← 20-minute recipes

20 min totalCantonese home kitchens

Oyster Sauce King Oyster Mushrooms

King oyster mushrooms seared into "scallops" and glazed in oyster sauce — the vegetarian dish meat-eaters order twice.

Quick answer: This is a genuine Chinese home dish — 20 minutes total, 5 main ingredients plus pantry staples, one pot, and zero wok skills. Dry-sear the slices first (no oil) for a minute to cook out the water — then add oil and sear for real color.
5main ingredients
3steps
1pot / pan
0wok skills

The story

King oyster mushrooms are the meat of the vegetable kingdom: thick, dense, and sliceable into rounds that sear like scallops. Glazed with oyster sauce (vegetarian mushroom version exists), they are a proper dish, not a side.

Ingredients (5 + pantry staples)

  • King oyster mushrooms — 1 lb / 450 g, sliced thick
  • Oyster sauce (or vegetarian stir-fry sauce) — 2 tbsp
  • Garlic — 3 cloves, minced
  • Scallions — 1, sliced
  • Soy sauce — 1 tsp

Pantry staples used (don't count toward the 6): sugar (pinch), cooking oil. Not stocked yet? See the pantry page.

Steps

  1. Score a crosshatch on each slice (flavor + looks). Sear in oil 2–3 minutes per side until deep gold.
  2. Garlic for 20 seconds; oyster sauce, soy, splash of water and the sugar.
  3. Toss until glazed; scallions on top.

Swaps

Same glaze on seared tofu, eggplant slices or blanched greens.

More 20-minute dishes