Friday, Jan. 31 marks the first day of the Chinese New Year celebration and we're shaking things up a bit this week. We're drying our own oysters and learning to make Hoe See Fat Choy - [Hoe See (oysters) + Fat Choy (hair seaweed) sounds like good business and wealth.] You'll need a couple of days to dry your oysters, so today's post will show you how to make the dried oysters. Friday, we'll learn to make the traditional Cantonese new year's dish.
Step 1
Start with fresh oysters. I used Topsail Sound oysters caught fresh the previous day. You could probably use already shucked oysters, but I like to start with the freshest oysters I can find. Plump, juicy oysters work best.
Step 2
Shuck the oysters. I shucked eight oysters.
Step 3
Let the oysters drain for a minute. Do not rinse the oysters.
Step 4
Place a cooling rack on top of a baking sheet. The rack will allow air to circulate and the tray will catch the liquid as it dries.
Step 5
Place the shucked oysters on the cooling rack/tray.
Step 6
Place the oysters by a sunny window
Step 7
Leave the oysters by the window for 1-3 days. I think they were ready after just one day, but I left them for two days. Depending on the time of year and how much sun you get, you may have to adjust the time. (Optional: You may want to spray the cooling rack with non-stick spray. The oysters were a little difficult to pry off.)
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| Dried Topsail Sound Oysters after Two Days in the Sun |
RESULTS
I gotta be honest. The whole experiment was, and is, gross. Leaving oysters out in the open left me a little skittish. My family did not appreciate the "boogers" left out in the middle of the kitchen and the dried product at the end looks downright nasty. But when I decided to write this post, I decided I was going to go for it. I actually ate one of the oysters today. How did it taste? Really salty. Texture, um, chewy?
Perhaps the dried oysters will be better in a dish. Friday, we'll learn how to make Hoe See Fat Choy.
It's the year of the horse. Are you a Horse?
Year of the Horse:
Feb. 11, 1918 - Jan. 31, 1919
Jan. 30, 1930 - Feb. 16, 1931
Feb. 15, 1942 - Feb. 4, 1943
Feb. 3, 1954 - Jan. 23, 1955
Jan. 21, 1966 - Feb. 8, 1967
Feb. 7, 1978 - Jan. 27, 1979
Jan. 27, 1990 - Feb. 14, 1991
Feb. 12, 2002 - Jan. 31, 2003
Jan. 31, 2014 - Feb. 18, 2015
People born in the year of the horse are clever and great communicators. They are also impatient and don't like to follow the rules.
They don't look compact like the ones sold. The edges spread out. I want to try myself as the ones sold in the local store is very expensive. Comes out to be $40-50 per pound when I don't stop by a Chinatown. I was going to try using either frozen or canned oysters. I guess no salt is needed when drying.
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