The best substitute for oyster sauce

Stir-fries, Kung Pao chicken, Sichuan spicy noodles, beef with broccoli, chow mein… is your mouth watering yet? What do all these dishes (and many more) have in common? If your answer is that they are Chinese food, then you are partially correct.

Another common entity among these dishes is that they are usually seasoned with oyster sauce. Don’t be scared by that title. Chances are you’ve never heard of oyster sauce. Either that or you came looking because your Kung Pao Shrimp recipe calls for oyster sauce and you need a substitute!

What is a good substitute for oyster sauce?

The best substitute for oyster sauce is soy sauce because it’s the closest in flavor, saltiness, and color, but there are several options you can try in a pinch. If you don’t have soy sauce, you can also use fish sauce or make a homemade oyster sauce.

In this guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about oyster sauce, including discovering some substitute options you can use when your recipe calls for oyster sauce. We have some really great options for you to substitute oyster sauce.

Read on to find out the best substitute for oyster sauce and much more.

Complete Guide to Oyster Sauce Substitutes

Oyster sauce may or may not be a familiar term to you. It is a sauce that is used mainly in Asian dishes. It’s not a sauce you’re likely to find at your local seafood restaurants, though it’s a possibility.

Oyster sauce can be made in a number of ways, but ultimately it is a brown sauce much like soy sauce. It is made by cooking oysters and is usually made into a brown sauce that is used as a seasoning or in cooking.

Oyster sauce usually contains extracts from the cooked oysters, as well as water, cornstarch, sugar, and salt to make it into a sauce. Most of the time it is naturally dark on its own, but there are also times when it gets darker with the use of caramel.

In case this isn’t any indication, oyster sauce is both sweet and salty. You only need a little when preparing any type of dish, because it is quite salty.

Originally, oyster sauce was made solely by simmering oysters in water and then adding a few additional ingredients.

Oyster sauce is still made this way today, but it is more common to use oyster extract or oyster essence to simplify the process and not have to simmer the oysters to make the sauce.

How to use oyster sauce

If you came to this guide because you’re making a recipe that calls for oyster sauce but have never heard of it, we’ve got you covered. Not a usual sauce, unless you do a lot of Asian cooking.

Of course, regular cooks of Asian culture are quite familiar with the sauce, but many of us don’t even realize that we’ve tried it on so many dishes at our favorite Chinese restaurants.

I’m sure you’ve learned something new today! 

When oyster sauce is used, other sauces are usually used as well. It is mostly cooked in dishes to flavor it, but can also be used as a dip or garnish. Remember that oyster sauce can be quite salty.

Here are some common dishes that are traditionally made with oyster sauce. 

• asian stir fry
• lo mein and chow mein
• Bok Choi
• Prawns or Kung Pao Chicken
• Sichuan Spicy Noodles
• beef with broccoli
• Grilled Thai Chicken Wings
• soups
• other sauces

Oyster sauce can be used for bland foods, such as tofu.

Oyster sauce has a bold and unique flavor and can easily enhance foods that are naturally bland. It’s also not uncommon to drizzle a small amount of sauce over steamed Asian vegetables for extra flavor.

And last but not least, the most popular use of oyster sauce is to use it to create another type of sauce. This is where it comes into play in many Asian dishes (including those listed in this article).

It doesn’t taste like fish, but it does have a unique, salty flavor that can be quite strong. Mixed into a sauce creation it can tame the flavor while still getting the most out of it.

Oyster sauce is nothing to be scared of. In fact, if you like any kind of Asian cuisine, chances are you’ve had it in some dish and you haven’t even noticed.

The Best Substitutes for Oyster Sauce

The biggest challenge is that oyster sauce can be hard to find. If you’re making a new recipe and it’s not something you’ve bought before, you’re probably pulling your hair out trying to find it. You’ve found hoisin sauce, soy sauce, stir-fry sauce, and other dark sauces, but oyster sauce is nowhere to be found!

If your local supermarket has an international food section, it may be there mixed with other Asian sauces. However, if you can’t find it there, your store probably doesn’t have it.

The best thing to do to find oyster sauce is to find some kind of Asian supermarket or order it online.  It’s not a very common sauce, so it can be harder to find unless you have an Asian market nearby.

But that doesn’t really help you now to find a suitable substitute for your recipe, does it? That’s where we come in.

We have several substitute options to share with you. Don’t get depressed about not finding or not having oyster sauce. You probably won’t notice the difference when you use any of these substitute options in your recipes.

In fact, you may even notice that many Asian-style homestyle recipes don’t even call for oyster sauce. These recipes have already been adapted to omit it or replace it with something else.

1. Soy sauce

Soy sauce is perhaps the best oyster sauce substitute you can find. You can simply substitute the amount of oyster sauce for an equal amount of soy sauce.

It is the most common substitute and, in terms of flavor, it will be the closest.

Soy sauce is usually quite salty and also has a similar color. The main difference is that soy sauce is not made from oysters. However, in essence they are very similar.

Here are a couple of our favorite soy sauce options. 

• Kikkoman Soy Sauce – Perhaps one of the best known soy sauce brands. It is highly rated and very popular. This brand makes all of its soy sauce naturally, providing you with delicious flavor and quality all in one. It is very reasonably priced and very reliable when it comes to soy sauce.
• La Choy Soy Sauce - La Choy is another regular brand name in the world of soy sauce. Their soy sauce is great for all kinds of uses and it tastes great too. The flavor is a bit deeper than Kikkoman, making it another great option with unique characteristics.
• Kishibori Shoyu Artisan Soy Sauce : This soy sauce is a premium blend imported directly from Japan. The Japanese take great care in making this soy sauce and it is very authentic. You will certainly notice a full and bold flavor that is still smooth and delicious in your different dishes.

These are just a few of our favourites. They are high quality when it comes to soy sauce and these options certainly won’t let you down when you need a suitable alternative to oyster sauce.

The good thing about soy sauce is that it is already a common ingredient in Asian cuisine. If you make these types of dishes regularly, you probably already have some on hand. And if you have to go out and buy soy sauce, it will be much easier to find at your local grocery store.

Don’t worry about not finding soy sauce. Substitute soy sauce in the same amount and your dish will still be deliciously satisfying.

2. Fish sauce

Fish sauce is another suitable substitute for oyster sauce in your recipes. Fish sauce is similar to oyster sauce in that it is made from an aquatic creature. Just as oyster sauce is made with oysters, fish sauce is made with fish or krill.

The fish is salted and fermented for quite some time and the end result is another similar sauce. Fish sauce is often compared to both oyster sauce and soy sauce.

It has the same brown color and a sweet and salty taste . This sauce has a bit of a fishy flavor that can make it stand out a bit.

If you substitute it for fish sauce, you will substitute it again in equal measure as the oyster sauce. You may even want to use a little less if you are concerned about the fishy taste.

Fish sauce is mostly used in Thai, Indonesian, and Vietnamese dishes, but it’s a suitable substitute option when you need it. It’s also another sauce that’s probably easier to find at your local grocery store.

If you need a recommendation on which one to try, we like these two options. 

1. Thai Kitchen – This is the brand you are likely to find in your grocery store. It is a reliable and well-known brand with great taste. It is made with fresh, high-quality ingredients. It has no added monosodium glutamate and is also gluten and dairy free.
2. Red Boat - Red Boat is a premium fish sauce that costs a bit more. It is very pure, with only 2 ingredients in the sauce: the fish and the salt. It contains no added preservatives or MSG, and no water is added to the sauce either. It is a well made and flavorful sauce that will not disappoint you.

Fish sauce is the next best alternative depending on the type of dish you are preparing.

3. Make your own vegan-friendly substitute

If you have any kind of vegan or vegetarian dietary restrictions, you can make your own oyster sauce substitute that will be similar to soy sauce. All you need is mushroom or mushroom broth, brown bean sauce, and raw sugar.

You’ll make a combination of water, mushroom broth, brown bean sauce, and raw sugar and let it simmer for quite some time.

When it has boiled for a while, you will add a touch of cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

It’s a fairly simple combination and it works very well, especially if you have dietary restrictions that make it difficult for you to find other sauces like soy sauce and fish sauce that work for you.

The end result is a taste very similar to soy sauce, but without the oysters and fish. 

4. Homemade oyster sauce

If you are determined to have oyster sauce and you need it as soon as possible, you can always try to make it yourself.

Making homemade oyster sauce isn’t too bad and will work in a pinch, you just need some oysters and salt and some soy sauce for added flavor.

Sounds like a scam, we know.

This won’t be exactly like oyster sauce, but it will be close enough, and it’s the easiest possible way to make your own oyster sauce without being challenging. 

1. Drain the shelled oysters, reserving the liquid.
2. Chop the drained oysters.
3. Add a small amount of the water, as well as the liquid from the oysters, back to a pot with the chopped oysters.
4. Boil the mixture.
5. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes.
6. Remove the pot from the heat, add salt and let the mixture cool.
7. Sieve the mixture to remove any oyster pieces.
8. Add 2 tablespoons of clear soy sauce for every half cup of mixture.
9. Next, add dark soy sauce. You only need a small amount, 1/2 tablespoon for each cup of mixture.
10. Bring the solution with the added soy sauce back to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

This process will give you a homemade oyster sauce that will work quite well as a substitute. It’s not an exact science, but it sure will get you close.

Conclusion

The most important thing to remember is that you shouldn’t do without oyster sauce entirely.

Finding some suitable alternative is much better than simply omitting the ingredient. You need something to use and any of these options will be a good substitute.

You can also try things like hoisin or stir fry sauce, or a combination of both, for another option.

Don’t skip the plate or the sauce! Find another way and your dish will still be delicious.

Related questions

We hope you found this guide to finding the best oyster sauce substitute a valuable resource with many options.

We invite you to also review the questions and answers section for additional information that might be useful to you.

Can oyster sauce be used as a dipping sauce?

Oyster sauce is a good dipping sauce for vegetables, it can also be drizzled over them. You will need a very small amount when using it this way, as it can taste quite salty.

Does the oyster sauce taste like fish?

The oyster sauce has a slight earthy flavor, but not fishy. It is more of a salty sauce with a sweet and salty taste.