Preparation and use of oyster sauce

What is oyster sauce

Oyster sauce refers to a dark, viscous mixture that is especially popular in Asian countries. In almost every cafe there is this bottle on the tables, just like we have salt and pepper. Indeed, the sauce has a salty taste, so it is used for meat or fish dishes, and not only: it is used to dress salads, pour over rolls, and serve with a side dish.

Compound

From the name you can tell that this liquid seasoning contains oysters and it would be true: oyster essence is used to create this seasoning. In addition, it contains salt, sugar and corn starch, which acts as a thickener. Although seafood is added to the product, it has absolutely no fishy smell or taste.

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What do they eat with?

The seasoning is used very widely: the product is served with many different dishes, but not only with fish. For example, pork with oyster sauce is a very common dish in Asia. Recipes with oyster sauce and photos can be found on the Internet, because it goes well with meat or poultry, salads, shrimp cooked in the sauce is very tasty, and it goes well with honey. Simply put, this product can be added anywhere if you want a special piquancy in taste

What can be replaced

It is not always possible to buy this ready-made seasoning for preparing a particular dish, but you want to surprise your guests. What can you substitute for oyster sauce? Analogs come to the rescue, creating approximately the same effect to taste. One of them is teriyaki - an Asian sauce that has a sweet and sour spicy taste and is combined with meat, fish, and is also served for vegetable dishes. Even ordinary soy sauce can be a substitute for oyster sauce, but the original product is much tastier.

A little history

There is an unconfirmed theory that oyster sauce as a condiment has been known for many centuries, and has been used since the times of Ancient Chinese civilization. Some historians attribute its origins to the ancient Roman fish sauce garum. In general, there are many stories and legends about the origin of this seasoning. According to one version, it appeared thanks to a poor Chinese fisherman who fell asleep while preparing oyster soup. And when he remembered it, a completely new aromatic and tasty dish appeared before him.

How to make oyster sauce

Although the recipe is rooted in Asian culture, where the necessary ingredients are not so difficult to find, these days it is still possible to make the sauce at home. Another important component is monosodium glutamate, or in other words, a flavor enhancer, which is very common in China and East Asia. Thanks to him, all Asian dishes acquire a bright, pronounced taste.

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Harm and dangerous properties

Due to the presence of glucose in its composition, it is contraindicated to use this sauce for diabetes and obesity. This also includes a decent calorie content of the product, so people watching their figure should use it with caution. Since its salty-sweet taste can irritate the intestinal walls, it is not recommended to use this sauce during periods of exacerbation of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Also, do not use it if you are allergic to fish and seafood.

Store-bought versions often contain artificial preservatives and flavor enhancers, which can cause irreparable harm to health.

Oyster Sauce Recipes

There are several different ways to prepare this seasoning, but the recommendations remain the same:

• Before cooking, the sinks must be thoroughly cleaned to remove any silty deposits. To do this, take a brush and soda.
• Raw oysters should be boiled for 10 minutes directly in the shell. Those that do not open must be thrown away. The product has spoiled.
• Before pouring the resulting product into bottles, it must be strained.
• Store liquid seasoning for no more than a month.

Cooking features

This is not to say that preparing oyster sauce requires great skill from the housewife, especially if it is prepared from extract. However, knowledge of the intricacies of technology will not hurt, because we are talking about a sauce that is exotic for our area.

• If you decide to make sauce from fresh oysters, wash them thoroughly under running water and be sure to scrub them with a brush to remove any silty deposits.
• Oysters must be boiled for 10 minutes directly in the shell. This will help detect low-quality specimens: if the shell has not opened during this time, the oyster in it is, apparently, already dead and can easily be poisoned.
• Before you pour the oyster sauce into a bottle, you need to strain it. Moreover, this must be done before the sauce thickens. As a result of the previous heat treatment, the sauce will have time to become saturated with the aromas of the spices, so it is not necessary to keep them in it for a long time.

If you pour the finished oyster sauce into sterilized jars or bottles, you can store it in the refrigerator for quite a long time: you definitely don’t need to worry about it for a month.

Basic Oyster Sauce Recipe

• Time: 30 minutes.
• Number of servings: 6 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 120 kcal/100 g.
• Purpose: seasonings.
• Cuisine: Chinese.
• Difficulty: easy.

The basic recipe is the basis for making a sauce with different notes in taste. You can safely add additional ingredients that will give your mixture new intonations, or leave everything as is and enjoy a real product of Chinese culture. Please note that the sauce can be stored for no longer than a month.

Ingredients:

• boiled or pickled oysters (in liquid or marinade) – 200-220 g;
• light and dark soy sauce – 50 and 15 ml;
• sugar – one tablespoon with top;
• water – 20 ml.

Cooking method:

1. Wash and clean the oysters. Remove from shells and chop finely.
2. Mix soy sauces and pour them over the oysters. Add a little water in which they were boiled.
3. Add a spoonful of sugar.
4. Place over low heat and cook until the liquid has evaporated by a third.
5. Beat the mixture with a blender and bring to the consistency as in the photo.

Use in cooking

Oyster sauce goes well with a variety of ingredients, especially vegetables, tofu, mushrooms, seafood, rice, noodles, legumes, meat and poultry.

How to use it correctly

Please note that oyster sauce is never served pure for dipping, but rather combined with other seasonings.

• It is better to add it at the end of cooking in small quantities. Serving size for an average dish is approximately 1 tablespoon.
• Oyster sauce is quite salty. Reduce or omit salt when cooking with this seasoning.
• Do not cook at high temperature, otherwise the sauce will lose its flavor and become bitter.

What do they eat with?

Oyster sauce is used on a variety of foods, including noodles, vegetables and French fries, or as a base for other sauces and marinades.

Oyster sauce is sometimes poured over rolls or sushi for added flavor and visual appeal.

Fried rice is prepared with it. Throw vegetables and meat into the wok, fry, add some boiled rice, cook, stirring for another 2-3 minutes. Crack an egg or two into it and quickly mix everything together. Then add some oyster sauce.

Fried chicken pieces and oyster sauce go well together. This recipe calls for boneless chicken thighs, but you can also use skinless chicken breasts. Cut the chicken into pieces, then sprinkle with flour and cornstarch and fry in hot oil. Then pour the sauce over the fried pieces. Garnish with rice or pasta.

Beef in oyster sauce with broccoli – video

Classic recipe

• Time: 40 minutes.
• Number of servings: 6 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 130 kcal/100 g.
• Purpose: seasonings.
• Cuisine: Chinese.
• Difficulty: easy.

This cooking method will require you to work a little to prepare the sauce deliciously, because it contains many additional ingredients to give it a special taste and aroma, but the result will exceed any of your expectations. You will never be able to buy such a product in a store, because it contains only natural ingredients. Then how to cook it so that it looks like a photo from a cookbook?

Ingredients:

• fresh oysters - 400 or 5000 g (if canned ones are used, then half a serving is enough);
• onions – 40 g;
• garlic – 1 clove;
• butter – 80 g;
• wheat flour – 35 g;
• grated ginger root – 20 g;
• thyme – 5 g;
• dried basil – 5 g;
• chicken broth – 120 ml;
• soy sauce – 60 ml;
• cream – 120 ml;
• oyster marinade or broth – 60 ml.

Cooking method:

1. Oysters must be washed and boiled. Throw away those that do not open. Remove the rest and chop finely.
2. Chop half the onion.
3. Chop the garlic and mix with the onion.
4. Fry the onion and garlic in melted butter.
5. Add ginger and fry for another 3 minutes.
6. Add oysters and spices. Cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Combine the marinade from canned oysters with soy sauce, cream, and chicken broth.
8. Add flour to fried oysters and stir.
9. Constantly stirring the oysters with a whisk, pour in the resulting liquid in a thin stream. Cook, continuing to whisk, for another 5 minutes.
10. Beat the mixture with a blender.
11. Simmer over low heat, stirring until the sauce reaches a thick consistency.

Composition and beneficial properties of the product

The energy value of oyster sauce is 121 kcal. The protein content is 3.5 grams, the carbohydrate part accounts for about 21.3 grams.

The basis for this product is an extract or extract from oysters; it also contains starch, caramel and water. Oyster sauce is rich in vitamins and minerals, which make up its beneficial and valuable qualities. The vitamin composition is distinguished by a decent content of B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, pantothenic acid, pyridoxine, folic acid and cobalamin, choline), ascorbic acid and vitamin PP.

It also contains amino acids vital for the human body, as well as dietary fiber and sterol, which can inhibit the development of harmful cholesterol plaques and prevent the accumulation of this substance.

Regular use of this seasoning can help:

• increasing immunity;
• normalization of metabolism;
• improving appetite;
• neutralization of stressful conditions and depressive syndrome;
• stable functioning of the nervous and digestive systems;
• stimulation of brain function;
• improving the liver and circulatory system.

Oyster sauce is also valuable because it contains glucose, which recharges the body with energy and vigor, significantly increasing efficiency and creativity. Perhaps this is why in the countries of Southeast Asia, which have long used this seasoning for food, unemployment is low, and those who work are cheerful and optimistic.

Simple recipe

• Time: 30 minutes.
• Number of servings: 6 persons.
• Calorie content of the dish: 130 kcal/100 g.
• Purpose: seasonings.
• Cuisine: Chinese.
• Difficulty: easy.

Anyone can prepare the sauce according to this recipe, even those who do not have much experience in cooking. The result will be a gorgeous product that can be added to any dish or used to prepare a topping for salads. Using broth will give you a richer result than mixing the extract with water. How to cook?

Ingredients:

• oyster extract – 25 ml;
• corn or potato starch – 20 g;
• caramelized sugar – 5 g;
• water or broth - 0.5 l.

Cooking method:

1. Dissolve the sugar in the broth and pour in the oyster extract.
2. Place over low heat and cook for 10 minutes. You should get a dark brown color.
3. Pour 100 ml of liquid and dilute starch in it.
4. Add the resulting mixture to the broth and cook. Remove once the sauce thickens and becomes jam-like.

Where to add

First, let's note how to use oyster sauce - there are certain rules for consuming the product:

• At the end of cooking, in a small amount - just a tablespoon per pan/pan;
• Reduce the amount of salt when preparing such dishes;
• Cook at a low temperature - too high a temperature will “kill” all the flavor characteristics.

We figured out how to use oyster sauce with meat or other ingredients. Now let's talk about what oyster sauce is eaten with. The list is quite wide:

• Thai oyster sauce works well with chicken or noodles and teriyaki;
• Creamy oyster sauce goes well with vegetables and potatoes;
• Pepper-oyster sauce is suitable for rice, sushi and sashimi, rolls.

What else can this unique oyster component be combined with?

• Wok;
• Beef and pork dishes;
• Stews;
• As a base for other sauces and marinades;
• Boiled fish;
• Grilled dishes;
• Mushroom snacks;
• Salads from vegetables and meat ingredients.

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