This is one sauce that you absolutely can't get in my region of South Africa. Personally I think this, along with black bean sauce is an essential sauce for any Chinese-style cookery. In the US, hoisin sauce is much better known (but that is very sugary). Oyster sauce has much more complexity and depth of flavour.
The genuine oyster sauce (耗油, hào yóu) is made by condensing oyster extracts by simmering oysters in water until you have a thick, unctuous sauce. It is a classic flavour enhancer that lifts the flavour of many oriental (not just Chinese) dishes.
A vegetarian version is available, which is made from shiitake mushrooms. However, for this sauce you need to use the dried shiitakes — there is no substitute as the mushrooms have been smoked during the drying process.
But what do you do if you can't get dried shiitakes? Thankfully my local Spar occasionally sells the fresh mushroom. So, on a day when my wife wasn't around I decided to make my own smoker in the kitchen. Being a barbecue culture, you can get smoking wood chips easily in South Africa. I mixed these with black tea in a large aluminium container (the type you get for take-away food). I set chopsticks on top and set the mushrooms on top of these. This I set on one of the small hobs of the cooker and covered everything with a wok lid. Turning the hob to high I let the heat do its work and within 20 minutes aromatic smoke was billowing out of my improvised smoker.
I let the mushrooms smoke for 40 minutes then turned the heat off. Once they were cool, the mushrooms were threaded onto a string and were dried in the sun every day for a week until completely dry.
I wasn't sure that the mushrooms would yield the requisite amount of flavour so I also bought a tin of smoked oysters for even more taste.
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 small tin of smoked oysters in oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tbsp ginger, finely grated
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp African black honey (substitute any runny honey)
1/4 tsp five-spice powder
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
Set the soaking liquid aside for 10 minutes to settle. In the meantime, use a sharp knife to slice the mushrooms into thin pieces.
Carefully remove 2 cups of the mushroom liquid without disturbing any sediment. Remove the oyster meats from the tin and combine with the mushroom soaking liquid in a small pan. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat and poach gently until the liquid has reduced by 50%.
Remove the oysters and use in another recipe (they are good sliced in an omelette).
Combine the groundnut oil and oil form the oysters in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the shiitake slices and fry gently on both sides until mushrooms are golden (about 3 minutes). Now add the ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for about 4 minutes, or until aromatic then take off the heat and turn into a food procesor. Pour in the oyster-flavoured liquid and process until smooth.
Pour the liquid back into the pan then add the soy sauces, honey and five-spice powder. Stir well to combine then cook gently over low heat until the sauce comes just to a gentle simmer and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Pour into a heat-proof bowl to cool slightly. Whilst still warm pour through a funnel into a sterilized bottle or jar. Seal securely and allow to cool completely.
This will keep in the refrigerator for 3 weeks if not opened (one open use within a week).
If you can get proper dried shiitake mushrooms then you can omit the oysters for a fully vegetarian version of the sauce. I, however, like the additional depth of flavour that the smoked oysters add to this sauce.
Use 1 or 2 tbps of the sauce to flavour Chinese stir-fry and noodle dishes. This can also be used as a home-made flavour and colour enhancer for stews, gravies and sauces of all kinds.
The genuine oyster sauce (耗油, hào yóu) is made by condensing oyster extracts by simmering oysters in water until you have a thick, unctuous sauce. It is a classic flavour enhancer that lifts the flavour of many oriental (not just Chinese) dishes.
A vegetarian version is available, which is made from shiitake mushrooms. However, for this sauce you need to use the dried shiitakes — there is no substitute as the mushrooms have been smoked during the drying process.
But what do you do if you can't get dried shiitakes? Thankfully my local Spar occasionally sells the fresh mushroom. So, on a day when my wife wasn't around I decided to make my own smoker in the kitchen. Being a barbecue culture, you can get smoking wood chips easily in South Africa. I mixed these with black tea in a large aluminium container (the type you get for take-away food). I set chopsticks on top and set the mushrooms on top of these. This I set on one of the small hobs of the cooker and covered everything with a wok lid. Turning the hob to high I let the heat do its work and within 20 minutes aromatic smoke was billowing out of my improvised smoker.
I let the mushrooms smoke for 40 minutes then turned the heat off. Once they were cool, the mushrooms were threaded onto a string and were dried in the sun every day for a week until completely dry.
I wasn't sure that the mushrooms would yield the requisite amount of flavour so I also bought a tin of smoked oysters for even more taste.
Home-made Oyster Sauce
Ingredients:
40g (2 cups) dried shiitake mushrooms2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 small tin of smoked oysters in oil
2 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tbsp ginger, finely grated
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp African black honey (substitute any runny honey)
1/4 tsp five-spice powder
2 tsp toasted sesame oil
Method:
Begin with the mushrooms. Gently rinse them to remove any dust and grit then place in a bowl and cover with hot water (the water should come 5cm [2 in] above the mushrooms). Allow to steep for about 45 minutes, or until the mushrooms are completely tender.Set the soaking liquid aside for 10 minutes to settle. In the meantime, use a sharp knife to slice the mushrooms into thin pieces.
Carefully remove 2 cups of the mushroom liquid without disturbing any sediment. Remove the oyster meats from the tin and combine with the mushroom soaking liquid in a small pan. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat and poach gently until the liquid has reduced by 50%.
Remove the oysters and use in another recipe (they are good sliced in an omelette).
Combine the groundnut oil and oil form the oysters in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the shiitake slices and fry gently on both sides until mushrooms are golden (about 3 minutes). Now add the ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for about 4 minutes, or until aromatic then take off the heat and turn into a food procesor. Pour in the oyster-flavoured liquid and process until smooth.
Pour the liquid back into the pan then add the soy sauces, honey and five-spice powder. Stir well to combine then cook gently over low heat until the sauce comes just to a gentle simmer and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Pour into a heat-proof bowl to cool slightly. Whilst still warm pour through a funnel into a sterilized bottle or jar. Seal securely and allow to cool completely.
This will keep in the refrigerator for 3 weeks if not opened (one open use within a week).
If you can get proper dried shiitake mushrooms then you can omit the oysters for a fully vegetarian version of the sauce. I, however, like the additional depth of flavour that the smoked oysters add to this sauce.
Use 1 or 2 tbps of the sauce to flavour Chinese stir-fry and noodle dishes. This can also be used as a home-made flavour and colour enhancer for stews, gravies and sauces of all kinds.
oyster mushrooms, ginger, garlic, oysters, sauce, chinese
Sauces
Chinese
Home-made Oyster Sauce
https://fabulousfusionfood.blogspot.com/2019/04/home-made-oyster-sauce-recipe.html
Home-made Oyster Sauce. This is a recipe for home-made oyster sauce made from dried oyster mushrooms and smoked oysters flavoured with garlic and ginger. This is an essential Chinese flavouring.
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUdFDEBOseqUrlWZEVuqeI5NBXlUhp4095GKumiMZ0vqQwGuvDeLPymy89vzc-x5aiYHIrxLUSRvHnoLQtV15XgH9je6oQw7GU-cn7_Y1MIGxDrDMFiFUA9wPrX5O09wqe3WBTbDHfh2A/s1600/oyster-sauce.png
2019-02-18
Yield: 1 Jar
Home-made Oyster Sauce
Home-made Oyster Sauce. This is a recipe for home-made oyster sauce made from dried oyster mushrooms and smoked oysters flavoured with garlic and ginger. This is an essential Chinese flavouring.
prep time: 40 mins
cook time: 20 mins
total time: 60 mins
Ingredients:
- 40g (2 cups) dried shiitake mushrooms
- 2 tbsp groundnut oil
- 1 small tin of smoked oysters in oil
- 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 tbsp ginger, finely grated
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tsp African black honey (substitute any runny honey)
- 1/4 tsp five-spice powder
- 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
Method:
- Begin with the mushrooms. Gently rinse them to remove any dust and grit then place in a bowl and cover with hot water (the water should come 5cm [2 in] above the mushrooms). Allow to steep for about 45 minutes, or until the mushrooms are completely tender.
- Set the soaking liquid aside for 10 minutes to settle. In the meantime, use a sharp knife to slice the mushrooms into thin pieces.
- Carefully remove 2 cups of the mushroom liquid without disturbing any sediment. Remove the oyster meats from the tin and combine with the mushroom soaking liquid in a small pan. Bring to a simmer then reduce the heat and poach gently until the liquid has reduced by 50%.
- Remove the oysters and use in another recipe (they are good sliced in an omelette).
- Combine the groundnut oil and oil form the oysters in a medium pan over medium heat. Add the shiitake slices and fry gently on both sides until mushrooms are golden (about 3 minutes). Now add the ginger and garlic. Stir-fry for about 4 minutes, or until aromatic then take off the heat and turn into a food procesor. Pour in the oyster-flavoured liquid and process until smooth.
- Pour the liquid back into the pan then add the soy sauces, honey and five-spice powder. Stir well to combine then cook gently over low heat until the sauce comes just to a gentle simmer and is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon.
- Take the pan off the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Pour into a heat-proof bowl to cool slightly. Whilst still warm pour through a funnel into a sterilized bottle or jar. Seal securely and allow to cool completely.
- This will keep in the refrigerator for 3 weeks if not opened (one open use within a week).
- If you can get proper dried shiitake mushrooms then you can omit the oysters for a fully vegetarian version of the sauce. I, however, like the additional depth of flavour that the smoked oysters add to this sauce.
- Use 1 or 2 tbps of the sauce to flavour Chinese stir-fry and noodle dishes. This can also be used as a home-made flavour and colour enhancer for stews, gravies and sauces of all kinds.
© Dyfed Lloyd Evans
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