O-tao
Photo: RUATMVWOOP East Bpote STARZUIO · CC0

History

O-tao is one of Phuket's Hokkien street foods, and the taro sets it apart from the oyster omelettes sold elsewhere in Thailand. Cooks ladle a tapioca and rice-flour batter around seafood and steamed taro cubes on a hot griddle, add egg, and keep chopping and turning until parts crisp and caramelise while others stay soft. Family shops in Phuket Town fry it over charcoal; one of the best known has done so since 1982.

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Common allergens: Shellfish, Egg

Make it at home

Yield Serves 2Hands-on 20 minTotal 40 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 150g taro, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
  • 150g small oysters or mixed seafood
  • 3 tbsp tapioca starch
  • 2 tbsp rice flour
  • 100ml water
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • Bean sprouts and sweet chilli sauce, to serve

Method

  1. Steam the taro cubes for 15 minutes until just soft.
  2. Whisk the tapioca starch, rice flour and water to a thin batter.
  3. Heat the oil in a wide pan or wok over high heat and fry the garlic for 20 seconds.
  4. Add the taro and seafood, then pour the batter around them and let it set for 1 minute.
  5. Crack in the eggs and season with soy sauce, then chop and turn the mixture with a spatula for 3 to 4 minutes.
  6. Keep turning until the edges are browned and crisp and the centre is sticky, then pile onto a plate.
  7. Serve with raw bean sprouts and sweet chilli sauce.

Tip from the editors. Use a very hot pan and do not stir too early; the crisp browned bits are the point of the dish.

Where to eat o-tao

O-tao in Phuket

O Tao Bang Niao ★ 4.6

฿ Street foodPhuket Town

Why locals goO Tao Bang Niao has charcoal-fried o tao, the taro and seafood dish found only in Phuket, since 1982, from a family shop on a stretch of Phuket Road away from the Old Town.

TipIt opens at 16:00; order the charcoal-fried o tao and add the crispy seafood omelette, the other dish the Michelin inspectors recommend.

Directions

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