Enjoy restaurant-like flavor at home with these best oyster sauces, which are finger-licking good and bring multiple health benefits.
A food is considered half-finished if it lacks seasoning, so forth there are numerous best-selling sauces out there, but the oyster sauce has its position, especially in Asian cuisine. The oyster sauce has endless nutritional benefits, and it also adds intense flavor and aroma to the food.
It is a zero fat sauce, having a good dose of calcium and sodium that brings infinite health advantages like strengthening of bones, improvement in muscles and nerves functioning, and fluid balancing.
Unquestionably, oyster sauce is delightful and healthful, but getting one that serves the best flavor and aroma is a tricky task to do. Taste aside, health is something one shouldn’t compromise, so as a nutritionist, I decided to list the best oyster sauces that are healthy yet finger-licking delicious. Buy one of the following sauces to compliment your food:
Top Picks Best Oyster Sauce
I know how important a sauce plays a role in complimenting your dish; thus, down there, I gathered each product from a different brand to give you a variety to decide wisely.
These oyster sauces are unsponsored based on my preferred style, so feel free to buy one. Let’s dig in!
1. L.K.K Panda Brand Oyster Sauce – The Best Oyster Sauce
LKK, entirely as the Lee Kum Kee Panda brand, has a noticeable reputation in the food industry for selling premium quality oyster sauce. The company is based in the United Kingdom and sells its items worldwide by aiming to bring out the taste (xian Wei – in Chinese) of all ingredients present in a particular dish. I have been using Panda brand Oyster sauce for several reasons, which I’ll be revealing down there, so let’s not wait for a second more and start exploring this flavorful sauce.
When you buy any edible item, the primary thing to look upon is its ingredients which the manufacturer utilizes in making that special sauce or food product. This LKK oyster sauce contains water, salt, monosodium glutamate, wheat flour, modified corn starch, oyster extracts, caramel color, and sugar.
I love the balance of sugar and salt in this oyster sauce because I have tasted various oyster sauces that are either too salty or too sugary, so in this sense, this oyster sauce is pretty balanced.
As I’ve revealed the ingredients of this sauce, let me tell you the health status associated with these constituents. The Oyster extract is healthy for liver cleansing in human bodies as it enhances bile secretion level, boosting liver functioning. The oyster shell contains calcium that promotes bone strengthening and is highly recommended for patients with osteoporosis or indigestion. Some studies revealed that these supplements also facilitate the treatment of heartburn.
The secret behind the rich flavor of this oyster sauce is primarily the addition of monosodium glutamate, shortly as MSG. It is a taste enhancer used in Chinese sauces or food items like canned veggies, processed meats, or broths. The International Food and Drug Administration has categorized MSG as a safe ingredient, so ignore all controversies and enjoy the great taste! In addition, this oyster sauce contains flour and starch, which keeps it translucent.
The design of the oyster sauce bottle is my last preference while purchasing because it has nothing to do with savor. That’s my opinion, as some buyers would instead favor the sauce profile and buy the one that suits their pantry cabinets. In this way, this oyster is not too impressive because it boasts a standard shape with average quality, but that’s fine with its price range.
- Rich in flavor
- Healthy
- Not too salty
- Average profile
In a nutshell, this oyster sauce is abundant in taste and comes with a palatable balance of salt and sugar. It enhances the flavor of ingredients present in your dish, especially in Chinese cuisine. You can get this at a discount on the Amazon store online, so what are you waiting for? Go and buy yours!
2. Wok Mei Oyster Sauce – Healthy Oyster Sauce
Here comes the Wok Mei oyster sauce! Wok Mei is another prominent brand in the grocery and gourmet industries. This brand sells the three best sauces, including oyster sauce, plum sauce, and housing sauce. Its oyster sauce is famous for its “gluten-free” composition, which adds a range of health benefits. A glutenless diet helps ease digestion, lowers the risk of chronic inflammation, and promotes energy. If you’re on your weight loss journey, then this oyster sauce is a perfect choice for you!
This oyster sauce aims to enhance the flavor of dishes and is excellent for Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai cuisines. I found this sauce perfect for savoring veggies and chowmein. The ingredients used to make this flavorful sauce include salt, dried cane syrup, unmodified gluten-free corn starch, caramel color, vinegar, oyster extract, and maltodextrin. Let’s explore its health benefits!
Refined sugar, a sweet poison that leads to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular problems, liver diseases, dementia, and even depression. Fortunately, in this oyster sauce, producers use dried cane syrup that is less processed and can help treat urinary tract infections and even diabetes. It also brings a bunch of benefits to pregnant women. The research claimed that cane syrup helps the kidney excrete excess salt and water to promote better functioning.
Maltodextrin, a water-soluble carbohydrate in powder form, is essential for this oyster sauce. It is primarily used as a thickener to give desired volume or viscosity to the processed sauce. Maltodextrin is also a preservative that elongates the life of this oyster sauce. Most importantly, this oyster sauce contains a natural “Oyster Extract” that promotes healthy living by improving liver functioning, bone strengthening, and digestive system.
- Gluten-Free
- No processed sugar
- Pocket-friendly
- Prone to breakage
In a nutshell, this sauce is rich in flavor and a source of numerous health benefits because it is made from natural constituents. Moreover, I love its packaging; it comes in a jam-like jar that looks valuable on a kitchen shelf. On Amazon, you’ll get free shipping on this picture-perfect oyster sauce; isn’t it amazing?
3. Vegetarian Mushroom Oyster Sauce – Best Brand Oyster Sauce
A vegetarian diet is always an excellent choice. It is suitable for cardiovascular health, lowers cancer risk, reduces blood pressure, prevents diabetes, improves bone strength, drops asthma symptoms, and much more. According to estimation, around 15% of the world’s population are vegetarian, and employing social media awareness, the global consumers tend to increase shortly. Seeing this trend, producers now make every product vegan, and oyster sauce is no exception!
VegeCyber is a five-star rated company based in the USA, that makes the best vegetarian sauce in today’s market. The corporation has been selling various grocery and food items for years. Still, its oyster sauce is in demand, especially the Mushroom oyster sauce, because it contains finger-licking flavors and healthy ingredients, including shiitake mushrooms, salt, mushroom water, and fresh ginger root, coconut aminos, and dates.
Mushrooms are known for exclusive taste called “umami.” It’s a rare flavor beyond sweet, salt, bitter or sour. This oyster sauce contains shiitake mushrooms rich in taste and brings healthiness to you. Shiitake mushrooms have a good amount of eritadenine, a substance that lowers cholesterol levels and promotes the immune system in humans. Theories show evidence that this compound reduces inflammation, too.
Moreover, this sauce has a ginger root that is so intense in flavor and has potential medicinal benefits; for example, it treats morning sickness, osteoarthritis, and nausea and helps in weight loss. Then, the sauce has coconut aminos, making it less salty and more flavorful. The coconut amino lowers the risk of heart attack or stroke and is the best salt substitute. So, you see, all the ingredients of this oyster sauce are intensely flavored and bring medical benefits. Isn’t it incredible?
- Rich in flavor
- US-manufactured
- Healthy
- Little expensive
In conclusion, this vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce will make your dish super delicious and healthy. I’ll bet that you will enjoy every dip of this finger-licking sauce. As a nutritionist, I am even inspired by its endless health benefits.
How To Choose The Best Oyster Sauce?
When buying an oyster sauce, you’ve to consider a few elements, like brand, ingredients, flavor, health effects, and price. There are thousands of brands in the food industry, each claiming the top-notch, but it’s not true.
After trying out many sauces and other grocery items, I conclude that VegeCyber and Lee Kum Kee are top oyster sauce sellers in today’s market for their quality and taste.
So, you see, there are too many things we cannot compromise while purchasing a food item, primarily Quality and Taste, and ingredients determine both. That’s why I have explained the constituents of the above-discussed sauces in detail so that you can wisely decide if it is for you or not. In other words, every human body has its requirements, like diabetic, lactose intolerant, sodium deficient, calcium deficient, etc. Therefore, you need to consume food as per your body’s needs.
Additionally, it is essential to address oyster sauce, meaning for what purpose you are buying this sauce. For instance, if you need an oyster sauce to make soups or broth denser, then you should buy a thicker one, while if you’re considering it for stir fry, thickness doesn’t matter.
In the end, budget is an essential factor too because one cannot do shopping beyond that. If you’re tight on the pocket, I suggest you consider a standard oyster sauce, not a flavored one. On the other hand, if budget is not an issue for you, a mushroom is probably the right choice. And, the quantity of oyster sauce also varies with its price, so make sure to notice that too.
As I mentioned earlier, the design of the oyster sauce bottle is my last preference while making a purchase, but that’s opinionated, as you would prefer the profile too. In this way, buy the one that suits their pantry cabinets. Plus, glass packaging is not a priority here because it is more prone to breakage than plastic ones.
FAQs
1. Is Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce good?
Yes! Lee Kum Kee or LKK is the top oyster sauce-producing brand. It is a bit more expensive than its market competitors but worth the price with its quality and flavor.
It has no potential health risks, so you can feel free to buy this finger-licking sauce to compliment your dishes.
2. Which oyster sauce has no MSG?
MSG is just a taste enhancer, typically used in Chinese cuisines. It is not carcinogenic as the International Food and Drug Administration has categorized MSG as a safe ingredient, so it’s better to avoid controversies and enjoy its great taste.
Still, if you want to avoid it, then prefer vegetarian oyster sauces because they have no monosodium glutamate.
3. What is the healthiest oyster sauce?
The healthiest oyster sauces are the ones that have no fat, high salt content, processed sugar, or extra calories.
Regardless of your dietary restrictions, you better go with healthy choices. I find vegetarian oyster sauces the most nutritious because they contain zero fat and artificial sugars.
Wrapping It Up!
Oyster sauce enhances the flavor of cruising and also brings multiple health benefits. It is pretty trendy for making Thai and Chinese cuisines, including soups and chow mein. To avail of those medicinal advantages and enjoy the restaurant-like taste at home, it is essential to make a good purchase.
In this blog, I’ve explained the three best oysters to buy in 2024, amongst which my favorite one is:
- L.k.k Panda Brand Oyster Sauce for its rich flavor, healthiness, and affordability.
Being health-conscious, I considered certain factors before buying any food, and sauces are no exception! Therefore, I added a comprehensive buying guide that helps you get the best oyster sauce according to your dietary restrictions. Make sure to try different meals with these luscious oyster sauces.
Bon Appetit!