The market · Seasonings and ferments · East Asia, Southeast Asia
Oyster sauce
A thick, sweet-savoury sauce of oyster extract, sugar and salt — Cantonese in origin, Thai stir-fries use it too.
savoury · sweet · briny
What to do with it
Kenji Hara's Sourdough, 100% ryeOyster sauce would give it depthIbu Sari's Beef rendangOyster sauce would give it depthRosa Ibarra's Clarified milk punch, mezcal and pineappleOyster sauce would give it depthMira Kowalski's Pierogi ruskieOyster sauce would give it depth
ThaiPad kaphraoMinced pork or chicken stir-fried hard with garlic, bird's eye chilli and holy basil, over rice with a crisp fried egg.No one here has made it yetFilipinoPancit cantonThick egg noodles stir-fried with pork, chicken, prawns and vegetables in soy and stock, with calamansi to squeeze over.No one here has made it yetCantoneseChar siuStrips of pork shoulder in a sweet soy marinade, roasted hot and glazed until the edges char.No one here has made it yetCantoneseSiu maiOpen-topped dumplings of pork and prawn in a thin yellow wrapper, steamed, and often dotted on top with fish roe or a little carrot.No one here has made it yetCantonesePork chop bunA marinated pork chop, beaten thin and fried, pressed into a crusty split roll — Macau's favourite snack.No one here has made it yetIf you can't find it
Most supermarkets; Lee Kum Kee's premium is the classic.
- Soy with a little sugar and a few drops of fish sauceYou lose the thick, rounded sweetness.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Chinese grocers. Check oyster extract is high on the list.
- A little history
- The story goes that it was invented by accident in Guangdong in 1888, when a pot of oysters was left to reduce too long.