I dislike most seafood but discovered that I love oyster sauce after making chicken chow mein from scratch a few months ago now and seeing it was an ingredient. I now throw some in (along with sesame oil) whenever I'm stir frying vegetables.
Canadian here, so do I. It has more oyster extract than any other brand, it's the first ingredient on the label. Other brands have water listed first. The best by far ❤
About a year ago, Mandy from Souped up Recipes released a video about making oyster sauce from scratch, based on procedures she found about the commercial production processes. I haven’t tried it yet, but quite amazing.
Excellent video! I've been cooking stir fries with my wok for many years now and my oyster sauce of choice has been the Panda Lee Kum Kee brand. I recently decided to try Lee Kum Kee Hoisin sauce to find out what the difference was. It's main ingredient is soy beans. Pretty good flavor but I do prefer the oyster sauce flavor for sure.
My family always used the panda Lee Kum Kee bc it was cheaper and once I moved out I decided I wanted to try the premium one bc I heard from everyone how much better it was. Oh boy I was not ready for how strong it was and I ended up reverting back to the cheaper stuff I’m used to 😂
All I could find in rural North Nevada was oyster FLAVORED sauce. Found the real stuff online and what a difference! I've used oyster sauce to bump up a few non Asian soups and dishes on occasion. And yes, a little goes a long way. So appreciate this informative review! Now, I woke up this morning thinking about some snap peas I need to use up... a little birdie just dropped a quick chicken stir fry recipe in my lap! 😋 ❤
The ingredient to look for is the "oyster extractives" We were wondering if there may be a technicality where now brands are required to say "oyster flavored sauce" instead of "oyster sauce" and maybe Lee Kum Kee's premium brand just got grandfathered out of new regulations. In any case, look for that oyster extractives as the first or second ingredient!
I'm used to using Lee Kum Kee Premium oyster sauce. You're right. Perfect hit of umami with a deep soy flavor and no fishy taste. But I recently bought Maekrua Brand Thai Oyster Sauce. Uber oyster-y flavor. Too strong for me.
that’s so funny to hear because the LKK tastes super oyster-y to me. I grew up eating Maekrua but had heard for years that the LKK premium was the best. I’ve used a few bottles of it but it always smells so briny and smoky to me. I guess it’s just what we’re used to.
I’m from Australia and recently I checked out the different brands of oyster sauce ingredients and price difference and I found out that the expensive ones have the highest content of oyster extracts …. The premium LKK had one of the highest content of oyster extract of 40% while some of the cheapest brand had only 7% oyster extracts. And hence the price difference …. Not sure why your bottles doesn’t show the oyster extract % but ours do show on a lot of our brands here maybe for different countries they might or might not need to show the % … here the premium LKK cost $8 and the cheap brand is $3 …..
Megachef (Thailand) has 40% for as low a price as $4.30 (may vary) but try Koon Chun Superior ($9) if you want one that is excellent without being super pricey
I'm so glad you did this video. It was very informative. Learning the differences and various flavor profiles definitely by your honest opinions and descriptions makes it much easier to choose. I think for certain dishes, even some non-Asian dishes, I might try the mushroom one to strengthen the mushroom flavor. Can you think of a recipe that could be enhanced by the use of both regular oyster sauce and the mushroom together? And thanks for sharing how that oyster concentrated liquor is made.
Man, you went to the trouble to making this vid and didn't even taste the more interesting sauces on the left. Dynasty? Come on, no self respecting Chinese would ever buy Dynasty anything or LaChoy.
I have to unsubscribe & than subscribe to your site. It’s frustrating. I don’t know if you’ve heard this before. At least I know how to get to your site. Thank you
The one oyster sauce missing from the lineup is the Megachef premium oyster sauce. I feel that it's next level compared to the LKK premium. I'd be interested to see what your opinions on it are if you're able to get a hold of it.
I 'm going to make a chicken stir fry with broccoli, carrots and onion and a brown sauce (from your website) this weekend. I'm hoping my preferred grocery store has the Lee Kum Kee Premium. If not, I will have to run to the other grocery store in town. I subscribed to your channel and will definitely be watching more of your videos!
Me too, but keep in mind that there are several versions and you need to get the Premium version with the oman and boy in the boat! Better than all the rest!
I am not a fan of the Panda brand oyster sauce. I purchased a small bottle from my local Kroger grocery store a few months back when I ran out of my preferred brand which is not available at non-Asian/international grocery stores. I picked up a large bottle of my go-to oyster sauce during my next visit to international grocery store. I do not like wasting food so I decided to use up Panda brand before breaking into new bottle. But every time I reached for the Panda brand I would hesitate and consider using a splash of fish sauce instead. At the very least I would end up adding a little fish sauce to compensate for the lack of flavor. Just last night while cooking up some noodles for dinner I finally threw out the rest of the bottle of Panda brand and opened up my go-to bottle. What a difference! My taste buds thanked me and I vowed to never seek out Asian sauces in my neighborhood grocery stores again. Fast forward a few hours and I see this video about oyster sauce brands from The Woks of Life. I had to watch it, obviously! When I saw the line up of sauces I immediately recognized my second favorite oyster sauce, LKK premium! I also recognized another brand that sits on the shelf of my local supermarket right next to Panda brand, Dynasty. Dynasty brand oyster sauce doesn’t taste like oyster sauce to me. To me it tastes more like chemically metallic thick soy sauce. After watching video I wanted to comment on how spot on this video is on describing the difference in flavors of the oyster sauces. And to say this video helped me realize why I keep wanting to supplement the Panda with a bit of fish sauce. And why that still left my dishes missing something. Wonder what my favorite go-to brand is? Maekrua Brand Thai oyster sauce! I have now come full circle in my mind about what oyster sauce deserves to take up space in my fridge. Turns out I gonna need to make room for LKK premium next to Maekrua. 😃 Thank you Woks of Life for this video. It was very helpful. Hot Thai Kitchen has a very useful video about fish sauce and how they compare to each other. If you are interested in learning how to step up your game when learning to cook dishes from other cultures it is important to understand the differences in the ingredients used. Again, thank you to Woks of Life for sharing ❤
we used the LKK premium. my aunt substituted with Panda, but her kids wouldn't eat the her stir fries. Theysaid it tasted different. I've recently discovered Pearl River Bridge brand premium oyster sauce. I won't go back to LKK. much more "oystery", if there' such a word. Leaves the LKK premium with nuances of amped up Panda. I won't tell my mother I'm using PRB, she thinks the company is communist controlled.
I've tried vegetarian oyster sauce and it's an OK product but it's definitely NOT like oyster sauce. It's not right, kind of like using Golden Mountain sauce instead of light soy sauce; it works but it's not the same. However, if you're vegetarian or vegan it's better than not using it because it adds texture.
Listen ... I removed all sugar from my diet, but I recently had to break down and put Oyster Sauce back in, because Man O Man does it really do a great job when I cook Asian-American food! ( The Bay Area grants me total access to so many great Asian grocery stores)
I always buy the LKK premium in the big bottle at the Asian market. I also keep the Vegetarian brand on hand for when i have friends over that are Vegan or Vegetarian. I made your chow mein noodles a while back three times now. Once for my husband and I, once for my Vegan friend and her husband and once for my Vegetarian friend. Lots of compliments, and my friends both asked for the recipe! 😊❤
my mom would always tell us to buy the oyster sauce with the ladies on it, i find its not as salty as a lot of other brands out there and brings the best flavor. Definitely worth the investment if you can find a big bottle!!
hahah okay! maybe you're right about that one. I don't know though, maybe there are some harebrained hot dog stir fry experiments in our future. A kid-friendly recipe perhaps!
I dislike most seafood but discovered that I love oyster sauce after making chicken chow mein from scratch a few months ago now and seeing it was an ingredient. I now throw some in (along with sesame oil) whenever I'm stir frying vegetables.
Chinese here… will only use the LKK premium with the lady and kidding the boat.
Same here and not even Chinese lol
Polish here, from Europe u know? Just letting you know: same here!
America here and the boat chick oyster sauce is a few levels above the red label crap
Canadian here, so do I. It has more oyster extract than any other brand, it's the first ingredient on the label. Other brands have water listed first. The best by far ❤
About a year ago, Mandy from Souped up Recipes released a video about making oyster sauce from scratch, based on procedures she found about the commercial production processes. I haven’t tried it yet, but quite amazing.
Excellent video! I've been cooking stir fries with my wok for many years now and my oyster sauce of choice has been the Panda Lee Kum Kee brand. I recently decided to try Lee Kum Kee Hoisin sauce to find out what the difference was. It's main ingredient is soy beans. Pretty good flavor but I do prefer the oyster sauce flavor for sure.
My family always used the panda Lee Kum Kee bc it was cheaper and once I moved out I decided I wanted to try the premium one bc I heard from everyone how much better it was. Oh boy I was not ready for how strong it was and I ended up reverting back to the cheaper stuff I’m used to 😂
Just use less
All I could find in rural North Nevada was oyster FLAVORED sauce. Found the real stuff online and what a difference! I've used oyster sauce to bump up a few non Asian soups and dishes on occasion. And yes, a little goes a long way.
So appreciate this informative review! Now, I woke up this morning thinking about some snap peas I need to use up... a little birdie just dropped a quick chicken stir fry recipe in my lap! 😋 ❤
The ingredient to look for is the "oyster extractives" We were wondering if there may be a technicality where now brands are required to say "oyster flavored sauce" instead of "oyster sauce" and maybe Lee Kum Kee's premium brand just got grandfathered out of new regulations. In any case, look for that oyster extractives as the first or second ingredient!
Awesome lesson! My favorite is the Panda brand. Le Kum Kee
It’s the one I’ve always used. But I’m going to have to try their premium wine with lady and kid in the boat.
I'm used to using Lee Kum Kee Premium oyster sauce. You're right. Perfect hit of umami with a deep soy flavor and no fishy taste. But I recently bought Maekrua Brand Thai Oyster Sauce. Uber oyster-y flavor. Too strong for me.
Thai oyster sauce is pretty different from what we've researched! The Chinese brands are best for Chinese recipes :)
that’s so funny to hear because the LKK tastes super oyster-y to me. I grew up eating Maekrua but had heard for years that the LKK premium was the best. I’ve used a few bottles of it but it always smells so briny and smoky to me. I guess it’s just what we’re used to.
I’m from Australia and recently I checked out the different brands of oyster sauce ingredients and price difference and I found out that the expensive ones have the highest content of oyster extracts …. The premium LKK had one of the highest content of oyster extract of 40% while some of the cheapest brand had only 7% oyster extracts. And hence the price difference …. Not sure why your bottles doesn’t show the oyster extract % but ours do show on a lot of our brands here maybe for different countries they might or might not need to show the % … here the premium LKK cost $8 and the cheap brand is $3 …..
Megachef (Thailand) has 40% for as low a price as $4.30 (may vary) but try Koon Chun Superior ($9) if you want one that is excellent without being super pricey
Thanks for going different types and brands. Helps me to figure what I want. I am learning more about Asian cooking techniques and flavor profiles.
I eat Kosher. So cannot have most Oyster sauces. But Vegetarian Oyster sauce made with Oyster mushrooms tastes identical.
@ 1:30 notice how he picks thee best higher priced one set aside well done chef👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🤙🏾love you show😍
Do you add a little baking soda to your velvet sometimes? I notice it makes a huge difference in beef. Especially if it’s tough.
I seen it used for chicken breast because it can be dry
Subbed! I like how you explain things.
Q: Why didn’t you try the Thai oyster sauce? Maybe I missed something.
LKK Lee Kum Kee Panda Oyster Sauce (Panda Oyster 5lb, Pack of 1) for $18 on AMZ can't be the real stuff, right?
I'm so glad you did this video. It was very informative. Learning the differences and various flavor profiles definitely by your honest opinions and descriptions makes it much easier to choose. I think for certain dishes, even some non-Asian dishes, I might try the mushroom one to strengthen the mushroom flavor. Can you think of a recipe that could be enhanced by the use of both regular oyster sauce and the mushroom together? And thanks for sharing how that oyster concentrated liquor is made.
Man, you went to the trouble to making this vid and didn't even taste the more interesting sauces on the left. Dynasty? Come on, no self respecting Chinese would ever buy Dynasty anything or LaChoy.
I have to unsubscribe & than subscribe to your site. It’s frustrating. I don’t know if you’ve heard this before.
At least I know how to get to your site. Thank you
The one oyster sauce missing from the lineup is the Megachef premium oyster sauce. I feel that it's next level compared to the LKK premium. I'd be interested to see what your opinions on it are if you're able to get a hold of it.
I 'm going to make a chicken stir fry with broccoli, carrots and onion and a brown sauce (from your website) this weekend. I'm hoping my preferred grocery store has the Lee Kum Kee Premium. If not, I will have to run to the other grocery store in town. I subscribed to your channel and will definitely be watching more of your videos!
I hadn't seen this vid, but I've been using LKK Premium for ages. I LOVE it. Thankfully I live across the street from a Chinese supermarket ;)
I have always used the Lee Kum Kee Premium, but once my current bottle is empty I am planning to try the Panda one.
I don't like the Panda brand as much concerning flavor, and it also has a different consistency. I feel the Premium is worth the extra money.
Another great two you should check out is Megachef and Koon Chun Superior (the best one I've personally tried)
A must in Chow Mein/ Chop Suey. Yummy looking dish !
Lee Kum Kee! That’s my pick without watching, let’s see now :)
Me too, but keep in mind that there are several versions and you need to get the Premium version with the oman and boy in the boat! Better than all the rest!
@@jimbrennan1181 yes the premium one I what I had in mind! Just bought for a first time since I saw Kenji Lopez use it! It’s makes difference :)
heheh!
Oyster sauce is definitely a MUST!!
I am not a fan of the Panda brand oyster sauce. I purchased a small bottle from my local Kroger grocery store a few months back when I ran out of my preferred brand which is not available at non-Asian/international grocery stores. I picked up a large bottle of my go-to oyster sauce during my next visit to international grocery store. I do not like wasting food so I decided to use up Panda brand before breaking into new bottle. But every time I reached for the Panda brand I would hesitate and consider using a splash of fish sauce instead. At the very least I would end up adding a little fish sauce to compensate for the lack of flavor. Just last night while cooking up some noodles for dinner I finally threw out the rest of the bottle of Panda brand and opened up my go-to bottle. What a difference! My taste buds thanked me and I vowed to never seek out Asian sauces in my neighborhood grocery stores again.
Fast forward a few hours and I see this video about oyster sauce brands from The Woks of Life. I had to watch it, obviously! When I saw the line up of sauces I immediately recognized my second favorite oyster sauce, LKK premium! I also recognized another brand that sits on the shelf of my local supermarket right next to Panda brand, Dynasty. Dynasty brand oyster sauce doesn’t taste like oyster sauce to me. To me it tastes more like chemically metallic thick soy sauce. After watching video I wanted to comment on how spot on this video is on describing the difference in flavors of the oyster sauces. And to say this video helped me realize why I keep wanting to supplement the Panda with a bit of fish sauce. And why that still left my dishes missing something. Wonder what my favorite go-to brand is? Maekrua Brand Thai oyster sauce! I have now come full circle in my mind about what oyster sauce deserves to take up space in my fridge. Turns out I gonna need to make room for LKK premium next to Maekrua. 😃 Thank you Woks of Life for this video. It was very helpful. Hot Thai Kitchen has a very useful video about fish sauce and how they compare to each other. If you are interested in learning how to step up your game when learning to cook dishes from other cultures it is important to understand the differences in the ingredients used. Again, thank you to Woks of Life for sharing ❤
Maekrua is the one for sure. Too bad he didn't taste it as it's pretty available in the US
LKK "boat lady" is my go-to oyster sauce.
I don't see Maekrua. It's the best one on the market.
how is oyster sauce different with hoisin sauce
Why was megachef not in trial?
we used the LKK premium. my aunt substituted with Panda, but her kids wouldn't eat the her stir fries. Theysaid it tasted different. I've recently discovered Pearl River Bridge brand premium oyster sauce. I won't go back to LKK. much more "oystery", if there' such a word. Leaves the LKK premium with nuances of amped up Panda. I won't tell my mother I'm using PRB, she thinks the company is communist controlled.
Thank you for doing this test!!
I've tried vegetarian oyster sauce and it's an OK product but it's definitely NOT like oyster sauce. It's not right, kind of like using Golden Mountain sauce instead of light soy sauce; it works but it's not the same. However, if you're vegetarian or vegan it's better than not using it because it adds texture.
I grew up eating Thai oyster sauce and have tried many Chinese brands over the years but always go back to it. It’s a bit thinner and less salty.
Yeah I also prefer the Thai brands.
LKK premium!
Did he just casually used the word “suspect”???
Great video lol! The panda is my go dipping sauce for lo bot go
We just call that one “the mom and boy on the boat our favorite
Listen ... I removed all sugar from my diet, but I recently had to break down and put Oyster Sauce back in, because Man O Man does it really do a great job when I cook Asian-American food! ( The Bay Area grants me total access to so many great Asian grocery stores)
A worthy exception!!!
Wow thank you
I always buy the LKK premium in the big bottle at the Asian market. I also keep the Vegetarian brand on hand for when i have friends over that are Vegan or Vegetarian.
I made your chow mein noodles a while back three times now. Once for my husband and I, once for my Vegan friend and her husband and once for my Vegetarian friend. Lots of compliments, and my friends both asked for the recipe! 😊❤
Wow that's so awesome to hear! High praise from diverse palates :)
I really appreciate this lesson. Will take my food to a different level.
You recipes are my go to website. Can you do a recipe for Fried Chicken Wings, Chinese Takeout Style with garlic sauce. Thank you!
Thank you so much! That video is on the docket :)
Love using oyster sauce LKK panda is my go to
my mom would always tell us to buy the oyster sauce with the ladies on it, i find its not as salty as a lot of other brands out there and brings the best flavor. Definitely worth the investment if you can find a big bottle!!
Mom knows best ;)
$100 bucks of oyster sauce!!! Hey thanks for going through the taste testing!
hahah there were some other groceries in there but that did really add to the dramatic effect XD
I would love to see more videos like this. Also a video for Tai Chien chicken.
Thank you so much! We'll work on it!
Sage advice from dad❤
Sifu to me means teacher! 😅
Technically it translates to "Master" which is why it's often a title assigned to those who teach!
No oyster sauce with hot dogs !!
hahah okay! maybe you're right about that one. I don't know though, maybe there are some harebrained hot dog stir fry experiments in our future. A kid-friendly recipe perhaps!