You will not need to use the oysters for this recipe. You can discard them or use them for another recipe. Transfer the oysters to a plastic or glass container with an airtight lid and refrigerate for up to one or two weeks.
You could use light or dark soy sauce, or a combination of the two. Alternatively, if you do not have any soy sauce, you could use teriyaki.
You can add more soy sauce, as well, but do so carefully to avoid making the mixture too salty. Neither the saltiness of the soy sauce nor the sweetness of the sugar should be too overpowering.
Use a container of pre-shucked oysters for this recipe instead of fresh oysters. The actual oysters will be filtered out of the sauce later, so you do not need to worry about cutting them into precise sizes. Making them smaller can help release the flavor faster, though, which is why chopping the oysters beforehand is generally a good idea.
Stir the contents of the saucepan occasionally to prevent the oysters from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
Keep an eye on the saucepan during this time. You do not need to stir the mixture inside, but you should make sure that the liquid remains at a steady simmer. Adjust the heat settings as necessary.
If you want to save the cooked oysters, you can do so by transferring them to a plastic or glass container with an airtight lid. Place the container in the refrigerator and store the oysters for up to four days. Pour the liquid portion of the mixture back into your saucepan after filtering out the solids.
Using both light and dark soy sauces will give the taste of the oyster sauce more depth, but if you only have one type of soy sauce on hand, simply use a full 2-1/2 to 5 Tbsp (37. 5 to 75 ml) of that soy sauce, instead. If you aren’t sure about how much soy sauce to add, start by adding a smaller portion. Taste test the results and add more soy sauce if you want a stronger flavor.
Keep the lid off the pan this time. The oyster sauce should thicken as some of the liquid simmers away, but the thickening process will be hindered if you keep the lid on.
Place the mushrooms in a dish and pour enough cool water inside to cover them by a full 1 inch (2. 5 cm). Soak for four hours, drain the water, then rinse with running water. Cut the mushrooms into strips and set aside. Place the flax seeds in a small bowl and pour 1/4 cup (60 ml) water over them. Let soak for four hours. The flax seeds should absorb the water during this time.
Remove the ginger from the oil when ready. Set it aside temporarily.
You should only need to cook these ingredients for a minute or so before the heat draws out the scent of the sesame oil.
If you do not have both light and dark soy sauces, use 2 Tbsp (30 ml) of whatever soy sauce you have on hand.
Watch the contents of the pan. You do not need to stir the mixture, but you need to make sure that it remains at a gentle simmer for the full 10 minutes. Adjust the heat settings as needed to maintain that simmer.
You won’t be filtering out any solid ingredients for this recipe, so any visible chunks left behind need to be very small and hardly noticeable.
Essentially, you’re just heating the sauce through during this step. You don’t want it to boil or simmer.
