Hoisin Sauce is a thick, reddish-brown or mahogany coloured fermented sauce. It gives foods a sweet and sour taste and a reddish hue.
It is made of chiles, garlic, sesame seeds, spices, sugar, vinegar, and either mashed soybeans and / or wheat flour. Some commercial brands even list sweet potatoes and cornstarch as ingredients as well.
It can be used as a condiment or as an ingredient. It can be used to glaze meat with, particularly poultry.
Hoisin Sauce can vary in thickness, depending on who made it or the brand purchased ready-made. Thinned versions can be used as a dipping sauce at the table.
It does not contain any plums, vegetables or pumpkin, as other food sources may say.
Cooking Tips
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons black bean paste
1 tablespoon honey (or molasses)
2 teaspoons white wine or rice vinegar
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons sesame oil
20 drops hot sauce
Storage Hints
Store indefinitely either in fridge or at room temperature. If you buy it in a can, transfer it to a bottle or a container that can be tightly sealed for storage.
Language Notes
In Chinese, “hoi” means “sea”; “sin” means “fresh” — alluding to Hoisin Sauce being used as a dipping sauce with fresh seafood.
“Tianmian jiang” is the name in Mandarin; “haixian jiang” is the Cantonese name. In Cantonese, it’s also called “tim jyeung”, meaning “sweet sauce”, when it’s used as a condiment for rice rolls or fried tofu.
Occasionally called “plum sauce” in English.