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!
This sauce is INCREDIBLE! Such a flavor punch, I’m obsessed with it!
Awesome, Linda, thank you!
This is the best tasting hoisin sauce EVER! First batch is already gone, making another one today.
I’m thrilled to hear that, Natalie, thank you!
If I sterilize the glass bottles and pour the homemade sauce into it (and refrigerate), will they keep for longer than a week or two?
Hi Lindy, because of the sugar/vinegar component it should be fine for two weeks.
I’v kept mine in the fridge for about 6 weeks, seems fine. I also have Blue Dragon Hoysin that’s been there for months, now that I make my own I should throw it out into the compost bin where it belongs!
My boyfriend is allergic to wheat so most Chinese sauces are out due to Chinese soy sauce being made with it. I can safely say that this sauce and the black bean paste work perfectly with tamari (Japanese brewed, wheat free soy sauce) without the prunes the sauce reminded me of my mother’s spare ribs
Hi Sam! For sure, tamari is a perfect substitute for anyone with gluten sensitivities.
I think I’ve made every one of your Chinese condiment recipes and I love them all. Absolutely A++ on every one of them and this hoisin sauce is no exception. I don’t buy any of them anymore, your recipes have become my go-to’s. Thank you for sharing your talents with us through these awesome recipes.
Thanks so much, Tanner! :)
I live in Thailand and always had problems to find this sauce for my Char Sieuw and some other Hongkong pork recipes. Most of the sauces here are not that good anyway. I tried to make it myself and couldn’t get it right. But your recipe absolutely nails it!
100% the right taste, I actually used some local palm sugar and it’s divine!
Fantastic, Kay, thank you so much!
Wow, absolutely BRILLIANT recipe!! This is as you claim, the BEST hoisin sauce, period, end of story, save the rebuttal it’ll fall on deaf ears, it’s THAT good!!
I’ve had every commercial hoisin known to man (well, close!) and it occured to me why not make my own? I searched out a recipe, so many I could tell weren’t worth the time with goofy ingredients, but yours had the right stuff, took a chance and it is indeed perfection. There is none better and the commercial stuff is garbage by comparison.
Outstanding recipe, thank you very much for sharing your time and recipes.
Awesome, Kevin!!! I love your glowing review, thanks so much! :)
Just made it!.. It so delicious thank you:)
Wonderful, Olga, thank you!
Absolutely terrific hoisin sauce, the best I’ve tried! Bookmarking this to make again and again. To anyone wondering, don’t hesitate, just make it.
Awesome, Rob, thanks so much!
This recipe is fantastic. I have made this three times with brown sugar splenda blend and it was delicious. Thank you so much for sharing
That’s awesome, Yvette, I’m so happy to hear that, thank you!
THE BEST! I’ve tried several recipes and this one is the winner. Fantastic flavor. If anyone is wondering about this recipe, you’ve got to make it. Trust me, you’ll look no further once you’ve tried it.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it as much as we do, David, thanks for the feedback!
I bet low-glycemic agave syrup would substitute perfectly for the sugar-free version.
Yes, agave syrup will work just fine, Susie.
Uh, I live in Seattle, too (since 1979) and have never had a problem finding hoisin at any grocery store. Not that making your own isn’t a great idea, but I really had to wonder about your comment that it is difficult to find.
Anne, that’s because we have a large Asian population here. My comments are directed to my broad readership who span the entire nation and all across the world where, in many areas, hoisin sauce (and authentic Asian products at large) are very difficult to find.
Wow! I made the black bean sauce as the base to make the housing sause last night and it was amazing! My wife and daughter are insisting that this must be a staple condiment in our diet. Both extremely easy to make. I substituted the plums with dates and it was a hit! Great with homemade spring rolls. Thank you!
That’s wonderful, Amit, I’m so thrilled to hear it was a hit – thank you!
Can you let me know what content of sodium is in the sauce?
Hi Cheryl, the only sodium in this recipe is however much is in the soy sauce and black bean sauce you’re using and that will vary from brand to brand. This recipe calls for 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 3 tablespoons of black bean sauce, so take a look on the back of the bottles you’re using to check for sodium content. Those amounts are going to be divided by however many servings you intend to make out your hoisin sauce.