Homemade Hoisin Sauce

You can imbue all of your favorite Asian-inspired recipes with a delectable, homemade, and salty touch with a few minutes of effort by making your own Hoisin Sauce!

Friends, I’ve been wanting to make this one from scratch for a while. I’ve given it a few tries, but I wasn’t satisfied with the outcomes. Now, though, I think I’ve finally nailed it, and here it is. Now that it’s here, I can’t wait to share my homemade hoisin sauce with all of you! We love to use this sweet, salty, and umami-packed Asian sauce in many of our noodle meals and other Asian-inspired recipes, and it just takes a few minutes to prepare!

What is Hoisin?

Although the name “hoisin” (pronounced HOY-szin) in Chinese means “seafood,” the sauce contains no seafood. What then is it? This thick, sweet, and salty sauce can be used as a marinade, dipping sauce, or to add umami flavor to stir-fries and noodle meals in a wide range of Asian (not only Chinese) cuisines. It is often called Chinese BBQ Sauce because it tastes like a deeper, sweeter, saltier soy sauce yet has the consistency of a transitional BBQ sauce.

Ingredients Needed

• Because several of the other components in this dish include a lot of salt, it is best to use Soy Sauce Lite. Note that Lite is not the same as reduced sodium; refer to the recipe notes.
• Are you thinking to yourself as you gaze at that black bean garlic sauce? I promise you, this is crucial. What’s that? For a genuinely authentic-tasting hoisin sauce, fermented black beans and garlic are essential.
• Chinese Five Spice: This is an additional essential component for achieving the proper genuine taste.
• Sesame Oil: Including a crucial sesame taste.
• Spiced Rice Vinegar: This provides a hint of sweetness along with a hint of acidity.
• Dark Brown Sugar: This sugar is the primary source of sweetness in the sauce, and it gives the molasses flavor additional depth. Not using any brown sugar? No issue—did you know that you could produce your own? Have you just got light brown sugar? No worries, see the recipe notes to learn how to turn it black!
• Pitted Prunes/Dried Plums: The plum taste adds a unique sweetness to the sauce that cannot be achieved by just adding sugar or another sweetener.
• Garlic Powder: Although fresh garlic can be added, we like to use powdered to ensure that it is more thoroughly mixed into the sauce.

Okay, I understand that many of the things on this list may not be found at your neighborhood grocery shop or aren’t typical pantry staples, but believe me. I promise you, it makes a huge difference. It’s worth the trek to your local Asian market, even if that means it. We’ve tested a few of recipes that call for using peanut butter instead of honey, and no, they’re not the same. The Chinese Five Spice, Prunes/Dried Plums, and Black Bean Garlic Sauce are essential.

How to Make Hoisin

Once you have everything you need, it’s really simple, even if you might need to make a special trip to your neighborhood Asian market or place an Amazon purchase.

Simple as putting everything in a food processor and blending. Completed! Advice: To make sure the prunes mix to a smooth consistency, I cut them well before adding them to the food processor.

FAQs

Can I use regular rice wine vinegar?

Indeed. There is an additional sweetness in seasoned rice wine vinegar, which sets it apart from ordinary vinegar. It will still add just the proper amount of acidity if you just have ordinary, although it could taste a bit less sweet. If you would like, you may taste and add a bit extra sugar.

What’s the difference between Lite and Low Sodium Soy Sauce?

Both are different, however they both contain less salt than ordinary soy sauce. Chinese soy sauce, which is lighter and thinner than Japanese soy sauce, is typically indicated by the term “lite soy sauce.” Japan’s Low Sodium Soy Sauce is a soy sauce that has a little amount less sodium.

Do I have to use a food processor?

You’ll need to use a food processor, blender, or immersion blender to create a good smooth consistency because of the prunes and black bean garlic sauce. However, if you don’t need the really smooth texture, you can simply cut the prunes very finely and thoroughly mix everything in with a fork or masher. I tried this in a Vitamix, and it’s not enough to blend all the prunes well unless you double the recipe.

What if I only have light brown sugar?

Not an issue. If you have molasses on hand, all you need to do is combine one teaspoon of molasses with half a cup of light brown sugar, and presto! sugar with a dark brown color.

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