Oyster Sauce: What it is and How to Use it | Kids Are Great Cooks (2024)

What is Oyster Sauce?

Oyster sauce is a condiment and sauce used in Asian cuisine. It has a thick consistency and usually looks dark brown. Oyster sauce comes from the liquid of cooked oysters, also called oyster extracts. Most oyster sauce also contains salt, sugar, water, and cornstarch. Vegetarian oyster sauce often uses mushrooms instead of oysters. Oyster sauce smells rich and fragrant.

What Does Oyster Sauce Taste Like?

Oyster sauce tastes salty like the ocean, meaty, sweet, and rich. It does not have a strong seafood flavor.

Oyster Sauce: What it is and How to Use it | Kids Are Great Cooks (1)

How Do You Eat Oyster Sauce?

While you can eat oyster sauce on its own, many people combine it with other ingredients to enhance their flavors. Oyster sauce is best known for bringing out the savory taste of other foods. The most common uses for oyster sauce include stir-fry sauces, glazes, and marinades. Oyster sauce flavors chicken, beef, vegetables like broccoli, noodles, and rice dishes. It is an important component to cashew chicken and even a type of radish cake. Make homemade hoisin sauce or teriyaki sauce by using oyster sauce.

Where Can You Buy Oyster Sauce?

Find oyster sauce in the international aisle of a well-stocked grocery store. If you can’t find it, look for oyster sauce in international grocery stores or Asian food stores. You can also make a substitute sauce at home.

How Do You Store Oyster Sauce?

Store unopened oyster sauce in a cool, dry place. Once opened, seal the bottle and store it in the refrigerator.

Fun Fact About Oyster Sauce

There are a few variations of oyster sauce, including one made with cream and butter.

Did You Know?

The creation of oyster sauce happened by accident! Oysters were left to cook for too long and the cooking liquid reduced down into oyster sauce.

Recipes Using Oyster Sauce

Oyster Sauce Substitute

If you can’t find oyster sauce, you can make a substitute at home! Combine equal parts soy sauce and hoisin sauce or a mixture of fish sauce and hoisin sauce. Use in the same manner you would use oyster sauce.

Easy Marinade

Create a tangy and delicious marinade. In a large bowl, combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, maple syrup, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Use to flavor beef or chicken.

Mushrooms with Oyster Sauce

Use oyster sauce to flavor mushrooms for a tasty side dish. Saute white mushrooms in a skillet in butter until the mushrooms brown. Stir in garlic and oyster sauce. Serve with cracked black pepper.

Homemade Teriyaki Sauce

Use oyster sauce to give your homemade teriyaki sauce a rich flavor. Combine oyster sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, maple syrup, and water in a saucepan. Simmer until sauce thickens.

Beef Stew

Create a delicious and tangy beef stew for the whole family to enjoy. Combine cooked beef stew meat, beef broth, oyster sauce, soy sauce, garlic, carrots, potatoes, broccoli, ginger, red pepper flakes, and pepper in a large stockpot. Allow the stew to simmer and thicken before serving.

Oyster Sauce: What it is and How to Use it | Kids Are Great Cooks (2024)

FAQs

Oyster Sauce: What it is and How to Use it | Kids Are Great Cooks? ›

Oyster sauce is best known for bringing out the savory taste of other foods. The most common uses for oyster sauce include stir-fry sauces, glazes, and marinades. Oyster sauce flavors chicken, beef, vegetables like broccoli, noodles, and rice dishes.

Should you refrigerate oyster sauce? ›

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.

Is there a difference between oyster sauce and oyster flavored sauce? ›

Oyster sauce is commonly used in stir-fries like our Beef Stir-Fry with Bell Peppers and Black Pepper Sauce. It is also a key ingredient in Kung Pao Shrimp, Spicy Sichuan Noodles, and other Asian-style dishes. The bottled sauce, also known as oyster-flavored sauce, is made from a reduction of boiled oysters.

What is a good substitute for oyster sauce? ›

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.

Do you dilute oyster sauce? ›

Use oyster sauce in Asian noodle dishes and rice dishes. There are many marinades that call for oyster sauce too. Its salty, sweet, and umami flavor works best with beef, steak, or fish. When you dilute it by about 50%, you can even use it as a drizzle over jasmine rice and steamed/boiled vegetables.

Can you eat oyster sauce directly? ›

You can use oyster sauce on its own as a dipping sauce, as an addition to soups, or as a marinade for meats or vegetables. One of the most common ways to use oyster sauce is as the base for a stir fry sauce.

How can you tell if oyster sauce has gone bad? ›

Consumers can identify signs of spoilage if the oyster sauce develops an off smell, the appearance of mold growth, or any noticeable change in taste and texture. If these signs are evident, the sauce should be discarded to avoid potential foodborne illness.

What is healthier than oyster sauce? ›

Soy sauce

Soy sauce is an easy substitute for oyster sauce since it's a common pantry staple. It's also vegan and vegetarian, making it suitable for those who don't eat seafood.

Is oyster sauce healthy for you? ›

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.

Is hoisin sauce the same as oyster sauce? ›

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.

Do Chinese restaurants use oyster sauce? ›

Today, some commercial versions are darkened with caramel, though high-quality oyster sauce is naturally dark. It is commonly used in Chinese, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese, and Khmer cuisine.

Can you add oyster sauce to anything? ›

The most common uses for oyster sauce include stir-fry sauces, glazes, and marinades. Oyster sauce flavors chicken, beef, vegetables like broccoli, noodles, and rice dishes. It is an important component to cashew chicken and even a type of radish cake. Make homemade hoisin sauce or teriyaki sauce by using oyster sauce.

How long after opening can you use oyster sauce? ›

Uses: It is used in cooking in meat, poultry and vegetable stir-fries. It is also used as a condiment, often diluted with a little oil, to sprinkle over vegetable, chicken or meat dishes. To store: Keep in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year. Once opened store in the fridge for up to 7 days.

How to properly store oyster sauce? ›

If your oyster sauce comes in a shelf-stable can, transfer the sauce to an airtight plastic or glass storage container after opening, then refrigerate it. If the sauce is in a glass bottle, keep it stored there, since glass helps maintain the sauce's integrity.

What happens if you don't refrigerate sauce after opening? ›

Most condiments are processed to be shelf stable. This means they can sit for long periods of time on shelves without spoiling. You can store most shelf-stable condiments safely at room temperature, even after you open them. Brands tell you to refrigerate their products because they stay fresh longer that way.

How long can you leave oysters unrefrigerated? ›

Once they come out of cold storage, the clock starts on you getting them back into cold storage. You have a max of two hours to accomplish this. After two hours, bacteria present in the oyster will start to multiply and the likelihood of something causing an illness will go up.

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