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You’ll want to put this Vegetarian Oyster Sauce on everything! 5-ingredients only, 15 minutes to make, this shiitake mushroom-made homemade oyster sauce is gluten-free, vegan friendly, and with no additives. It tastes deeply savory and umami delicious!
Add it to any Chinese and Asian stir fry dishes from beef in oyster sauce to Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce. This is a terrific homemade seasoning sauce you’ll want to have in your fridge!
Table of Contents
- Vegan and Vegetarian oyster sauce (with no additives)
- Why the Homemade Version Is Better
- How to make vegetarian oyster sauce at home in 15-minutes!
- How to convert store-bought oyster sauce to the homemade version
- Is there a vegetarian substitute for oyster sauce?
- Recipes you can make with the sauce
- More Vegetarian dishes
- More homemade Chinese sauces
- Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Whole30)
- Your Favorite Chinese Dishes made Paleo, gluten-free, and low carb
Vegan and Vegetarian oyster sauce (with no additives)
It turns out homemade vegetarian and vegan oyster sauce is super simple to make! With 5 ingredients only, a quick simple saute and let the blender do the rest of the job for you. In 15 minutes, you’ll have a bottle of the fresh flavor of the vegetarian sauce in your fridge in no time!
Why the Homemade Version Is Better
Homemade v.s. Store-Bought Oyster Sauce
Oyster sauce is probably the only Chinese stir-fry sauce that I consider a must-have for any Chinese and Asian food lovers. I, however, stop using it a few years ago because the ingredients, sadly, in today’s fast food/mass productions, aren’t that great for our bodies.
I took photos from my recent trip to a local grocery store. One photo is for “oyster-flavored” oyster sauce and the other is called Vegetarian mushroom-flavored stir-fry sauce (AKA Vegetarian oyster sauce).
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As you can see from the photos that the first ingredient is water and followed by sugar and other colorings, starch, and artificial flavorings. In my opinion, occasional consumption is okay because we all have to eat out (unless you have specific medical reasons or are allergic to the ingredients) but if I’m making the meals at home, which is most of the time, I recommend making the sauce by ourselves.
You’ll be amazed how fresh and flavorful the sauce tastes and you know exactly what goes into it. The flavor is so vivid and umami-rich and it’ll become one of your top go-to Paleo stir-fry sauces!
How to make vegetarian oyster sauce at home in 15-minutes!
I use dried shiitake mushrooms as the base of my vegetarian oyster sauce because dry shiitake contains a more concentrated umami flavor than fresh ones. I also use the mushroom water that’s from soaking the mushrooms overnight as my liquid base.
- Lightly sauteing the mushrooms with fresh ginger will remove the “raw” flavor and bring out a more umami aroma.
- Simply blend everything in a high-speed blender and you’ll have a perfectly healthy and delicious Mushroom Oyster Sauce!
How to convert store-bought oyster sauce to the homemade version
Add your homemade mushroom oyster sauce to any Paleo stir-fry dishes you love. Since the homemade version is less salty than the store-bought bottles, when you try to convert a recipe you find on the internet, use a bit more.
For example, if a regular recipe calls for 1 teaspoon or 2 teaspoons of (store-bought) oyster sauce, substitute it with 1 tablespoon of our homemade vegetarian oyster sauce.
Add the sauce to Chinese Broccoli Stir-Fry, Chinese Mustard Green Stir-Fry, Shiitake mushroom with baby bok choy stir-fry, or beef stir-fry in oyster sauce!
Is there a vegetarian substitute for oyster sauce?
Yes. My vegetarian oyster sauce is also vegan, gluten-free, Paleo, Keto, and Whole30. The vegetarian substitute oyster sauce is made with shiitake mushrooms, fresh ginger root, salt, coconut aminos, mushroom water, and dates. The ingredients are completely vegan and easy to make.
Recipes you can make with the sauce
Try the sauce with Stir-fried beef in oyster sauce, Oyster sauce chicken stir fry, Chinese broccoli with vegetarian oyster sauce, Vietnamese garlic shrimp, and Thai crispy fried cauliflower rice! Or drizzle it over steamed bok choy. The possibilities are endless.
More Vegetarian dishes
- Vegetarian bibimbap
- Shiitake mushroom soup with tofu
- Chinese cabbage stir-fry
- Napa cabbage stir-fry with quail eggs
- Crispy rice paper dumplings
- Air fried oyster mushrooms
- Browse my healthy vegetarian recipes
- Browse my healthy vegan recipes
More homemade Chinese sauces
Nothing beats a great bottle (or jar) of homemade sauces, if you like my healthier take on your favorite Asian condiments, you’ll also love my Gluten free hoisin sauce, Garlic chili sauce, and Shacha sauce!
Vegetarian Oyster Sauce (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Paleo, Whole30)
Ingredients
Vegetarian Oyster Sauce Ingredients
- 1.7 oz. dried shiitake mushrooms about 10 pieces
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger about 6 thin slices
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- ¼ tsp + 2 tsp coarse salt
- ½ tbsp + ½ cup coconut aminos
- 2 ¼ cups shiitake mushroom water
- 8 pitted dates
Instructions
- Soak the dried shiitake mushrooms with 4 cups room temperature water overnight. The mushrooms will rehydrate and become soft and juicy.
- Gently squeeze the mushrooms to remove the water. Thinly slice and set them aside.
- In a bowl, filter the mushroom water through a sieve. Also finely chop ginger. Set them aside.
- In a well-heated skillet, add avocado oil. Saute mushrooms with ginger and ¼ tsp salt over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes.
- Add ½ tbsp coconut aminos and keep sauteing for another 1 minute. Off heat and set it aside to cool.
- In a high speed blender, add 2 ¼ cups mushroom water, pitted dates, sautéed mushrooms and ginger, and the remaining salt and coconut aminos. Seal the lid tightly and blend on high for 60 seconds or until the mixture is very smooth. There should be no food chunks.
- Store the mushroom oyster sauce in a sealed glass container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Your Favorite Chinese Dishes made Paleo, gluten-free, and low carb
- Baked orange chicken
- Hunan beef stir-fry
- Chinese pepper steak
- Beef and Broccoli
- Chicken and Broccoli
- Chinese sesame chicken
- Sweet and sour chicken
- Spicy pepper pork stir-fry
- Black pepper chicken (way better than panda express!)
Hi, thank for this recipe. I am on Code Red Lifestyle and can’t use dates since it’s high in carb. Is there a low carb substitute I can use to replace dates? TIA!
Thanks for asking. Please see my response to your question in the comment thread.
I’m about to make this as an alternative to Oyster sauce in Chow mein sauces etc. How long would this last in the fridge?
So looking forward to making this to use on the weekend.
HI Alicia, I’ve stored them in the fridge for about 3 weeks and they are fine. I use a clean spoon to scoop out the sauce every time to avoid cross contamination. Hope this helps. 🙂
This is awesome! When I first made it I thought it was just meh. Like, ok, it wasn’t a waste, but not great. Then I let it sit in the refrigerator for a few hours and OH MY GOD it’s sooooo good!!! Thank you for sharing it!!!!
Thank you, Jerome! The flavor deepens once it becomes cooler. Appreciate it! 🙂
I bought a 1oz bag of dried sliced shiitakes and it seems like a lot more than what you use in the recipe ? The weighed amount is dried ?
Hi Calbe, yes it’s weighted dried.
I stumbled on this recipe searching for a healthy oyster sauce for another recipe I was making. Thank you for this creative and delicious recipe! It made so much, I decided to make your beef stir fry, and that was also very good! I am wondering if you have any recipes for chicken that use this sauce. When I made the beef dish, I thought the sauce tasted similar to chicken and broccoli sauce, but I see your recipe for that doesn’t use it. Thank you!!
Hi KE! Thank you so much for your kind words. My Thai Basil Chicken recipe uses this homemade vegetarian oyster sauce. My Chinese broccoli dim sum style also uses the same sauce. I include both links here – Thai basil chicken: https://iheartumami.com/thai-basil-chicken-recipe/ AND Chinese broccoli dim sum – https://iheartumami.com/chinese-broccoli-oyster-sauce/
We LOVE this shiitake made stir-fry sauce. Can’t believe how easy it is to make and it’s full of flavor. Will be adding it to stir-fries and dipping sauce and many many more. Thanks, Chihyu!
Thank you! Love your website, Instagram, and youtube.
Is there a substitute for the pitted dates in this recipe?
Thank you.
Ilene
Hi Ilene! The dates are used not only to add a bit sweetness to balance the salty/savory flavor but also help to thicken the sauce. If you prefer to make a keto version, I’d use monkfruit sweetener and thicken it with xanthan gum. You will need to try around with the quantity though.
Any idea how much Monkfruit sweetner should I use to replace the dates?
Hi Frances, this recipe will not work for any sugar or sugar substitutes because you will need another element to thicken the sauce and stabilize it even after you chill it in the fridge, or freeze and defrost later. The dates here are used not only to sweeten the oyster sauce but also used as a thickening agent as you blend the sauce. Hope this helps.
You are genius, ChihYu! The sauce is so easy to make and I’ve already made several vegetable stir-fry dishes with your homemade shiitake oyster sauce and they all turned out great! Thank you!!
Thanks so much, Anna! So happy to hear! XO
I made this! OMG it’s packed with so much umami flavor. I’ve been looking for an oyster sauce alternative and now I no longer need to skip the ingredient! Thank you so much! I’ll be making this sauce regularly!
Thank you, Kimberly! So happy to hear!
Hi, Chihyu. Thank you for the recipe ❤️ Could i replace the avocado oil with other oil, like coconut oil? Thank you
Hi Lia! Thank you for reaching out. Coconut oil flavor is much stronger and it might affect a Chinese-flavored sauce. I recommend using a neutral flavor oil. Thank you!
Just finished making it and it’s so rich and full bodied. I was worried it’d be too sweet with all the dates but it’s just enough to add an undercurrent of sweetness that enhances the rich, meaty/salty flavour in just the right way. I’ve been vegan for three years and can finally stop missing this flavour profile in Asian dishes. Thank you so, so much. And it’s wfpb to boot! I did make a very minor addition. I knew I wanted some wakame for another recipe today so I soaked them in with the mushrooms over night, and took them out when I strained the mushrooms. It probably didn’t add much if anything to the sauce since I used only a tbsp of dried wakame.
That’s awesome. Yes wakame seaweed works, too! 🙂