Oyster sauce
Magallana gigas · Condiment
Top 10 pairings
Oyster sauce is a thick, glossy, dark-brown Cantonese condiment built on the concentrated savoury liquor of cooked oysters, simmered down with sugar, salt and a soy-and-starch base into a sweet-savoury umami glaze. It is the workhorse seasoning of southern Chinese stir-fries, lending sheen, body and depth far more than any obvious taste of the sea.
Picking a good onedrag
Sealed, glossy, sweet-savouryFizzing, fuzzy, sour
Open and in useEveryday bestThe workhorse bottle, kept cold and stirred before it pours. A tablespoon carries close to 500 mg of sodium, so season the dish after it, not before.
The pour off a spoonThick still, with a bead of thin liquid risen on top - stir it under and the gloss comes back
Smell at the neckStill round and savoury, the malt and roast a shade quieter in a bottle long open
Cap, seal and neckIn use, with a little dried dark sauce crusted on the thread from earlier pours
Read the labelOyster extract behind water, sugar and salt, with soy and starch to finish - the standard bottle