Oyster sauce

Oyster sauce is a thick, savory condiment made with oyster extracts. It is used widely in Chinese and other East and Southeast Asian cuisines.

Oyster extract: A concentrated ingredient produced from oysters, used to impart their savory flavor to foods. It supplies oyster sauce with its characteristic seafood-derived savoriness.
Maillard reaction: A set of reactions between amino acids and reducing sugars that creates browned flavors during heating. Heating oyster sauce with other ingredients can develop browned, complex flavors.
Lee Kum Kee: A Hong Kong food company founded by Lee Kum Sheung in 1888, known for commercializing oyster sauce. The company helped make bottled oyster sauce widely available.
Beef with broccoli: A stir-fried dish of beef and broccoli commonly seasoned with a savory sauce. Oyster sauce is a characteristic seasoning in many versions of this dish.
Hoisin sauce: A thick, sweet-savory Chinese sauce commonly made from fermented soybeans and seasonings. It resembles oyster sauce in thickness but is generally sweeter and contains no oyster extract.
Glutamate: An amino acid whose free form contributes a savory taste known as umami. Oyster extracts contain glutamate, which helps give the sauce its deep savory taste.
Stir-frying: A cooking method that rapidly fries small pieces of food in a hot pan while stirring. Oyster sauce is commonly added during stir-frying to coat ingredients with savory flavor.
Lee Kum Sheung: A Chinese restaurateur credited with creating oyster sauce in the late nineteenth century. He is associated with the sauce's origin in Guangdong.
Chow mein: A Chinese dish of stir-fried noodles with vegetables and, often, meat or seafood. Oyster sauce can season the noodles and vegetables during stir-frying.
Fish sauce: A salty liquid condiment made by fermenting fish with salt. It shares seafood-derived savoriness but is thinner and made through fermentation.

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