Vegan Oyster Sauce (Gluten Free)
Homemade vegan oyster sauce looks, tastes, and smells like oyster sauce, but is completely free of shellfish. This vegan version has a dark brown color and rich umami flavor with a similar consistency and taste to traditional oyster sauce. This allergy friendly recipe is gluten free with a soy free option.
Ingredients
- 5 large dried shiitake mushrooms or 7 smaller mushrooms, about 10 grams
- 1 cup boiling water
- ⅔ cup brown sugar or coconut sugar
- ½ cup reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari or coconut aminos for soy free, see notes below
- 1 teaspoon diamond crystal kosher salt, to taste see notes below
Slurry
- 1 tablespoons tapioca starch/flour or substitute, see notes below
- 2 tablespoons cold water
Instructions
- Soak the shiitake mushrooms in 1 cup of boiling water to soften them for about 10-15 minutes. Add both the mushrooms and the brothy water to a blender. Blend on high until smooth.
- Pour the blended mushroom mixture into a small saucepan over medium heat along with the brown sugar, reduced sodium soy sauce or tamari, and kosher salt. Whisk to combine.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the starch and cold water until the starch has completely dissolved then pour it into the saucepan.
- Continuously whisk until the sugar has dissolved, then reduce the heat to medium-low and keep stirring until the sauce has thickened and reached your desired consistency. Let cool completely before storing.
Notes
This recipe makes 1 ¾ cups of sauce.
If not using diamond crystal kosher salt, reduce the amount by half.
See the blog post for helpful tips, storage, and frequently asked questions.