Oyster Sauce

Oyster sauce is a viscous, dark brown condiment made from oyster extracts, sugar, salt and water, thickened with corn starch, that developed from the practice of cooking oysters and is now widely used across Asian cuisines. Production began in China no later than the mid-1870s, using a traditional method of boiling oysters in iron basins, drying them on rattan, and reducing the cooking liquid into a blackish sauce; modern commercial versions typically use oyster extract or essence, sugar, salt and cornstarch, sometimes with added monosodium glutamate, and higher quality versions achieve their dark color through natural caramelization rather than added coloring. It is a staple of Chinese, especially Cantonese, family cooking, commonly used in stir-fries and with noodles, vegetables and meats for its savory, umami flavor, and it also appears in Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Vietnamese and Khmer cuisines.