hoisin sauce
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Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant sauce commonly used in
Cantonese cuisine Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( or ) is the cuisine of Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou, and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Maca ...
as a glaze for meat, an addition to stir fry, or as
dipping sauce A dip or dipping sauce is a common condiment for many types of food. Dips are used to add flavor or texture to a food, such as pita bread, dumplings, crackers, chopped raw vegetables, fruits, seafood, cubed pieces of meat and cheese, potato chi ...
. It is dark-coloured in appearance and sweet and salty in taste. Although regional variants exist, hoisin sauce usually includes
soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu an ...
s,
fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...
, red
chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
s, and garlic. Vinegar,
five-spice powder Five-spice powder () is a spice mixture of five or more spices used predominantly in almost all branches of Chinese cuisine. It is also used in Hawaiian cuisine and Vietnamese cuisine. The five flavors of the spices (sweet, bitter, sour, sal ...
, and sugar are also commonly added.


Name

The word ''hoisin'' is derived from the
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
words for "seafood" (), although the sauce does not contain any seafood ingredients and is not commonly consumed with seafood. The reason for the name is "seafood flavour", a common adjective in Chinese cuisine, especially
Sichuanese Sichuanese, Szechuanese or Szechwanese may refer to something of, from, or related to the Chinese province and region of Sichuan (Szechwan/Szechuan) (historically and culturally including Chongqing), especially: *Sichuanese people, a subgroup of the ...
(" fish fragrant").


Ingredients

The key ingredient of hoisin sauce is
fermented soybean paste Fermented bean paste is a category of fermented foods typically made from ground soybeans, which are indigenous to the cuisines of East, South and Southeast Asia. In some cases, such as the production of ''miso'', other varieties of beans, such ...
. Some hoisin sauce ingredients include starches such as
sweet potato The sweet potato or sweetpotato (''Ipomoea batatas'') is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the Convolvulus, bindweed or morning glory family (biology), family, Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting tuberous roots are used as a r ...
,
wheat Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
and
rice Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza glaberrima'', commonly known as African rice, is one of the two domesticated rice species. It was first domesticated and grown i ...
, and water, sugar, soybeans, sesame seeds, white distilled vinegar,
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantitie ...
, garlic, red
chili pepper Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
s, and sometimes
preservative A preservative is a substance or a chemical that is added to products such as food products, beverages, pharmaceutical drugs, paints, biological samples, cosmetics, wood, and many other products to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by ...
s or coloring agents. Traditionally, hoisin sauce is made using toasted mashed soybeans.


Uses in regional cuisines


Cantonese cuisine

Hoisin sauce is used in
Cantonese cuisine Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine, also known as Yue cuisine ( or ) is the cuisine of Guangdong province of China, particularly the provincial capital Guangzhou, and the surrounding regions in the Pearl River Delta including Hong Kong and Maca ...
as a marinade sauce for meat or as a dipping sauce. Hoisin sauce can be used as a marinade sauce for meat such as
char siu ''Char siu'' () is a Chinese, specifically Cantonese–style of barbecued pork. Originating in Guangdong, it is eaten with rice, used as an ingredient for noodle dishes or in stir fries, and as a filling for '' chasiu baau'' or '' pineapple b ...
. Hoisin sauce can be used as a dipping sauce for steamed or panfried
rice noodle roll A rice noodle roll (also translated as steamed rice roll) is a Cantonese dish from Guangdong Province in southern China, commonly served either as a snack, small meal or variety of dim sum. It is a thin roll made from a wide strip of ''shahe ...
(chángfĕn 肠粉).


American cuisine

Hoisin sauce can be used as a dipping sauce for
Peking duck Peking duck is a dish from Beijing (Peking) that has been prepared since the Imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the d ...
and lettuce wraps. Hoisin sauce can be used as a dipping sauce for
moo shu pork Moo shu pork (木须肉, also spelled mù xū ròu, moo shi pork, mu shu or mu xu pork) is a dish of northern Chinese origin, originating from Shandong. It invariably contains egg, whose yellow color is reminiscent of blossoms of the osmanthus ...
. File:Hoisin_sauce.jpg, Hoisin sauce on a
Peking duck Peking duck is a dish from Beijing (Peking) that has been prepared since the Imperial era. The meat is characterized by its thin, crispy skin, with authentic versions of the dish serving mostly the skin and little meat, sliced in front of the d ...
wrap File:JueCheungFan_with_sauce.jpg, Plain cheungfan with hoisin sauce and sesame seed sauce


Vietnamese cuisine

In Vietnamese, hoisin sauce is called . It is a popular
condiment A condiment is a preparation that is added to food, typically after cooking, to impart a specific Flavoring, flavor, to enhance the flavor, or to complement the dish. A table condiment or table sauce is more specifically a condiment that is serv ...
for , a Vietnamese noodle soup, in southern Vietnam. The sauce can be directly added into a bowl of at the table, or it can be used as a dip for the meat of dishes. In , hoisin is typically accompanied by
Sriracha sauce Sriracha ( or ; th, ศรีราชา, ) is a type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar, and salt. Use In Thailand, sriracha is frequently used as a dipping sauce, particular ...
or . The hoisin sauce is also used to make a dipping sauce for Vietnamese (often translated as 'spring roll') and other similar dishes. In cooking, it can be used for glazing broiled chicken.


See also

*
Duck sauce Duck sauce (or orange sauce) is a condiment with a sweet and sour flavor and a translucent orange appearance similar to a thin jelly. Offered at American Chinese restaurants, it is used as a dip for deep-fried dishes such as wonton strips, ...
* List of dips *
List of Chinese sauces This is a list of notable Chinese sauces, encompassing sauces that originated in China or are widely used as cooking ingredients or condiments in Chinese cuisines. Chinese sauces These sauces are commonly used as ingredients for dishes in many C ...
*
List of sauces The following is a list of notable culinary and prepared sauces used in cooking and food service. General * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * (salsa roja) * * * – a velouté sauce flavored ...
*
Oyster sauce Oyster sauce describes a number of sauces made by cooking oysters. The most common in modern use is a viscous dark brown condiment made from oyster extracts,The Times, 22 January 1981; ''Cook Accidentally on purpose'' sugar, salt and water thick ...
*
Plum sauce Plum sauce is a viscous, light-brown sweet and sour condiment. It is used in Cantonese cuisine as a dip for deep-fried dishes, such as spring rolls, noodles, and deep-fried chicken balls as well as for roast duck. It is made from sweet plums or ...
*
Siu haau sauce Siu haau ( zh, p=shāokǎo) sauce is the primary barbecue sauce used in Cantonese cuisine. It is used during the barbecue-cooking process as opposed to a flavoring sauce after the food is made. It is not used for ''siu mei ''Siu mei'' () i ...
, primary Chinese barbecue sauce *
Soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...
*
Sweet and sour sauce Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine and cooking methods. It is commonly used in East Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been used in English cuisine, England since the Middle Ages.Clarissa Dickson WDickson ...


References


External links


More about hoisin sauce and recipes

What Are the Origins of Hoisin Sauce from realclearlife.com
{{Authority control Chinese condiments Chinese sauces Vietnamese cuisine