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!Ā Made from scratch with an unrivaled depth of flavor that will “wow” your taste buds, look no further for the BEST hoisin sauce recipe!
Drizzle this sauce over rice, stir-fries, noodles, burgers, or use it as a dipping sauce.Ā Try it on our Shanghai Noodles or in our Chinese Beef and Broccoli!
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.Ā 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.
Hoisin Sauce Uses
Think of hoisin sauce as an incredible all-purpose condiment.Ā 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.
How to Make Hoisin Sauce
As with most things, store-bought hoisin sauce doesn’t even begin to compare to homemade.Ā The flavor and potency of this authentic homemade hoisin sauce will absolutely wow your taste buds!
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.Ā 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.Ā You can find Chinese five spice in the spice section of most grocery stores.Ā The black bean sauce may be a little more challenging to find.Ā However in both cases we HIGHLY recommend making your own anyway in order to achieve the absolute BEST flavor results.Ā 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!Ā 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 where 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.
Enjoy!
See blog post above for some delicious ideas on how to use this versatile sauce.
For more phenomenal Asian condiments, be sure to try our:
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Yum Yum Sauce
- Plum SauceĀ
- Teriyaki Sauce
- Eel Sauce
- Kecap Manis
- Sweet Chili Sauce
- Ponzu Sauce
- Char Siu Sauce
- Ginger Sauce
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
Jacque Hastert says
I love hoisin sauce, but never thought to make it at home. I will be whipping this up in my kitchen soon.
Suzy says
So great! I never knew how easy it would be to make this homemade!
Toni says
I really love how easy this is to make!! Thanks for the recipe!
Beti says
This is the perfect hoisin sauce!! I can’t wait to try this recipe!
katerina says
YUM!! This hoisin sauce looks incredibly delicious!
Erin says
This Hoisin sauce looks so perfect! Definitely a must try!
Beth Pierce says
I love this sauce! I used this sauce on stir fry the other night and it was so delicious! I will be making this sauce again!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Beth, thank you!
Tracy says
Hi is the soy sauce dark or light please?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Tracy, you can use either according to your preference. I usually use dark.
Esther says
Absolutely sensational, thank you!! I made this and simply delicious. I didn’t have prunes, so I subbed in some sultanas. Looking forward to trying with prunes next time. Thank you again for sharing this wonderful recipe.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Thank you, Esther, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
Bart says
Hi,
Thanks for the great recipe.
Is it be possible to store the sauce for longer by freezing it?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Yes, that should work, Bart. It may alter the texture a little but if you’re using it for cooking that shouldn’t really matter anyway.
Qweenie says
I am interested in trying this recipe, as I prefer to consume a homemade version verses store bought. However, my concern is that it only lasts in the refrigerator for one week. If I read correctly, your recipe will yield 14 servings. Is that correct? If so, I suppose I could make a smaller batch by cutting the ingredients in half (I cook for one – me). Thanks for sharing your recipe. This definitely looks delicious!
Solveig says
Hi Kimberly!
I see that this recipe is for approx 14 servings (tbsp). I am making a sort of crispy duck in pancakes-dish and want to try to make this sauce. We’ll be 10 adults eating.
How many servings hoisin sauce would you recommend? Meaning – by which factor will I need to multiply this recipe?
I have never made the dish itself before, so I don’t even know how much sauce you would use for 1 pancake, nor how many pancakes per person – but thats a different problem. (Perhaps not the best idea to try when having my boyfriends family and mine meet for the first time!)
Also, how many tablespoons are in your black bean sauce recipe? It says 1 cup/18 servings, does that mean 18 tbsp?
Being european the cup-measurements got me all confused.
Thanks in advance, can’t wait to try it!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Solveig, the crispy duck pancakes sound fabulous. The hoisin sauce makes approx 14 tablespoons. I don’t know how you’re planning on serving the hoisin sauce but if it’s to spread on the pancakes then you probably wouldn’t use a whole tablespoon per pancake. If you’re serving one pancake per person then one batch of hoisin will be more than enough. If you’re serving more than that then you might want to double the hoisin recipe just to be safe.
Yes, the black bean sauce makes a little more than a cup, roughly 18 tablespoons, give or take. If you’re making the black bean sauce in order to make the hoisin sauce then one batch of that is all you’ll need in order to make a double batch of hoisin (6 tablespoons total). If you’re serving the black bean sauce separately, on the side, then the same thing applies as the hoisin sauce – it just depends on how much you’ll need per person.
David Lever says
I’ve made this sauce a couple of times now. So much more subtle than the bought stuff, and was greatly improved by making fresh 5 spice powder and with the addition of Belazu Harissa.
E says
Thank you! Sorry, one more question: what is the serving size for the nutritional values listed? Trying to figure out how the sugar/carb content stacks up against a commercial mix.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
No problem! A serving is one tablespoon.
R says
Hi there, sounds great! What could be substituted for the prunes, if anything?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi, you can use either raisins, dates or dried apricots.