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Substitute for Oyster Sauce
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Anonymous
| My DH is allergic to shellfish and oyster sauce is a no no. I am making something that calls for oyster sauce. I looked up substitutes which I found soy sauce, but that is already in the recipe. What else can I use, anyone have a suggestion? |
Anonymous
| There is a vegetarian oyster sauce made from mushrooms. Not sure where you can get it though. |
Anonymous
| Vietnamese Anchovies sauce, Nuc Nam. |
Anonymous
| Hoisin, maybe? The taste and quality is pretty similar. |
Anonymous
I picked up Hoisin, thanks for the suggestion. Is oyster sauce sweet? |
Anonymous
|
Oyster sauce is hard to describe.. it's saline-like and briny, but not fishy or fermented in the way Vietnamese fish sauce smells & tastes.
We usually had oyster sauce over sauteed greens (bok choy, yu choy, or plain old broccoli), there's something about the heft of the sauce that works really well with the bitterness of the greens. Hoisin is a sweet soy-based sauce that goes well with Peking duck (dab of sauce, a slice of duck, some scallions wrapped in a pancake) or in the marinade for Chinese bbq pork. I have a hoisin ginger marinade that works well with grilled chicken thighs. I don't think Hoisin and Oyster sauce are really that interchangeable. Can you just omit the oyster sauce? We do this all the time, since we also have a child with a shellfish allergy. |
Anonymous
| Yes oyster sauce is sweet and salty. I think they're really similar in taste. You don't really taste any true oyster or fishiness in oyster sauce anyway. |
Anonymous
|
This is what I am trying to make. Would hoisin work or should I just leave it out?
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/11/jadens-beef-with-broccoli/ |
Anonymous
|
Actually I think I personally would just forego all of that premade sauce stuff and just make my own sauce. This one that Tyler Perry makes in his stir fry eggplant works well. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/szechwan-eggplant-stir-fry-recipe/index.html
None of the ingredients are odd. It's just the proportion of them that makes it work as a sauce. But I also bet you could find some "oyster" sauce at the grocery store that doesn't have any oyster in it. If you notice the Pioneer woman's photos, it says "oyster flavored sauce"... and I'm fairly sure that stuff has no oyster in it. |
Anonymous
|
fwiw, hoisin and oyster sauces are staples in any chinese cuisine oriented kitchen - not "odd" by any means.
try h-mart for oyster sauce |
Anonymous
Yes, I use vegetarian oyster sauce all the time and I'm sure I used to get it at Whole Foods but I can't find it ANYWHERE now! If anyone has seen it, please let me know!! (Sorry to hijack your thread, OP). |
Anonymous
I know I can get them anywhere but I can't use the oyster sauce, we have a shellfish allergy. I need an alternative to oyster sauce or veggie oyster sauce. Will check Whole Foods agian. |
Anonymous
| If you can't find vegetarian oyster sauce, I would go for a stir fry sauce. You'll see some of the options at Whole Foods say "stir fry sauce" & they are usually vegetarian. They are the closest I've found. |
Anonymous
Hoisin and Oyster sauces are traditional Chinese flavorings, and are both brown and viscous, but the similarities pretty much end there. Oyster sauce is briny and salty, Hoisin is sweet and made with dried fruits (plums I think). Hoisin and Oyster are about as interchangeable as ketchup and marinara sauce, or salsa. If I needed a substitute on the fly, I would probably make a little mixture of soy sauce, a pinch of sugar, chicken broth and some corn starch. I actually don't think oyster sauce has any oyster in it, though. |
Anonymous
It does have oyster in it, I checked the ingredients. |