MyTastr

Best oyster sauce, according to chefs

Three picks, each tied to a named taster and a public source — from J. Kenji López-Alt, Danny Palumbo, Pailin Chongchitnant, The Woks of Life and 3 more. Recommendations come from spilledmilketc.com, hot-thai-kitchen.com, thewoksoflife.com and sporked.com and 3 other sources.

International Pantry · The ranking

  1. 1
    Top pick

    Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce (“Boat Lady”)

    Chosen by
    Also chosen by
    After tasting four blind on the Spilled Milk podcast: “I generally always have the Lee Kum Kee premium at home and I would use that for virtually everything.” Pailin Chongchitnant’s side-by-side tasting put it #1. The Woks of Life also use it as their everyday oyster sauce.
    Where to buy · Amazon ↗Instacart ↗Source: spilledmilketc.com ↗
  2. 2

    Megachef Premium Oyster Sauce

    Chosen by
    Also chosen by
    Raised on Lee Kum Kee, she switched entirely: “Megachef came along and there’s no comparison.” Andy Ricker buys it for his restaurants, and Maggie Zhu was “hooked immediately” after Young told her about it.
    Where to buy · themalamarket.com ↗Instacart ↗Source: epicurious.com ↗
  3. 3

    Maekrua Oyster Sauce

    Chosen by
    Thailand’s classic bottle tied for second in her tasting: “If you have a memory of a dish that you had in Thailand and you want it to taste exactly like what you remember, then using Maekrua is probably going to get you there.”
    Where to buy · Amazon ↗Instacart ↗Source: hot-thai-kitchen.com ↗

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Questions, answered

What is the best oyster sauce, according to chefs?
MyTastr’s top pick is Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Sauce (“Boat Lady”), chosen by J. Kenji López-Alt (The Wok). After tasting four blind on the Spilled Milk podcast: “I generally always have the Lee Kum Kee premium at home and I would use that for virtually everything.” Pailin Chongchitnant’s side-by-side tasting put it #1. The Woks of Life also use it as their everyday oyster sauce. Source: spilledmilketc.com ↗
What are the other top picks for oyster sauce?
No. 2 is Megachef Premium Oyster Sauce, chosen by Grace Young (wok cookbook author). No. 3 is Maekrua Oyster Sauce, chosen by Pailin Chongchitnant (Hot Thai Kitchen). Each card above links to the original source.
How does MyTastr choose these picks?
Every pick is tied to a named chef, cookbook author or food expert and links to the public interview, panel or article it came from. We survey dozens, often hundreds, of top chefs, food writers and critics, and order reflects how often and how strongly a brand is recommended. Only organic recommendations count — paid endorsements don’t — and brands can’t buy a spot. Read how we pick.

The tasters behind this ranking

More international pantry

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