Oyster Sauce

[Nay-nay]

Does anyone have a recipe for oyster sauce? I have a Friend that buys 2 bottles of this stuff a week and puts it on absolutely everything! The list of ingredients is pretty nasty and the amount of oysters actually in it is minimal if at all. If I give her this recipe I think I could convince her to get her own TMX.

[Thermomixer]

How do you go at getting oysters in your part of the world?  I have a recipe with fresh oysters, but the cost compared with "mock" oyster sauce may make your friend think again.

Can dig it out tomorrow - just need to remember

[faffa_70]

I would love a "mock" oyster sauce recipe that I can make as DH is allergic to shell fish and we have never tried using oyster sauce just  in case - I couldn't deal with the drama lol... but I do like it in some things  Maybe we will need to go and park in the carpark of the hospital one day and just try it 

[Nay-nay]

How do you go at getting oysters in your part of the world?  I have a recipe with fresh oysters, but the cost compared with "mock" oyster sauce may make your friend think again.

Can dig it out tomorrow - just need to remember

Thanks Thermomixer - would still love to see it.

[judydawn]

What about a recipe for vegetarian oyster sauce made with mushrooms Kathryn - safer for your DH.  Maybe Thermomixer can provide a recipe for that.

[faffa_70]

I would love one! I always threaten DH with either oyster sauce in his dinner or ground up Glucosamine tablets if he misbehaves lol - he tells me I am evil 

[bron]

I would love a "mock" oyster sauce recipe that I can make as DH is allergic to shell fish and we have never tried using oyster sauce just  in case - I couldn't deal with the drama lol... but I do like it in some things  Maybe we will need to go and park in the carpark of the hospital one day and just try it 

Oh Kath! You have made me laugh! Can just see you there now!

[Nay-nay]

Oyster sauce - anyone?? Don't tell me I've stumped the world!  Any Asian style cooks?? Anything that resembles that kind of sauce?? 

[faffa_70]

OK Judy, think you might have to do the work and tell us what you were thinking with the mushrooms for the oyster sauce - seems no one else has any ideas to share 

[Nay-nay]

http://www.indobase.com/recipes/details/oyster-sauce.php
Found this on a search:
Ingredients: 
 
• 4 tbsp Butter
• 1 Cup onion (chopped)
• 8 oz. Oysters
• 2 Cups oyster water
• 1 tsp Thyme
• 1 tsp Oregano
• 2 tsp Basil
• 4 Garlic flakes (minced)
• 4 tbsp Butter
• 2 tbsp Flour
• 1 Cup cream
• Salt and pepper to taste
 
 
How to make Oyster Sauce:
• Chop the green onions. 
• Heat the butter. 
• Add chopped onions till soft. 
• Mix oysters, oyster water, thyme, oregano, basil and minced garlic. 
• Stir the mixture. 
• Mix butter and flour. 
• Cook to make a thick mixture. 
• Add this to the above mixture. 
• Cook the sauce over medium heat for 5 minutes. 
• Keep it aside. 
• Now add cream to the sauce. 
• Add salt and pepper. 
• Oyster sauce is ready. 
 
 Would oyster water be water oysters have been cooked in??? and could you just use fresh garlic??

[Thermomixer]

Hi Nay-nay - sorry, I forgot.

In answer to your question about oyster water - it is the juice that comes from the oyster when shucking them.

Garlic - yes definitely could use fresh garlic.

Now about recipes:

The simplest, but least like the oyster sauces you buy, is based on freshly shucked oysters just cooked in their juice (that has been strained to remove grit) and some stock (fish, chicken or vegetable) for about 20 minutes then blitzed.  Salt is added to taste.

That is expensive and not generally what people would want.  It looks a bit insipid too, as it is pale.

The recipe you have found is interesting and will be very rich, and pale, so again, not like the Chinese version in bottles.

The bottles will have caramel essence or similar to give the dark colour.  You can use soy sauce, especially the dark varieties or ketcap manis to give it some more darkness and umami.

The sauces you but are also thicker, and by making a roux with butter or oil, and cornflour, you can get a consistency more like the bottled types.

A recipe that would work, but is going to cost:

Take a dozen oysters and shuck them , saving the water.  Rinse the oysters briefly to remove any grit and place in the TM bowl.  Add the reserved water that has been strained to remove grit.  Add 3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock (or mushroom stock even better), 1 Tbsp cornflour mixed with 1 Tbsp butter to form a paste and 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce.

Cook this for 20 minutes at 90 degrees on Speed 1, then slowly bring up to speed 9 and blitz it for 10 - 20 seconds.


A couple of things - cooked mushrooms will give a similar flavour and it may be possible to cut the cost by cooking up mushrooms to add to the sauce. 

if you are peeling and deseeding tomatoes for dishes, then save the seeds/peel and freeze them.  When you cook the mushrooms you can add the seed/skins and this will add some more glutamates to bulk up the flavour too.

I think that oyster sauce is something that you are going to end up paying a lot more to make at home.

[Nay-nay]

Thanks Thermomixer! Quality FOOD without the nasty additives is what is most importantant to me will give it ago and pass it along to my Friend. 

[judydawn]

OK Judy, think you might have to do the work and tell us what you were thinking with the mushrooms for the oyster sauce - seems no one else has any ideas to share 

I found the following recipe - Bryanna's homemade chinese vegetarian mushroom "oyster sauce" Kathryn.  Seems simple enough.

http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2007/02/chinese-style-vegan-beef-and-asparagus.htmlhttp://

[Nay-nay]

 I found the following recipe - Bryanna's homemade Chinese vegetarian mushroom "oyster sauce" Kathryn.  Seems simple enough.

http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2007/02/chinese-style-vegan-beef-and-asparagus.htmlhttp://
[/quote]
Looks like a good alternative too. Not sure what's in brown bean paste - wouldn't want to get something worse than already had!

[faffa_70]

Thank you ladies, I will get around to it in the next couple of WEEKS  and report back. Might help me keep the EVIL tag at bay for a while lol