This can be made ahead hours or even days in advance allowing the flavours to mingle and mature.
Oyster sauce, maybe half a normal sized bottle or 2-3 tablespoons
Dash of Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
1-2 cloves garlic
1" piece of ginger finely chopped or grated
Dash of soy sauce (not too much as oyster sauce salty enough)
Dried or fresh chilli (optional)
Enthusiastic grinding of black pepper or more modest of Sichuan pepper
2 teaspoons groundnut oil
Gently fry the garlic, ginger and fresh chilli in the oil until softened.
Add the wine or sherry and reduce a bit to evaporate some of the alcohol but leave a bit liquid as this thins the oyster sauce. Add in the rest of the ingredients and simmer for say 5 mins.
It doesn't want to be too thick or the saltiness is overpowering but not too thin either. Stick your finger in to taste it.
Oyster sauce seems to draw out the moisture from some ingredients like broccoli or pak choi, especially if they have been blanched or steamed first and the residual water then creates a thin soup on your plate rather than coating all the ingredients. So judge how thick you want the sauce depending on what you're serving it with. A little water can always be added to thin it.
The sauce can be added in to a stir fry or poured hot over some meat or fish and veg. Last week I salt baked 2 bream and poured the sauce over the fish that had been taken off the bone which was laid over some steamed Chinese veggies and asparagus. Even my mum liked it who's a crispy duck and lemon chicken girl.
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