12 hours ago, Thanks for the Crepes said:Also interestingly, the word chien translates from the French to English as "dog". That raised an eyebrow, but I was unable to find a Chinese translation for chien to English. If huiray would care to chime in with a literal translation for "Oh Chien", which means "oyster omelet" in Chinese, that would only add to the fun of the history of this dish.
12 hours ago, liuzhou said:'Oh Chien' is the Hokkien dialect rendition of 蚵煎. The first character means 'oyster' and the second means 'fried', So, something like 'oyster fry'. In Mandarin Chinese it is 'é jiān'. There is no direct mention of omelet.
Crepes, yes, the term is as Liuzhou described. Thanks, Liuzhou.
(N.B. the ideogram "蚵" is the commonly used character in Hokkien (see the wiki article Liuzhou linked to) for oyster. The standard Chinese character is "蠔" (traditional) or "蚝" (simplified) for oyster.)
That it is an "omelet" is not directly stated but when one says "oh chien" in Malaysia or Singapore it is understood to be a fried oyster omelet/omelette. There are many variations with each hawker and each household seemingly having their own version, although there are two basic styles (crispy or slightly gooey) and the essential components need to be there for it to be called "oh chien". I believe "oh chien" also tends to suggest a Penang variation (or a Penang Hokkien derivation) whereas "or chien" tends to suggest a Singaporean variation (or a Singaporean Hokkien derivation) but usually both terms/pronunciations are mutually understood as the same dish.
ETA: @Thanks for the Crepes and @kayb, take a look too at this old post on eGullet. Liuzhou also posted about other oyster preps in Chinese cuisine as did other posters. This poster/post on that same thread/topic also referred to oysters as a CNY dish - apropos to what I reported having in my "Opening the Year" meal here on eG recently.
