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!
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.
Hi, I’m recently diagnosed prediabetes so, of course I was wondering if the sugar is must. I have always been a big fan og mooshu dishes and they’re usually made with hoisin, then of course, more hoisin on the pancakes. Any ideas?
Hi Richie, you can use an alternative sweetener instead or simply a different sweetener that has a lower glycemic index than sugar. Really you can use any of your choice. Start with a little and you can always add more in at the end when you taste it to see if it needs more. Also, since you’re substituting it for brown sugar you can also add a teaspoon or so of molasses to get back some of that flavor.
Hi Richie, I’m a type 2 diabetic and I use sucralose based sweeteners as they taste the closest to sugar. I live in the UK and use a brand called Splenda. I don’t know if that is available elsewhere in the world.
I am interested in trying to make a sugar free version of hoisin….got any ideas?
You can try substituting honey with just a tiny touch of molasses.
What to do if All Soy Products give you much gas. Is there a substitute? OR what do I do?
Leave it out?
Hi Zeak, unfortunately the core ingredient for hoisin sauce is fermented soy beans and there is no substitute for those. However, when you say that soy products cause you gas problems, which kinds of soy products are you referring to? The reason I ask is because fermented soy products (such as soy sauce, miso, tempeh and these fermented black beans) are less likely to cause gas than unfermented soy products like tofu and soy milk.
How about a bulk recipe that can be put up for the larder? That way there’s no need ot think ahead for the ingredient and it’s always to hand. :) Looking forward to the plum sauce recipe as I watch my heavily laden plum trees ripen …..
Hi Lyn, I haven’t tested the pH level of this sauce so I’m not sure how conducive it is for long-term canning. Also, since it contains cornstarch it wouldn’t be ideal for canning anyway, but the cornstarch could be left out and then added upon reheating. I think for now the best way would be to freeze a large amount in small containers, even ziplock bags, and then thaw as needed, bring to a boil and add the cornstarch to thicken it. And YES, we have three Italian plum trees that laden with fruit, too – looking forward to putting those to good use :)
Therm Flo is a thickener that is “good for canning as it does not separate when canned”. You can get several different thickeners, in addition to cornstarch, at Amish Community stores. The one I go to is Stringtown Grocery, Kolana, Iowa (near Iowa City).
Thanks for the tip, Carolyn, I’ll have to look into Therm Flo.
hooray! you did it! been waiting very patiently for this as I knew it would be great! can’t wait to make it…thank you very much!
You sure have, Matt! It only took me, what, two years?! ;) Thanks so much for your support, Matt.
This stuff is absolutely amazing!! Made it using your black bean sauce recipe (equally amazing) and it’s the best stuff ever! Thanks!
That’s so awesome, Nate, thank you so much for the feedback!