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Home Ā» Food Ā» BEST Authentic Hoisin Sauce

BEST Authentic Hoisin Sauce

April 29, 2016 by Kimberly Killebrew Ā· 186 Comments

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Potently flavorful and fragrant, Hoisin sauce is a central ingredient in many Chinese dishes and will work absolute MIRACLES for the foods you add it to!Ā  Look no further for the BEST hoisin sauce recipe!

hoisin sauce recipe best homemade authentic

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.

How To Use Hoisin Sauce

It’s pretty much an all-purpose condiment, it’s so delicious on so many things. Ā Here are just a few ways to use it:

  • In stir-fries and on noodles
  • Slathered on chicken, pork, ribs, duck or tofu and baked or grilled
  • Added to veggies
  • In marinades, vinaigrettes and barbecue sauces
  • A general substitute for ketchup
  • A new twist for meatloaf
  • Slathered on 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
  • As a dipping sauce for Chinese dumplings, egg rolls, wontons, chicken nuggets, etc.

It’s just plain incredible stuff!

hoisin sauce recipe best homemade authentic Chinese Asian

How to Make Hoisin SauceĀ 

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 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 (aka black bean paste or black bean garlic paste, made from fermented soy beans).

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.

Below are the homemade versions for the two key ingredients you’ll need to make this incredible sauce:

Homemade Chinese Five Spice Powder Ā (nothing compares to the flavor of freshly ground spice blends!)

five spice powder recipe best authentic chinese

Homemade Black Bean Sauce (this stuff is the AMAZING!)

black bean sauce recipe best homemade Chinese paste garlic

Black bean sauce is a key ingredient to the best Chinese food, so you’ll want the ingredients on hand to make that anyway (of course you can also use store-bought black bean sauce as well. Ā But honestly, this black bean sauce is seriously the best stuff!)

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 hoisin sauce ever!

 

Authentic Hoisin Sauce Recipe

Let’s get started!

There are just two steps:Ā  1) Place all the ingredients in a blender and 2) Puree until smooth.Ā  Ā That’s it, you’re done!

*NOTE: Ā We’re adding a few prunes for sweetness and texture. Ā However, hoisin sauce is not the same thing as plum sauce.

how to make hoisin sauce

Store the sauce in the fridge in a non-reactive airtight container.Ā  It will keep for about a week.

Enjoy!

hoisin sauce recipe best authentic Chinese

For more phenomenal Asian condiments, be sure to try our:

  • Sweet and Sour Sauce
  • Yum Yum Sauce
  • Plum SauceĀ 
  • Teriyaki Sauce
  • Kecap Manis
  • Sweet Chili Sauce
  • Ponzu Sauce
  • Char Siu Sauce
  • Ginger Sauce

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hoisin sauce recipe best homemade authentic traditional Chinese sauce

hoisin sauce recipe authentic Chinese traditional

BEST Authentic Hoisin Sauce

Kimberly Killebrew
An incredible depth of flavor, this will work magic on the dishes you add it to.  Simply the best, you'll never use store-bought again!
Print Recipe
4.83 from 67 votes
Prep Time 5 mins
Total Time 5 mins
Course condiment, Sauce
Cuisine Asian, Chinese
Servings 14 servings
Calories 35 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 3 tablespoons Homemade Chinese Black Bean Sauce
  • OR use store-bought Chinese Black Bean Sauce
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 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
  • If you prefer a little heat add some red chilies or sriracha to taste

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

Serving: 1tablespoon | Calories: 35kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Sodium: 89mg | Potassium: 31mg | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 20IU | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.1mg
Keyword Hoisin Sauce
Tried this recipe? Mention @daringgourmet or hashtag #daringgourmet

 

 

 

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186 Comments →

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186 Responses

  1. Elsa says

    December 4, 2020 at 8:15 am

    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

    Reply
    • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

      December 4, 2020 at 11:26 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Linda says

        February 8, 2021 at 7:25 am

        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?

        Reply
        • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

          February 8, 2021 at 9:57 am

          Sorry for the confusion, Linda. Correct, there is NO cornstarch in this sauce :) Yes, freezing is fine.

          Reply
  2. Alisha C Nguyen says

    November 21, 2020 at 2:08 pm

    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!

    Reply
    • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

      November 21, 2020 at 7:10 pm

      Fantastic, Alisha, I’m thrilled you enjoyed it, thanks so much for the feedback! :)

      Reply
  3. Cindy Fricke says

    November 2, 2020 at 7:37 pm

    I have never made or even eaten Hoisin sauce but found a recipe that looked delicious. I wanted to make my own but before I could do that I had to make the black bean paste. This turned out so good, we will be having this on the regular. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
    • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

      November 2, 2020 at 7:38 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Cindy, thank you!

      Reply
  4. Chef Hnoi says

    October 22, 2020 at 7:55 pm

    I can’t believe how simple this is. You save me many agonizing hours of searching for this stuff in Bangkok. Thank you. You are awesome!

    Reply
  5. Angela Jeffery says

    October 3, 2020 at 11:01 am

    My daughter has Coeliac disease, so I was looking for a recipe for hoisin sauce I could tweak so she can still eat some favourite foods. I made this sauce with tamari instead of soy sauce and it worked perfectly. I served in with duck and rice wraps for her yesterday and in a stir fry today. It is by far the best recipe we’ve tried. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

      October 15, 2020 at 11:35 pm

      That’s wonderful, Angela, thanks so much!

      Reply
  6. Evan says

    September 21, 2020 at 11:42 am

    Adding 1/2 teaspoon of garlic chilli paste adds little zip

    Reply
  7. Siddhi Shah says

    September 8, 2020 at 2:15 am

    Is there any substitute for Prunes.

    Reply
    • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

      September 8, 2020 at 8:59 pm

      Hi Siddhi, you can try raisins instead.

      Reply
  8. Jon says

    August 15, 2020 at 8:20 pm

    Two things. First is that dark brown sugar is white sugar to which molasses has been added. So, the argument of molasses having no home in hoisin sauce becomes spurious. Second, there is no way that 1Tb of this sauce has only 89mg of sodium when the soy sauce and fermented beans (both of which feature prominently in the proportions) are both very high in sodium. Otherwise, looks good!

    Reply
    • Matthew M says

      October 10, 2020 at 10:24 am

      If you’re fussed about the sugar I’d guess that one could substitute jaggery. I almost certainly would if only because I have jaggery for Indian dishes while dark brown sugar isn’t something I habitually keep.

      Reply
    • Tony Jones says

      October 28, 2020 at 10:26 am

      How annoying is Jon?

      Reply
    • Teresa says

      February 15, 2021 at 1:34 pm

      I absolutely agree with Jon regarding the molasses comment.
      Dark brown sugar is simply less refined, which means that there is more molasses left in it.

      Reply
  9. Daniel says

    August 3, 2020 at 5:29 am

    Lost in translation: do not confuse prunes with plums. :) happened to me. Still tastes good but the sauce now is mainly plum and looks way different and is very runny. Maybe worth a hint ;)

    Reply
  10. Stephanie says

    July 1, 2020 at 10:21 am

    Loved how easy it was to whip up and the flavor was excellent!

    Reply
    • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

      July 1, 2020 at 11:15 am

      Fantastic, Stephanie, thank you!

      Reply
  11. Suzy says

    July 1, 2020 at 10:20 am

    This was so much easier to make than I thought! It was so good too! Love how I can make this homemade with just a few simple ingredients!

    Reply
    • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

      July 1, 2020 at 11:14 am

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Suzy, thank you!

      Reply
  12. Lily says

    July 1, 2020 at 9:46 am

    This sauce was so flavorful I would have never thought to make Hoisin sauce myself, I’ve always bought it, but this was perfect I added it to our stir fry and the flavor was incredible.

    Reply
    • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

      July 1, 2020 at 11:15 am

      Thank you, Lily, I’m so glad it was a hit!

      Reply
  13. LIsalia says

    June 27, 2020 at 9:29 am

    I’ve only used store bought hoisin sauce before. This was INCREDIBLE! Thanks for such an easy recipe that makes SUCH a difference!

    Reply
    • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

      June 27, 2020 at 9:01 pm

      I’m thrilled to hear that, LIsalia, thank you!

      Reply
  14. Aimee Shugarman says

    June 27, 2020 at 8:32 am

    This was so easy to make and turned out delicious.

    Reply
    • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

      June 27, 2020 at 9:01 pm

      I’m so glad, Aimee, thank you!

      Reply
  15. Jen says

    June 27, 2020 at 6:22 am

    Wow, this has amazing flavor! I never knew how easy it was to make my own at home. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
    • Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says

      June 27, 2020 at 9:02 pm

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jen, thank you!

      Reply
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kimberly killebrew the daring gourmet

Welcome!Ā  I’m Kimberly and I share delicious originals, revitalized classics and authentic dishes from around the world.Ā  Come travel the world through your taste buds!

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