What is Oyster Sauce, Where to Buy It, Recipes to Make with It (2024)

FAQs

What dishes do you use oyster sauce in? ›

Gently salty and briny, with a velvety smooth, thick texture, oyster sauce is in a number of Asian dishes. The condiment brings rich, savory flavor to whatever you pour it over or into – from Chinese broccoli to stir-fry marinades – and it's a mainstay in many Asian and Asian American kitchens.

Condiments containing egg or milk such as mayonnaise and creamy salad dressing, or those with other fast-spoiling ingredients such as oyster sauce should be kept refrigerated. Being among one of must-haves in Thai kitchen, a used bottle of oyster sauce stored in Thailand's room temperature may be prone to get moldy.

A salty sauce created from oysters and used often in Asian cuisine, oyster sauce contains little calories, no fat, and a healthy dose of calcium for bone strength. The sodium content comes from its soy sauce component, something individuals on a low-sodium diet should take note of.

Oyster sauce: 18 to 24 months; 3 to 6 months. Peanut butter: 1 year when stored in refrigerator and 3 to 4 months refrigerated after opening (natural); 6 to 9 months when stored in pantry or 12 months stored in refrigerator, 2 to 3 months in pantry or 3 to 4 months refrigerated after opening (commercial, stabilised).

- Oyster Sauce: Earthy, slightly sweet and salty and to many people's surprise, doesn't have a fishy taste. LKK lists their Panda Brand Oyster Flavored Sauce as all-purpose for dipping, marinating, stir-frying or as a sauce-base.

Oyster sauce is a thick glossy brown sauce with a syrupy consistency and is most often used in Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese dishes. Rich and deeply savoury, it adds so much umami to meat and vegetable dishes… although I'm a big fan of adding it to fusion pasta recipes, too!

Often used as a cooking ingredient, oyster sauce has a richer and more intense taste than hoisin but it does not have the sweetness. If you want to cook with an oyster sauce substitute, hoisin sauce works fine if you like a sweet, tangy flavor.

While they can sometimes be substituted, they offer different flavors. Oyster sauce is sweeter and thicker, ideal for stir-fries, whereas fish sauce is saltier and great for soups and marinades.

Sweet soy sauce or teriyaki sauce are the best options. Stir Fries - When it comes to adding umami depth and spice to stir fried dishes like ramen and rice noodles, we recommend soy sauce or black bean paste as the perfect oyster sauce alternatives.

What happens if you forget to put oyster sauce in the fridge? ›

Refrigeration not needed

Common condiments that don't require refrigeration include soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, honey and hot sauce. Feingold says vinegars and olive oil (stored in a cool, dark place) are pantry-bound; coconut oil is actually best kept out of the fridge since it hardens below room temperature.

It is made from oyster extract, but despite the name, it doesn't taste like fish at all. Instead, oyster sauce has an earthy, slightly sweet, and salty taste. It is a mixture of boiled down oyster juices (which have caramelized), along with salt and sugar; some versions include soy sauce thickened with cornstarch.

The presence of magnesium and potassium also help to lower blood pressure and iron helps carry oxygen to blood cells. Oysters are also high in potassium, magnesium, and omega-3 fatty acids which help reduce the overall risk of stroke and heart attack. They are also effective at lowering blood pressure.

Oyster sauce with reduced sodium levels provides the same rich and savoury taste while helping to maintain healthy blood pressure. Consuming low-sodium oyster sauce can be part of a balanced diet, offering oyster sauce health benefits without excess sodium.

There is a wide range in the sugars content among the oyster sauce samples surveyed. While 1 sample was found to be totally sugar-free, the sample richest in sugars-content was found to contain 26.2g of sugars per 100g, equivalent to one fourth of the ingredient contents in terms of weight.

One of the main differences between hoisin sauce and oyster sauce is that the latter contains oyster. Hoisin sauce is plant-based, so it can be an oyster sauce substitute for vegetarians if necessary.

In the kitchen, oyster sauce is often a glaze or an addition to stir-fries, while fish sauce is more of a background player, enhancing soups and marinades with its briny depth. Understanding these sauces is crucial for anyone diving into Southeast Asian cuisine.

Fish sauce is liquid, while oyster sauce is thicker. Fish sauce is fermented, while oyster sauce is caramelized. MasterClass says that when it comes down to taste, fish sauce is much saltier and deeply pungent and doesn't have the sweetness and subtleness that oyster sauce has.

Be careful not to confuse oyster-flavored sauce with cooked oyster sauce, as the latter includes oyster-flavored sauce combined with ingredients like chicken broth, soy sauce, sake, and sugar.