because of its cute resemblance to a flying saucer, is a traditional Fuzhou deep-fried street food that's been around in Singapore's hawker food scene forever. In fact, I believe I can safely say that, growing up, most of us would have eaten this delicious snack at least once, if not always.
Even though it's a sinfully oily snack on the go, the oyster cake packs some quite unique flavours that you'd never be able to taste in any other fritters you'll find here in Singapore.
The original ingredients in an oyster cake are simple: oysters; minced pork; Chinese celery; the batter that goes into making the crispy jacket of the fritter; and a couple of fried peanuts to top off the "UFO". It's a sure recipe for a quick umami treat!
So what's the Teochew twist here?
It turns out that there's no Teochew twist to these fritters at all! The only reason why the business is called the "Teochew Meat Puff" (TMP) is simply because the business was started by the boss himself, who is a Singaporean Teochew, and he'd prefer to call it a "meat puff" instead. LOL!
"But the customers keep coming back. So there may well be certain differentiators that they prefer in my rendition to the others?" the business owner asserts and reveals that he has been at his craft for more than 30 years and counting.
But if you ask me, his Teochew twist is that he's definitely made his meat puffs larger than the other versions out there, with more ingredients inside (a lot more pork especially), plus a perfectly deep-fried case that's soft but firmer than the others on the inside, and super crispy on the outside.
Of course, his courage to launch meat puffs containing various creative filling (which saw success somehow) could also be his uniqueness to own.
Currently, he serves up meat puffs of six different flavours at his stall, namely: the classic Oyster-Pork Meat Puff; Scallop-Pork Meat Puff; Prawn-Pork Meat Puff; Octopus-Pork Meat Puff; Crab-Pork Meat Puff (which is actually made with surimi crab sticks); as well as Vegetable Puff.
And my favourites will always be the Scallop-Pork Meat Puff and the Prawn-Pork Meat Puff.
Scallop-Pork Meat Puff
Above: A large Hokkaido scallop smacked right into the middle of the delicious and crispy "UFO"
Being an absolute lover of scallops, this is obviously my all-time favourite offered by the stall!
This meat puff comes with a huge tasty Hokkaido scallop that's pure enjoyment to bite into, embraced by a thick layer of soft and well-seasoned minced pork, plus the must-have chopped Chinese celery that forms an integral component of its unique taste.
The peanuts that are randomly sprinkled onto the puff — although I suspect that this may also be some sort of a "number code" to indicate which flavour a meat puff is after deep-frying — also gave it another dimension of taste after having gone through the baptism of hot oil.
Prawn-Pork Meat Puff
Above: The prawn meat puff comes with a big prawn and it's loaded with minced pork — all encased in a crispy jacket that looks like a flying saucer
The combination of prawns and pork is no stranger in Chinese cuisine (deep-fried five spice meat rolls, or "ngoh hiang", are a classic example). That's simply because they develop a very umami flavour when combined. And needless to say, when these ingredients are added to a meat puff, the result would be another umami treat, which takes on a different dimension of taste.
I like it that the prawn has a springy mouthfeel even after the hot oil bath, and did not end up as a messy paste — this is a sure sign that the prawn is still fresh and just the right amount of heat was applied to the fritter.
And as with the other meat puffs on the menu, it comes with a huge mound of delicious seasoned minced pork inside (they really mean it when they call it a "meat puff") and chopped Chinese celery, topped with a few peanuts for extra flavour.
Not always a rover
Interestingly, the night bazaar (known as the "pasar malam" locally) hasn't always been the location where TMP's business owner operates his food stall.
A few years back, he actually stopped roving and settled into a permanent stall within a food court in an industrial estate in Woodlands. But just as COVID-19 shuttered many other small F&B businesses, TMP's business in the industrial estate was not spared either — well, almost. And so, the roving resumed.
But even without the permanent food stall, TMP's meat puffs would have no lack of fans. Surprisingly, their no-frills Facebook page has more than 21,000 followers who are always on a lookout for their traces around our little island-state — just to get a bite of these tasty little saucers.
I'm just grateful that although inflation has inevitably made them raise their prices by tad, "shrinkflation" has not set in so far. I guess that's their way of making sure that their loyal followers don't get shortchanged in any way.
To the business owner: that's truly the way to go! Keep it up!
Locate it
Address:
Teochew Meat Puff
Variable location with night bazaars
Check the 'Teochew Meat Puff Pte Ltd' Facebook for their current location
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