The Oyster Sauce Substitute Every Vegan Needs In Their Life

If you've ever chowed down on a plate of drunken noodles or moo goo gai pan, then you're already familiar with the wonders oyster sauce can work on a dish. Oyster sauce is a thick, rich condiment popular in Chinese fare. To make it, oysters are slow-simmered in hot water until the resulting juices caramelize.

On the palette, that namesake "oyster" brininess takes a backseat to gentle saltiness, earth pungency, and a subtly sweet finish. Although, the main ingredient in oyster sauce is (shocker) oyster extract, making this superstar condiment tragically off-limits to vegan foodies (alas). Luckily, there's a fitting substitute that can help capture all that umami dimensionality without any seafood content: mushroom broth. Thanks to the naturally-present glutamates in mushrooms, mushroom broth shares oyster sauce's deep umami taste and complex earthiness.

To use mushroom broth as a vegan substitute for oyster sauce, the measurements are largely going to depend on your taste preference. There's no hard-set rule for "how much" to use, so feel free to experiment with your go-to recipes, taste-testing after each addition of more mushroom broth. To thicken your stock into that signature oyster sauce lushness, simply slow-simmer the broth to reduce, or whisk in a few tablespoons of cornstarch slurry.  Alternatively, you could opt for a mushroom broth concentrate, like this paste by Better Than Bouillon made from seasoned mushrooms. Adding less water will yield a thicker body and more concentrated flavor, more closely emulating rich oyster sauce.

Mushroom broth can be found in most grocery store soup aisles, like this boxed liquid broth by Pacific Foods. Or, you could whip up a batch of homemade mushroom broth by simmering fresh mushrooms with complementary vegetables and herbs, like onions and sage. Shiitake mushrooms yield the richest umami flavor for the most fitting oyster sauce substitute.

Oyster sauce is commonly used in Cantonese, Vietnamese, and Thai meat and vegetable dishes, which can be a great jumping-off point for brainstorming ways to put your vegan substitute to good use. Use that mushroom broth to coat steamed Chinese broccoli, sauteed green beans, or wilted bok choy with garlic. You could use it as a flavorful marinade for tofu, or a dipping sauce for vegan sesame pancakes. Or, try adding a splash to your favorite savory vegan soups and stews. It'd even make a silky one-step sauce for coating veggie lo mein, moo shu tofu, or spicy Hunan stir-fry.

By opting for mushroom broth over oyster sauce, vegan home cooks have more control over the ingredient's consistency, facilitating adaptable incorporation in a myriad of recipes. Reducing the broth helps retain the condiment's bold umami flavor, especially if used in tandem with a pinch of MSG powder and a splash of tangy hoisin sauce — a naturally vegan condiment made from fermented soybeans, garlic, chiles, sugar, and Chinese five-spice.