If you do not like fish and for this reason consider that oyster sauce is not for you, then you are deeply mistaken. This popular Asian seasoning does not have a fishy taste, moreover, it does not even smell of seafood, although it is made from oysters or oyster extract. The sauce has a thick texture, reminiscent of jam, dark brown, almost black. If you try this sauce for the first time, not knowing what it is made of, it may seem to you that its main ingredient is rich beef broth.
Asians appreciate the oyster sauce not only for its unique taste, but also for the undoubted benefit that sauce made from real oysters has. After all, it contains a lot of phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, amino acids and other valuable elements. It will bring many benefits if consumed in moderation. A lot of it is not required: a few drops of the product can completely transform rice cooked on the stove or another dish.
Fans of Asian cuisine can find oyster sauce in the store, but they can not have a guarantee that in its manufacture has not been used harmful additives. Therefore, it will be much better if you decide to make oyster sauce at home.
What they eat oyster sauce
Realizing that seafood is at the heart of the oyster sauce, many housewives make the erroneous conclusion that it fits to fish dishes. Of course, it can be served with fish, but it will not be the most harmonious combination. Oyster sauce goes much better with meat, especially fried over high heat. Oyster sauce can be served with pork, including grilled ones, as well as shish kebab from it. No less harmonious combination is obtained with poultry meat. Oyster sauce is also added to rice and vegetables during their preparation; they do this a few minutes before being prepared, in order to maximize the benefit of the sauce.
It’s also a good idea to add a few drops of sauce to a fish and seafood soup. It will get a pleasant shade and become even more appetizing.
Seafood with oyster sauce is best combined with shrimp.
Cooking Features
It cannot be said that the preparation of oyster sauce requires great skill from the hostess, especially if it is prepared from an extract. However, knowledge of the subtleties of technology does not hurt, because we are talking about an exotic sauce for our area.
- If you decide to make a sauce of fresh oysters, wash them thoroughly in running water and be sure to scrub with a brush to remove the oozy deposits.
- Oysters must be boiled for 10 minutes right in the shell. This will help to detect poor-quality specimens: if the shell has not opened during this time, the oyster in it, apparently, is already dead and it can easily be poisoned.
- Before pouring the oyster sauce into the bottle, it must be drained. And this should be done before the sauce thickens. As a result of the previous heat treatment, the sauce will have time to soak up the flavors of spices, so keeping them in it for a long time is not necessary at all.
If you spilled ready-made oyster sauce in sterilized jars or bottles, then you can keep it in the refrigerator for quite a long time: for a month, you definitely shouldn't worry about it.
Basic recipe for oyster sauce
Composition:
- peeled oysters with liquid in which they were boiled or pickled - 0, 22 kg;
- light soy sauce - 50 ml;
- dark soy sauce - 15 ml;
- water - 20 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Wash, clean the oysters. Boil it. Remove from the broth when the shells have opened, and chop finely.
- Fill the oyster with soy sauce, pre-mix its two varieties and add a little water or liquid, in which they were pickled or boiled.
- Put on a low fire and cook until the sauce has evaporated to a third.
On the basis of this recipe, you can prepare different versions of the sauce, adding roasted sesame, ginger and other ingredients to taste.
Classic Oyster Recipe
Composition:
- fresh oysters - 0, 45 kg (can be replaced with canned in the amount of 0, 25 kg);
- onions - 40 g;
- garlic - 1 clove;
- butter - 80 g;
- wheat flour - 35 g;
- grated ginger root - 20 g;
- thyme - 5 g;
- dried basil - 5 g;
- chicken broth - 120 ml;
- soy sauce - 60 ml;
- cream - 120 ml;
- marinade or broth from oysters - 60 ml.
Method of preparation:
- Clean and boil the oysters. Throw away the undiscovered, remove the rest from the shell and chop finely.
- Peel the onion, cut a piece of it, and chop it into small cubes with a knife.
- Finely chop the garlic and mix it with the onion.
- Melt the butter in a pan, put onion and garlic in it and fry for 5-7 minutes.
- Add ginger and fry for another 2-3 minutes.
- Add the oysters with spices and seasonings, continue cooking over low heat for 5 minutes.
- Mix marinade with oysters, soy sauce, cream and chicken broth.
- Pour the sifted flour into a pan with oysters, stir.
- While beating the oysters with a whisk with vegetables, pour in the liquid in a thin stream. Cook, continuing to whisk, another 5 minutes.
- Strain the sauce or whisk it in a blender, simultaneously grinding the main ingredients harder.
- Return the sauce to the skillet. Boil over low heat, stirring until the sauce has a thick consistency.
Soy sauce made from natural oysters is expensive, and you have to conjure a little over its preparation, but its taste will exceed your wildest expectations.
Simple recipe for oyster sauce
Composition:
- oyster extract - 25 ml;
- corn starch or potato starch - 20 g;
- caramelized sugar - 5 g;
- water or broth - 0, 5 l.
Method of preparation:
- Dissolve sugar in broth, add oyster extract to it and boil for 10 minutes.
- Pour off some liquid, cool. Dissolve starch.
- Add the starch to the broth and cook the sauce until it is almost as thick as jam.
A person who does not have even a small culinary experience can cook oyster sauce according to the above recipe. At the same time, meat dishes with him will look very unusual, and their taste will almost certainly amaze you.
If desired, you can prepare a sauce that represents an oyster imitation. To do this, instead of oysters, you will need dried shiitake mushrooms in an amount of 50 g instead of 220 g of peeled oysters. They will first need to be soaked in water and rinsed, and then used instead of oysters, taking as a base any favorite recipe. The sauce, which turns out as a result, from the oyster can only be distinguished by a true connoisseur of Asian cuisine.
