The 7 Best Oyster Sauces for Adding Umami to Your Recipes

Considerations When Purchasing Oyster Sauce

Oyster sauce is prepared from a combination of caramelized oyster fluids generated by boiling oysters with salt and sugar over time. The Crassostrea species of oyster is used in the majority of oyster sauces.

While oyster sauce includes oysters, the fact that they have been cooked removes the fishy flavor from the sauce, leaving it rich and delicious with the texture of a thick BBQ sauce that may adhere to anything. It also has a sweet, salty, and umami taste, as well as earthy undertones. It is a frequent ingredient in Thai, Vietnamese, and Cambodian meals, as well as in Cantonese cookery.

Oyster sauce is often equated to hoisin or Peking sauce, although the two are not the same. While the name hoisin means “sea-fresh” in Mandarin, it contains no seafood and is not eaten with seafood. Soybeans, sesame seeds, garlic, salt, sugar, chilies, and spices are used to make hoisin sauce. Hoisin sauce is rich, like oyster sauce, but it has a sweetness that oyster sauce lacks, and its color is more red-brown than the darker brown of oyster sauce. Oyster sauce is also saltier than hoisin sauce.

In the 1880s, a chef accidentally left a pot of oysters boiling for too long and discovered that they had reduced to a rich and caramelized sauce. When the chef tried it and discovered that it was excellent, the current oyster sauce was created. Lee Kum Kee, the renowned Chinese sauce and condiment producer, was the name of this chef!

Oyster sauce making procedures are easier nowadays. Several producers thicken a sugar and salt base with cornstarch or other starches before adding oyster extracts. To increase the umami taste of the sauce, soy sauce, monosodium glutamate, or MSG may be added. Several producers add caramel to the sauce to give it a deep brown hue.

Some oyster sauces use mushrooms instead of oysters. These mushroom oyster sauces have an earthy taste akin to authentic oyster sauce and are also available for vegetarian, vegan, and non-seafood diets.

Pure oyster sauces are also available. These pure oyster sauces are not always permitted to be imported as seafood goods depending on the country. These pure oyster sauces are incredibly costly since they are manufactured entirely of oysters and water and do not include any salt.

These pure oyster sauces are created in the traditional manner by steaming or boiling the oysters to create a broth, which is then boiled further to concentrate the taste. During the simmering process, the broth thickens and starts to caramelize, producing the rich brown oyster sauce.

Premium sauces often include more oyster extract, while budget brands may have less oyster reduction and may also contain chemicals such as MSG or even more salt. Since premium sauces include more oyster, they naturally have somewhat more protein.

How to Use Oyster Sauce

One of the easiest ways to utilize oyster sauce is to combine it with white rice or just pour it over fresh steamed green veggies with hot vegetable and sesame oils. Oyster sauce provides sweetness and saltiness to greens while also contrasting with the taste of more bitter vegetables like Chinese broccoli or other leafy greens.

Oyster sauce enhances shellfish, beef, poultry, bean, and mushroom dishes, as well as blander items like cold silken tofu. Oyster sauce may be used with other sauces to lessen their taste, resulting in a lighter sauce that is great for stir fries.

It may also be used to season stocks and soups, and it makes a wonderful salad dressing when combined with sesame oil and rice vinegar.

Oyster sauce should always be used sparingly and in modest quantities; too much will overshadow the cuisine. If oyster sauce is cooked for an extended period of time or at a high temperature, it will lose its umami taste and, in some situations, become bitter. Since it is a naturally salty sauce, avoid adding more salt when cooking.

Nutritional Value of Oyster Sauce

Oyster sauce has around nine calories per tablespoon and extremely little cholesterol, fat, or saturated fat. It’s also poor in fiber and provides less than 1% of the daily protein recommendation for adults and children. It also includes limited and insignificant levels of micronutrients like as minerals.

Oyster sauce is inherently rich in sodium, and if it incorporates soy sauce, the salt concentration may be substantially greater. A tablespoon contains around 492 milligrams of sodium, which is one-third of the American Heart Association’s daily sodium limit of 1,500 mg.

Oyster Sauce 3-MCPD

The chemical 3-MCPD is generally acceptable for most individuals to eat in meals, however there are some worries about its safety when taken in larger doses by younger age groups. 3-MCPD and its esters are processing pollutants found in a variety of processed foods and vegetable oils, including palm oil.

These compounds occur inadvertently, mainly during oil refining, and they may have long-term and negative consequences on the kidneys and male fertility. Long-term animal investigations have also shown that 3-MCDP causes cancer.

Since the late 1990s, regulatory organizations in the European Union, Asian nations, and Canada have been enacting laws to guarantee that 3-MCPD levels in Asian-style sauces and other items do not exceed limitations. In the past, independent testing of oyster sauces and other Asian-style sauces in several nations indicated significant amounts of 3-MCPD, and these items were taken from the market in some circumstances.

kg, to which manufacturers comply and test. kg of 3-MCPD in acid hydrolyzed vegetable protein (aHVP), which is used in the production of non-fermented soy sauce and other Asian-style sauces. The FDA presently recommends a limit of 1 mg. The current European Union regulation is a maximum dosage of 0.02 mg.

How to Keep Oyster Sauce Fresh

Oyster sauce is a shelf-stable product with a best before date rather than a use by date. Unopened oyster sauce should be kept in a cool, dark area away from direct heat and light. Once opened, oyster sauce should be refrigerated with the top well covered and should last for around six months.

The quality of the oyster sauce will deteriorate with time. By oxidation, the color darkens and the taste intensifies. The components of the sauce will begin to separate, which is a common sign. It may also vary in flavor, texture, or color, although they are typically not dangerous to health unless the small is poor and mold is present. As usual, if in doubt, toss it!

Conclusion

This article has discussed what oyster sauce is and how it is created. We’ve also discussed some of the simplest methods to include oyster sauce into your cuisine, the nutritional value of a serving of oyster sauce, and how to tell if your oyster sauce has gone bad.

We hope that our evaluations of the finest oyster sauce have been useful in adding an umami touch to your cuisine, whether you want a classic oyster sauce, a vegetarian sauce, one devoid of MSG, or one that is gluten free.