Oyster sauce

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.

Development

The development of oyster sauce is often credited to Lee Kam Sheung, from Nam Shui Village, Guangdong. Lee made his living running a small eatery that sold cooked oysters. The Lee Kum Kee company gives an accounting of the invention of the sauce as follows:

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 flavor 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.