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 Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and t ...

, 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 soybeans, fennel, red chili peppers, and garlic. Vinegar, five-spice powder, 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 va ...

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 a ...

. 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 and rice, and water, sugar, soybeans, sesame seeds, white distilled vinegar, salt, garlic, red chili peppers, and sometimes preservatives or coloring agents. Traditionally, hoisin sauce is made using toasted mashed soybeans.

Uses in regional cuisines

Cantonese cuisine

Hoisin sauce is used in

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. Hoisin sauce can be used as a dipping sauce for steamed or panfried rice noodle roll (chángfĕn 肠粉).

American cuisine

Hoisin sauce can be used as a dipping sauce for Peking duck 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 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 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.

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