Authentic Hoisin Sauce
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Potently flavorful and fragrant, this is a central ingredient in many Chinese dishes and will work absolute MIRACLES for the foods you add it to! Drizzle this homemade hoisin sauce over rice, stir-fries, noodles, burgers, use it as a dipping sauce, and more. Made from scratch with an unrivaled depth of flavor that will “wow” your taste buds, look no further for the BEST hoisin sauce recipe!
What is Hoisin Sauce?
Hoisin sauce is a thick, dark, fragrant and flavorful sauce that is commonly used as a dipping sauce, a glaze for meats and added to stir fries. It balances both sweet, tangy and salty flavors and contributes an intense umami element to whatever food it’s added to. Although the name hoisin is Chinese for “seafood” it does not contain any seafood, rather the name likely refers to the fact that the sauce is a common accompaniment for seafood.
As with most things, store-bought hoisin sauce doesn’t even begin to compare to homemade. The flavor and potency of this authentic homemade hoisin sauce will absolutely wow your taste buds!
Hoisin Sauce Key Ingredients
You’ll find a lot of recipes online for hoisin sauce calling for things like peanut butter and molasses – neither of those belong in hoisin sauce and do not remotely resemble the right flavor. Leave those two items on the shelf and instead grab the two key ingredients you’ll need to make the real deal: Chinese Five Spice and Black Bean Sauce. You can find Chinese five spice in the spice section of most grocery stores. The black bean sauce may be a little more challenging to find. However in both cases we HIGHLY recommend making your own anyway in order to achieve the absolute BEST flavor results. Black bean sauce is a key ingredient to the best Chinese food, so you’ll want the ingredients on hand to make that anyway.
So now all you have to do is combine the Chinese five spice powder with the black bean sauce and a few other ingredients and you’ve got the best homemade hoisin sauce ever!
Can I Make This Sugar Free?
Yes! While there still be a little bit of sugar from the prunes, you can make this sauce low sugar by using a brown sugar alternative like Sukrin Gold.
Hoisin Sauce Recipe
Let’s get started!
There are just two steps to make this sauce:
- Place all the ingredients in a blender
- Puree until smooth.
That’s all there’s to it!
Pour the sauce into a glass jar with a lid and store it in the refrigerator.
It will keep for about a week.
You can also freeze this for up to 3 months if you have more than you’re able to use or if you want to make a larger batch to conveniently have on hand whenever you need it.
Ways to Use Hoisin Sauce
Think of hoisin sauce as an incredible all-purpose condiment. It has so many uses and will add depth, flavor and umami to a wide variety of dishes. Here are just a few ways you can use it:
- In stir-fries and on noodles, like our Shanghai noodles
- Slathered on chicken, pork, ribs, duck or tofu and baked or grilled
- Added to steamed and grilled veggies
- In marinades, vinaigrettes and bbq sauce
- A general substitute for ketchup
- A new twist for meatloaf
- Slathered on burgers, like our Shanghai burgers
- For pulled pork or pulled chicken
- Added to soup broths for a great flavor
- The base sauce for Chinese-style pizza
- Added to mayo for a Chinese twist on fry sauce
- As a dipping sauce for Chinese dumplings, egg rolls, wontons, chicken nuggets, etc.
For more phenomenal Asian sauces, be sure to try my:
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
- Plum Sauce
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Eel Sauce
- Kecap Manis
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Ponzu Sauce
- Chili Oil
- Char Siu Sauce
- Ginger Sauce
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Authentic Hoisin Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
- or alternative brown sugar (for low sugar option)
- 2 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons Homemade Chinese Black Bean Sauce
- or use store-bought Chinese Black Bean Sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 4 prunes
- 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/2 teaspoon Homemade Chinese Five Spice Powder (strongly recommended)
- or use store-bought five spice powder
- pinch of red pepper flakes or dash of sriracha sauce , optional for some heat
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Store in the fridge in a non-reactive airtight container. Chill overnight or preferable 24 hours before using. Will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet on April 26, 2016
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
May I know why prunes are added?
Hi Mun, for flavor and texture.
What prunes exactly did you use?
Hi Geert, prunes are dried plums and they’re usually made from the Italian variety (very fleshy) of plums.
This recipe was spot-on; tasted authentic and way better than store-bought. I’ve tried dozens of online hoisin recipes and no others even came close.
Thank you so much, Tony, I’m absolutely thrilled to hear that!
Another Outstanding recipe!! Thank you
The directions call for Chinese Five Spice Powder and Chinese Five Spice. The second Chinese Five Spice should read, Fermented Black Bean Paste. I haven’t tried the recipe yet, but I look forward to it.
Hi Ken, I’m not sure I understand. The recipe calls for Chinese five spice and black bean sauce. I provide two options for each – the link to the recipes to make them yourself, and links to examples of where you can purchase them online.
I think Ken means there is a typo at the top of the directions and while it correctly links to the black bean paste, it actually says “chinese five spice”.
Oh gotcha. When you both referred to the “directions” I thought you meant the recipe. I see what you’re referring to in the blog post and updated it. Thank you.
can this sauce freeze?
Hi Tricia, you can but cornstarch does not freeze well, it breaks down when thawed, so you may need to reheat it and re-thicken with cornstarch. That’s if you’re using it for a dipping sauce and need it to be a thicker consistency. If you’re just adding it to your cooking you probably don’t need to worry about re-thicken it.
Haven’t tried it yet but plan to – but where is the cornstarch? Can’t see any mention in the recipe…
Hi Keith, this isn’t a cooked sauce and there is no cornstarch in it.
I’m confused, on this comment you tell Kimberly that the sauce won’t freeze well because of cornstarch.. then say to Keith that there is no cornstarch? So then it should freeze alright..? Thanks.. it sounds great!
Oh dear, clearly I was confused too, lol! I was getting this mixed up with the Black Bean Sauce that incorporates this hoisin sauce and DOES use cornstarch. That is correct, Jon, this hoisin sauce does not have any cornstarch in it and yes, it can be frozen!
Thank you! We made this with black bean and garlic sauce ( because I had it) and it is wonderful!
You just saved me. Not because I followed the recipe but because I was able to convert it to low carb easily and the flavor is still spot on!!! We are trying to reduce carbs and my son can’t resist using hoisin like it’s ketchup, so this is amazing! Thank you so much for the ONLY authentic hoisin recipe on the internet!
Fantastic, Barbara, I’m glad you were able to adjust it to your needs and that it’s a family hit, thank you!
Hey! Out of interest what changes did you make to make it low carb?
Hi there, what did you use instead of sugar to make it low carb and still sweet? Thanks.
I’d use erythritol or monk fruit sweetener. Since brown sugar in this recipe helps thicken, using guar gum will do the same without adding significant carbs. I prefer it over xanthan gum which I find has an unpleasant mouthfeel. Hope that helps!
I found this recipe a while ago and have been making it since as I can’t bring myself to buy the commercial stuff any more! This is so good 😊
Do you know if it can be frozen successfully? I’m trying to prep well in advance for a relaxed Christmas. TIA
Wonderful, Elsa, thank you! Generally sauces with cornstarch do not freeze well because it alters the texture of the cornstarch as it thaws. You can still freeze it but you may have to reheat it and re-thicken it with cornstarch.
You mention that sauces with cornstarch do not freeze well; as there is no cornstarch in the recipe, then it would freeze well, correct? And if there is not supposed to be cornstarch in the recipe, then the question is will take to freezing well?
Sorry for the confusion, Linda. Correct, there is NO cornstarch in this sauce :) Yes, freezing is fine.
I’ve made hoisin sauce from other recipes, but NEVER one that so closely replicates the bottled stuff. Those other recipes are like hoisin sauce cousins, but this recipe is its twin brother!
Fantastic, Alisha, I’m thrilled you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the feedback! :)