Oyster sauce
| Oyster sauce | |||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | |||||||||||||
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| Simplified Chinese | |||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | oyster oil/liquid | ||||||||||||
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| Alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 蚵油 | ||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | háo yóu |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | hòuh yàuh |
| Jyutping | hou4 jau4 |
| Transcriptions | |
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| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | ô-iû |
Oyster sauce describes a number of sauces made by cooking oysters. The most common in modern use is a viscous dark brown condiment made from sugar, salt and water thickened with cornstarch, flavoured with a little oyster essence or extract. Some versions may be darkened with caramel, though high quality oyster sauce is naturally dark. It is commonly used in Cantonese, Thai, Vietnamese and Khmer cuisine.
Traditionally, oyster sauce is made by slowly simmering oysters in water until the juices caramelise into a thick, brown, intensely flavourful sauce. Today, many shortcuts have been made to create a similar flavour more quickly and at reduced cost. Oyster sauces today are usually made with a base of sugar and salt and thickened with corn starch. Oyster extracts or essences are then used to give flavour to the base sauce. Other ingredients, such as soy sauce and MSG may also be added to deepen the flavour and add colour. The quality of the oyster sauce will greatly affect the flavour.
Oyster sauce adds a savory flavour to many dishes, making it an ideal choice for flavouring meat and vegetables. The sauce is a staple for much Chinese family-style cooking. It is commonly used in noodle stir-fries, such as chow mein. It is also found in popular Chinese-American dishes such as beef with stir-fried vegetables. Oyster sauce can also be used as a topping for some dishes.
Dishes that may use oyster sauce include Crab in oyster sauce, Kai-lan, Buddha's delight, Hainanese chicken rice, Cashew chicken, Lo mein, Cha siu baau, Yum cha, Har gow, Kai yat sai, Wonton noodles, and Daikon cake.
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Wikipedia