What do some of today’s most cherished and popular dishes — oyster omelette (ohr luak), ramen, and pad Thai — have in common? Apart from originating in Asia, these foods were born out of food shortages, specifically rice shortages. During times of famine, it forced people to stretch ingredients, use substitutes, and get creative. Oyster omelette made limited starch go further and is now a Southeast Asian street food favourite. Instant noodles, once a post-war budget meal, is now a Japanese (and global) comfort dish. Pad Thai, promoted during a Thai rice shortage, remains a national treasure.
While all of the above were created out of famine and harship, one more thread links them: they were also all introduced or influenced by the Chinese diaspora who migrated to these countries and introduced their familiar foods.
Here’s how these beloved dishes came to be:
Oyster Omelette (Ohr luak in Teochew or ohr jian in Hokkien)
Oyster omelette traces its origins to Fujian and Guangdong in China, where it emerged as a resourceful dish during times of rice shortages and famine. There have been fanciful origin stories regarding the birth of the dish. One story involves the introduction of sweet potatoes to China in the 16th century.
A daring Chinese scholar named Chen Zhenlong smuggled sweet potatoes—originally from the Americas—from the Spanish-controlled Philippines, where their export was strictly prohibited at the time. The tubers quickly became a substitute starch when rice was scarce, since sweet potato was a hardy plant. To further preserve this precious starch, it was turned it into powder. When rice shortages hit, creative cooks combined the sweet potato starch with egg and added oysters – they were an abundant and inexpensive protein found along China’s southeastern coast – to create a sort of pancake.
Another tale involved the famous Chinese pirate Koxinga, who in the mid-1600s fought with the Dutch army in Taiwan. It was said that the Dutch hid all the food, so Koxinga got creative by scrambling together readily available oysters and sweet potato starch to feed his army. He won the battle, obviously.
While the dish is credited to the Hokkiens in Fujian, the Teochews in neighbouring Guangdong (Chaoshan) likely developed it independently or were influenced by Hokkien traders, as both groups had extensive contact due to their proximity.
As Hokkien and Teochew migrants spread across Southeast Asia, they brought oyster omelette with them, adapting it to local tastes. Today, while you can get the dish in Fujian and Chaoshan, it is also a staple among the Hokkien diaspora in Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines.
Variations abound: in Taiwan, o-a-tsian (as it’s called in Hokkien) is often drowned in a savoury-sweet sauce, while in Singapore and Malaysia, it’s served with a chilli dip. In the Philippines (Manila), it’s known as fried oyster cake. In Thailand, where Teochews were the major immigrants, it’s called hoy tod, which is sometimes made with mussels (as oysters were more expensive).
Despite its humble origins, oyster omelette has become a beloved street food, deeply tied to the history of Chinese migration and resilience.
Pad Thai
While Thailand hasn’t experienced famine, Pad Thai was born out of necessity during a rice shortage in Thailand in the 1930s and 1940s, caused by a combination of economic depression, WWII, and government policy. Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram (Phibun) – who dethroned Thailand’s monarchy in a coup – promoted rice conservation, encouraging citizens to eat rice noodles instead of steamed rice (most Thais ate rice with chilli paste, leaves, and salt at the time). Rice noodles were an ideal substitute because they absorbed water and expanded, using less raw rice. Additionally, broken or lower-quality grains could be milled into flour for noodle production.
The origin of Pad Thai’s recipe isn’t clear – some say it was the result of a cooking competition – but the recipe called for non-perishable ingredients such as dried shrimp, preserved radish, fish sauce, tamarind, and peanuts. The dish was officially named Pad Thai (meaning “Thai stir-fry”), aligning with Phibun’s broader nationalist campaign to give Thailand its distinct cultural identity that wasn’t influenced by foreign powers like the Chinese, British or French. Ironically, the dish’s original name was “kwaytiao pad Thai” – kwaytiao being a Chinese loanword for noodles in Thailand. Anyway, the naming of Pad Thai coincided with Phibun’s renaming of the country from Siam to Thailand in 1939.
To popularise the dish, the government sponsored street vendors, providing them with carts and supplies to sell Pad Thai along roadsides, helping to spread its adoption. Over time, this once-humble survival dish evolved into Thailand’s national food, symbolising resilience and cultural identity. Today, it’s a popular food for tourists in Thailand and can be found in many Thai restaurants around the world.
Instant Noodles (and Cup Noodles)
Ramen first arrived in Japan in the late 19th to early 20th century, brought by Chinese immigrants who sold wheat-based noodle soups in port cities like Yokohama and Kobe. Originally called “shina soba” (Chinese soba), it adapted to local tastes with pork-based broths and soy sauce seasoning. By the 1920s, ramen shops emerged.
After WWII, Japan faced a severe rice shortage and famine, and the U.S. encouraged wheat consumption by supplying wheat flour to the country. Ramen became a black-market staple, as official food rationing was insufficient (and consisted almost entirely of bread or biscuits which the Japanese weren’t familiar with). Street vendors saw a gap, and provided cheap ramen outside government controls. However, the government cracked down on them due to their ties to the yakuza-controlled black market.
Witnessing long queues for ramen in Osaka, a Taiwanese-Japanese serial entrepreneur named Momofuku Ando saw a business opportunity to make the dish more accessible, affordable, and long-lasting. He founded Nissin in 1948 and spent a year experimenting in his backyard before discovering that flash-frying noodles removed moisture, allowing them to be rehydrated with hot water in 3 minutes. In 1958, he introduced Chicken Ramen (Japan’s first instant noodle) as a convenient, shelf-stable meal that could help prevent future food crises.
Later, during a visit to the United States in 1966, Ando observed Americans breaking instant ramen into cups and eating it with forks, inspiring him to develop Cup Noodles (1971)—a revolutionary design that made ramen even more portable and easier to prepare, cementing its status as a global phenomenon to this day.
Other interesting foods born of hardship
Of course, there are plenty of other staple foods that were created during times of famine and hardship all over the world. One of them is a favourite in Singapore: Army Stew.
Army stew or budae jjigae (South Korea)
Army stew (budae jjigae) originated from famine and food shortages after the Korean War (1950–1953). With limited resources, South Koreans turned to discarded (or black market) U.S. military rations like Spam, hot dogs, canned beans, and instant noodles from American army bases. Desperation led some to consume inedible items like cigarette butts and boiled leather belts. Others lined up for bags of “garbage” from mess halls. These ingredients were combined with gochujang (red pepper paste), kimchi, and vegetables, creating a spicy stew that became a vital, comforting dish. Over time it evolved into a beloved dish.
SOS or “Shit on a Shingle” (USA)
SOS originated during WWII as a cheap and filling meal for soldiers, designed to be quick and easy to prepare with rationed ingredients. It typically consisted of creamed chipped beef served on toast, and it’s said to have earned its name due to its unappetising appearance. After the war, SOS continued to be popular, especially among veterans and at diners.
Bubble & Squeak (UK)
Bubble & squeak is a traditional British dish that originated as a way to use up leftover vegetables from a Sunday roast, particularly potatoes and cabbage. The dish’s name is thought to derive from the bubbling and squeaking sounds made while frying the vegetables in a pan. In the aftermath of WWII, food rationing made it important for families to use leftovers creatively.
Pasta e Fagioli (Italy)
Pasta e fagioli, meaning “pasta and beans” in Italian, was born out of necessity during periods of economic hardship in Italy, particularly in rural regions. The dish, made with pasta, beans, olive oil, and sometimes vegetables or meat, was a filling and affordable meal that could feed large families, using ingredients that were easy to store and inexpensive.
Pot-au-Feu (France)
Pot-au-feu – meaning “pot on the fire” – was originally created as a cheap, hearty meal to feed large families and use up tougher cuts of meat. In France’s 17th century, pot-au-feu became a common peasant dish, especially during hard times, providing a nourishing, long-lasting meal.
Hard times inspired culinary ingenuity, and these dishes, once born of scarcity and famine, are now enjoyed out of love, not lack of food.
