Name: Chinese Oyster Sauce Gluten Puffs
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 100 g store-bought fried gluten; 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce; 1/2 tsp five spice powder; 1-1.5 Tbsp oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee Brand); 1/2 Tbsp light soy sauce; 1 Tbsp white granulated sugar; 1 tsp white pepper; 1 cup chicken broth; 1/4 tsp chili powder; 100 g store-bought fried gluten; 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce; 1/2 tsp five spice powder; 3 Tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce; 1-1.5 Tbsp light soy sauce; 2.5 Tbsp white granulated sugar; 1 tsp white pepper; 1 cup water; 1/4 tsp chili powder

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Delectable gluten puffs smothered in a delicious and mouthwatering savoury oyster sauce, this Chinese oyster sauce gluten puffs recipe is going to be a big hit with vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike!

What Are Chinese Oyster Sauce Gluten Puffs?

If you’ve ever been to a vegetarian Chinese restaurant before or you’ve bought a Chinese vegetarian platter from an Asian supermarket then no doubt you’ve probably become accustomed to the Chinese oyster sauce gluten puffs dish along with its two siblings: Chinese sweet and sour gluten puffs & Chinese curry gluten puffs. These 3 dishes make up the tri-colour Chinese vegetarian platter along with other Chinese vegetarian dishes such as beancurd or tofu.

Chinese oyster sauce gluten balls also known as 蠔油齋 in Cantonese is basically fried wheat gluten that is cooked and braised in a savoury oyster sauce. The gluten puffs act like a sponge, soaking up all of the sauce that is braised with the dish, leading to plenty of sauce leaking out with each bite.

Now out of the 3 sauces, I actually prefer this one the least, not because it doesn’t taste good, but rather because it’s being overshadowed by its two siblings the sweet and sour and curry sauce variants that just taste better!

But with that being said, you can’t have a Chinese vegetarian meal without including oyster sauce seitan in it if you’re including the other two varieties as well, it’s just tradition 😂

What Are Gluten Puffs?

Gluten puffs, gluten balls, Seitan or 麵筋 (mien gun) in Cantonese is a type of wheat gluten that is typically found in a lot of Chinese vegetarian dishes, and neighboring Asian countries as well. These seitan wheat protein puffs are used as a meat substitute as they have a somewhat similar texture to meat and are usually cooked with a variety of different sauces and techniques such as frying or stir-frying.

Due to its somewhat similar texture to meat, it’s a great meat substitute for those of you who still miss eating meat from time to time.

Where to Buy Gluten Puffs

Gluten puffs/balls are readily available at nearly all Asian supermarkets, usually in the vegetarian or tofu section.

Ingredients

Non-vegetarian version:

100g of store bought fried gluten
½ tsp of dark soy sauce
½ tsp of five spice powder
1-1.5 Tbsp of oyster sauce (Lee Kum Kee Brand)
½ Tbsp of light soy sauce
1 Tbsp of white granulated sugar
1 tsp of white pepper
1 cup of chicken broth
optional: 1/4 tsp of chili powder

Vegetarian version:

100g of store bought fried gluten
½ tsp of dark soy sauce
½ tsp of five spice powder
3 Tbsp of vegetarian oyster sauce
1-1.5 Tbsp of light soy sauce
2.5 Tbsp of white granulated sugar
1 tsp of white pepper
1 cup of water
optional: 1/4 tsp chili powder

Ingredient Notes

Oyster sauce: For this recipe, there are two versions, a non-vegetarian version and a vegetarian version. The difference mainly comes down to the oyster sauce and whether or not you use chicken broth or water. In my opinion, I find using regular oyster sauce to produce a much better tasting dish as there is a lot more umani flavour in the dish, which the vegetarian mushroom oyster sauce simply cannot replicate. With that being said, however, the vegetarian oyster sauce is still a good substitute for the dish but you will need to make some tweaks to it, mainly in the sodium department.

If you look at the nutritional label at the back of both regular oyster sauce and vegetarian oyster sauce, you’ll notice that there is a huge sodium difference between the two. There is nearly double the amount of sodium in regular oyster sauce compared to the vegetarian oyster sauce. (I should mention that I’m using the Lee Kum Kee brand of oyster sauce in my recipe. If you use another brand, it will be different.)

So if you were to simply substitute vegetarian oyster sauce with oyster sauce on a 1 to 1 ratio, you will end up with a more bland version of the dish.

And that’s exactly what happened the first time I tried to make the dish vegetarian by substituting regular oyster sauce with vegetarian oyster sauce. I ended up having to double the amount of oyster sauce I used for the vegetarian version to get a similar taste as the non-vegetarian version.

Luckily though, you won’t need to make that mistake because I’ve already tweaked the recipe for you 😉

nutrition label for oyster sauce — Regular oyster sauce

Gluten puffs: For this dish, you’ll typically find it being served either with the fried gluten puffs that I’ve used in this recipe or the denser dehydrated gluten pieces that have been cut into square cubes that resemble pieces of stale bread. When you bite into these dehydrated gluten pieces, they will have a more chewy and tougher texture.

Now as dehydrated gluten is harder to find, I opted to use the readily available fried gluten puffs instead. I had to scour the whole Asian grocery store before I upon chance happened to find them in the condiments section.

Whose genius idea was it to put it there? 🙄

holding dehydrated gluten in hand — Dehydrated gluten

Chili powder: This is optional, however it does give the dish a nice kick to it and some restaurants like to make the dish a little spicy.

Substitutions

Fried gluten puffs: For this particular recipe, you can substitute the fried gluten puffs with the denser version of gluten puffs known as dehydrated gluten. See pic above. This gives the gluten puffs a more chewy texture similar to stale bread that has been soaked in sauce. It’s worth a try if you can find dehydrated gluten!

How to Make Chinese Oyster Sauce Gluten Puffs

This Chinese oyster sauce wheat gluten recipe has 2 versions: 1 for vegetarians and 1 for non-vegetarians.

Make sure that you’re using the right version!

The oyster sauce seitan recipe is actually quite easy to make and only takes around 15 minutes or so to make, making it a perfect vegetarian dish for the days when you’re super busy and need to whip up something real quick.

Here’s how to make Chinese oyster sauce gluten puffs:

Start by blanching the gluten puffs in a pot of hot water for around 1-2 minutes to get rid of the smell and taste of the oil. It also releases some of the fat trapped inside of the gluten puffs. As you blanch the gluten puffs, they will become soft and shrink in size. Use a ladle to press down on the gluten to further release any excess oil that is inside of the gluten puffs.

Then immediately drain the gluten puffs and rinse it over cold water to further get rid of some of the oil.
Now turn off the tap and gently squeeze out all of the water that was soaked up in the gluten puffs but don’t be too rough when squeezing it otherwise the gluten puffs will tear and break apart.
Once all of the liquid has been squeezed out, allow the gluten puffs to cool down on a strainer and set it aside.

Now heat up the wok on medium-low heat.
While the wok is heating up, prepare your sauce.
In a bowl, add in your oyster sauce or vegetarian oyster sauce, along with sugar, light and dark soy sauce, five spice powder, white pepper along with either water or chicken broth if you’re making the non-vegetarian version.
Mix everything well together and set it aside.
When you see smoke coming out of the wok and it’s hot enough, add in your sauce.

Mix the sauce well in the wok for about a minute then add in your gluten.

Mix everything well together again and then allow the sauce to reduce in the wok while constantly mixing the gluten with the sauce by scooping under the gluten and bringing it back on top.

Repeat this until the sauce has thickened and there’s about an inch or so of sauce on the edges of the gluten.

Turn off the stove and transfer everything to a bowl or plate and serve with rice.

Tips

This dish can be served either hot or cold.
Do not blanch the gluten puffs for too long in the water, otherwise it will soak up a tonne of water and act like a sponge and become overly soft.
When trying to squeeze out the excess water from the gluten puffs with your hands, do not apply too much pressure or the gluten puffs will tear.

Common Mistakes Beginners Make

Blanching the gluten for far too long causing the gluten to become overly soft and wet. It should be blanched for no more than 2 minutes tops!
The gluten puffs easily break apart due to too much pressure from squeezing them too hard when trying to get rid of the water in the gluten puffs. Be a little more gentle when squeezing the gluten puffs.
Not giving enough time for the sauce to reduce and also for the gluten to soak up all of the sauce, ending up with a runny and overly watery sauce.

Storage Tips

The dish can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Side Dishes:

Typically this dish is served with other vegetarian dishes, especially its close cousins: sweet and sour gluten puffs and curry gluten puffs.

Oh and I should mention, it’s normally eaten with rice, not alone! If you eat it by itself, you may find it a bit salty.

Another great vegetarian dish that goes well with this dish is my stir-fried bok choy recipe.

Frequently Asked Questions (F.A.Q.S)

Does This Dish Contain Gluten?

Yes, this dish is not gluten free as the main star of the show is gluten.

I Can’t Find Gluten Puffs/Balls at the Grocery Store, Can I Make Them Myself?

Yes, you can but it’s really not worth the effort unless you are making a tonne of gluten at once, plus think of all that frying you’re going to need to do ?. If you can’t find them then I suggest that you try to order them online. A lot of Asian grocery stores nowadays offer delivery.

Are Gluten Puffs Healthy?

The gluten puffs are fried in hot oil. A 100g bag of these gluten puffs contain about 300 calories. You be the judge of that!

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