Does Everything Taste Better When You Add Oyster Sauce?
Yes, it does! This time, I added oyster sauce to fried rice and the last time, to stir-fried eggplant with ground pork. On both occasions, it was a hit with the family! I’m beginning to see a pattern…
Below are some links to more details, including photos:
My Story
I had some recipes for ground beef, one of which was made and documented here. Since broccoli was on sale recently, I pulled a particular recipe that would work for this ingredient as well.
Inspiring Recipe
The recipe that I selected for guidance was Ground Beef and Broccoli Fried Rice from Seonkyoung Longest’s website, the same one I referenced previously to braise some Korean beef short ribs.
First Try
After buying the broccoli crowns, I was ready to piece together the majority of the remaining ingredients at home.
Ingredients to Use
Because I had 5.36 ounces of ground meat, I decreased the ingredients on the default recipe accordingly and used the following:
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon of sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper
- 2 tablespoons of cooking oil (for garlic and ginger)
- 1 tablespoon of cooking oil (for eggs)
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 3/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of ginger
- 5.36 ounces of broccoli crowns
- 2 eggs
- 3 1/2 cups + 1 tablespoon + 1/2 teaspoon of cooked cold rice
For a few of the ingredients, I made some substitutions as follows:
- Replaced ground beef with ground pork, since I had some that needed to be used
- Replaced chopped ginger with grated ginger for a smoother texture
- Replaced day-old cold jasmine rice with same-day-old cold sushi rice due to availability
Also, I omitted the sesame seeds since I didn’t want to buy a container only for this recipe and have it go stale afterwards.
Lastly, though the spice container I used is labeled with rainbow peppercorns, it actually contains black pepper because I repurposed the jar.
Steps to Prepare
In the instructions, I only changed one part. Instead of combining the ingredients for the sauce in a small mixing bowl, I used what was easily accessible, a shot glass.
Time to Eat
After drizzling some sesame oil on top of the rice, I was ready to scoop some into a bowl!
Recipe Rating
Below were the results of the recipe after the first try:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1️⃣2️⃣ | 🤏 | 💰 | 🙂 |
What stood out to me was the gingery sweet flavor from the sizzled sauce. The rest of the flavors were balanced, without being too salty. Also, the pork had a good texture.
Second Try
For the second attempt, my goal was to repeat the results.
Ingredients to Use
With 7.72 ounces of ground pork this time, I increased the amount of the remaining ingredients and used the following:
- 2 tablespoons + 1/3 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons + 1/3 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of sugar
- 1/8 teaspoon of black pepper
- 2 tablespoons + 1/3 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of cooking oil (for garlic and ginger)
- 1 tablespoon + 3/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of cooking oil (for eggs)
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 1/4 teaspoons of ginger
- 7.76 ounces of broccoli crowns
- 3 eggs
- 5 cups + 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of cooked cold rice
For the broccoli, I wanted to include 7.75 ounces, but the closest I could get to on my food scale was .01 ounce more. Also, I was short by 1 tablespoon of rice.
Other than the exceptions mentioned above, I kept everything else the same as the first try.
Steps to Prepare
For the process, I didn’t change anything for this round as compared to before.
Time to Eat
Again, after drizzling some sesame oil on the rice, it was ready to be served.
Recipe Rating
Below are the results of the recipe from the second attempt:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1️⃣2️⃣ | 🤏 | 💰 | 🙂 |
The fried rice still tasted good and the pork had a good texture. However, the broccoli wasn’t as soft as before, while the rice was soft and sticky. Nonetheless, everyone had a second helping of the ground pork and broccoli fried rice!
Since I’m happy with the flavor of the fried rice, I can work on the texture next time by doing the following:
Continuous Improvement
- Focus on cooking this dish instead of multi-tasking!
Oyster sauce is a common ingredient in Cantonese dishes, but I never liked the aftertaste from the one I usually buy from the store. Since I was curious if there was a substitute for this sauce, I searched online and was surprised to find recipes out there!
Learning from this experience, I would like to share the following with my dumber self:
Lesson for Dumber Self
- Look for alternatives, even if you think they don’t exist!
What will you do now?
Next Step for You
- Try the recipe, Ground Beef and Broccoli Fried Rice, from Seonkyoung Longest’s website?
- Share your experience of making your own oyster sauce?
- Read another post on this site? (Go to the menu at the top of the page.)