Crunchy stir fried vegetables in oyster sauce, this is such a popular Asian classic side dish… And a highly addictive one too because it is so rich, sweet and sticky.
You will wish that you made much more of this stuff…
You have been warned!
Magical vegetables in oyster sauce.
If this dish was a drug, then me and the hubs would have overdosed daily on it back when we were visiting Thailand.
Seriously.
We could easily order vegetables in oyster sauce 3 times a day, no kidding.
This dish is so good that I even had it for breakfast several times.
Thailand
And it is so easy to make at home as well!
The trick here however is to keep the vegetables a little crunchy and I really mean that. Soft mushy veg will make this dish just absolutely horrible.
That always reminds me of those cheap Chinese buffet restaurants in Asia where the food is being kept warm for hours and hours on end in those metal trays.
Dried out meats, rubbery prawns, comatose and soft vegetables in oyster sauce.
Yuk.
Fresh & Crunchy
So no kidding.
To avoid that you definitely want to add your freshly chopped veggies at the very last moment to the pan and then leave them to kind of poach in the oyster marinade for just a couple of minutes.
And that is really all that these vegetables in oyster sauce need to be very honest!
You are in for a treat here.
Best Vegetables in Oyster Sauce
I kept the vegetable mixture for this recipe very simple.
So I used broccoli florets, chopped carrots and green beans only.
But go ahead and add whatever other vegetables you are fond of! Just make sure to be aware of what vegetable you add first, at what time and how long it really needs to cook.
Cauliflower florets will obviously need 2 extra minutes to cook than mushrooms or Chinese cabbage for example.
What are a couple of other vegetables that are perfect for vegetables in oyster sauce stir fries like these?
Well then I think of green peas, sugar snaps, chopped eggplant, sliced red onion, bok choy, kale, (sweet) potatoes, pumpkin, asparagus, fennel, baby corn, bean sprouts…
Vegetable Wok Mix
You name it, you can definitely add it.
Some supermarkets even sell these bags of ready to use vegetable mixes for woks, stir fries and dishes like these vegetables in oyster sauce. And I love them as well.
But then again, I don’t like to add the whole mix in just one go because it contains several types of veg that need different cooking times.
But it is your call.
Do you like this recipe?
Then you should also try my crunchy stir fried Thai cauliflower in fish sauce!
Enjoy!
Best Vegetables in Oyster Sauce Recipe
Crunchy stir fried vegetables in oyster sauce, an Asian classic side dish... And a highly addictive one, I'm warning you!
- 3,5 oz fresh broccoli (100 g)
- 3,5 oz fresh cauliflower (100 g)
- 1 medium fresh carrot
- a handful snow peas
- 2 white mushrooms sliced
- 4 baby corn cobs
- 1 tsp garlic paste
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- ⅓ cup vegetable stock or chicken stock (80 ml)
- black pepper
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1. Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into small bite-size bits and rinse well. Peel the carrot and slice it up finely.
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2. Pour the vegetable oil in a large non-stick pan (or wok), add the garlic paste and place it over medium-high heat.
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3. As soon as the garlic paste starts to sizzle, stir well and cook for a minute. Then add the fish sauce, half of the oyster sauce and season with some black pepper.
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4. Stir the marinade well and bake for another minute. Then pour in the chicken or vegetable stock.
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5. Stir again and bring it to a gentle boil. Add all the vegetables.
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7. Stir well. Cook the vegetables for 3 to 4 minutes. Keep them crunchy. In the end check the seasoning and add extra fish sauce, oyster sauce or pepper to taste. Take the vegetables off the heat, scoop them in a large serving dish and drizzle with the rest of the oyster sauce. Serve piping hot.
Oyster Sauce
I hope that you enjoyed this vegetables in oyster sauce recipe!
Oyster sauce is a condiment that you probably have in your fridge or pantry right at this very moment.
It always comes in handy, especially when you want to brighten up a simple vegetable stir fry for instance.
But have you any idea what oyster sauce is exactly?
This sticky brown and glossy sauce says it all: it is a sauce that contains oyster juices.
And then also sugar to make it that sweet and sticky. You can also find water, salt and corn starch in it.
Some versions even contain caramel to make it extra rich and sweet.
Oysters?
But does oyster sauce really taste like oysters?
No, not at all.
Sure it smells a little fishy, you can definitely tell that there is seafood in it. But 100% like oysters? No. It is the same with fish sauce for instance.
It smells a little fishy as well but it is not a pure fish flavor.
Enjoy my vegetables in oyster sauce recipe!
Going to try this with chicken mixed in.. I get a stir fry veges with chicken from my local Thai restaurant and it’s so good!! Trying to replicate it..