Vietnamese Grilled Oysters with Scallion Oil, Peanuts and Crispy Shallots
This recipe for Vietnamese grilled oysters with scallion oil, peanuts and crunchy shallots makes hàu nướng mỡ hành using a classic Vietnamese scallion oil recipe for mỡ hành. In Vietnam the vivid green Vietnamese seafood dressing is doused on all kinds of molluscs, from razor clams to cockles. But the most popular way to use the sweet spring onion sauce is to spoon it over grilled oysters and sprinkle on some crunchy roasted peanuts and crispy fried shallots. It's a fab starter to a Vietnamese food feast, seafood banquet or barbecue.
Servings: 2
Calories: 76kcal
Equipment
- 1 oven tray
- 1 oven grill
- 1 Serving Platter
Ingredients
- 12 oysters cleaned and freshly shucked
- 3 tbsp scallion oil recipe here, or more if you like
- 2 tbsp peanuts unsalted, pan-roasted, or more if you like
- 1 tbsp fried shallots or more to taste if you like
- 1 lime cut into wedges, or lemons if you prefer
Instructions
- Prep the oysters: shuck your oysters and discard the top shell or if you’ve bought freshly-shucked oysters, give the shells a little scrub if needed, lay them on an oven tray, and transfer to the fridge while you do your prep.
- Prep a platter or plates, spread out some rock salt, tiny stones or little pebbles on a platter or plates to create a base to sit the oysters on so they stay upright.
- Make the scallion oil: use this recipe to make the scallion oil if you don’t have any to hand, then transfer it to a small serving bowl.
- Pan-roast the peanuts: in a small pan over medium heat, dry-fry the unsalted peanuts, continually shaking the pan so they get colour but don’t burn, then transfer them to a small dish.
- Grill the oysters: slide the tray of oysters under an oven grill (broiler) on medium-high heat for a couple of minutes — or do them on a barbecue or over a charcoal grill if you’re already cooking steaks — and cook the oysters to your liking. (Or skip this step and serve the oysters raw if you can’t bare to cook your bivalves).
- Lay out the oysters: slide the tray out of the oven and transfer the oysters to the platter or plates, nestle them into the rock salt so that they’re level and can’t tip over.
- Dress the oysters: in a small dish combine some scallion oil and roasted peanuts then spoon some onto each oyster, and sprinkle on some crunchy fried shallots.
- Serve the oysters: set the platter at the centre of the table with dishes of scallion oil, peanuts and fried shallots for guests to add more if they like, or just provide a dish of lime or lemon wedges for squeezing on the oysters, and serve with chilled Vietnamese beers.
Nutrition
Calories: 76kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 140mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 21IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg