Hoisin Sauce Substitutes for Appetizers, Meats and Stir Fries

9 Delicious Substitutes for Hoisin Sauce

Hoisin sauce, also known as Chinese barbecue sauce, is a popular ingredient in many Asian cuisines. It’s used to marinate and cook meats, and many people add it to vegetables and stir-fry dishes for a sweet and tangy burst of deliciousness.

If you’re preparing an Asian-inspired dish and realize you don’t have any hoisin sauce, you might think that you’ve ruined your meal. No worries. You can mix up your own hoisin sauce with ingredients already in your kitchen.

Hoisin sauce, which has Cantonese origins, comes in different varieties, with many sauces containing ingredients like vinegar, soy beans, garlic, fennel seeds, and red chilies.

Interestingly, hoisin is Chinese for seafood, though it doesn’t contain any seafood ingredients.

Whether you’re preparing a seafood dish, a meat dish, or a vegetable dish, here’s a look at nine make-it-yourself substitutes for hoisin sauce.

Hoisin sauce is thick and dark with a sweet and salty taste. If you run out of sauce, a concoction of bean paste and brown sugar can provide the taste and consistency you’re looking for.

For this recipe, combine:

4 prunes 1/3 cup dark brown sugar 3 tbsp. Chinese black bean sauce 2 tbsp. soy sauce 2 tbsp. water 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar 1/2 tsp. Chinese five spice powder 1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Puree all ingredients in a blender, then add the mixture to your stir-fry, vegetable, or meat dishes.

Hoisin sauce includes garlic as an ingredient. To make your own version with garlic cloves, puree the following ingredients in a blender:

3/4 cup kidney beans, rinsed and drained 2 garlic cloves 3 tbsp. molasses 3 tbsp. teriyaki sauce 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar 2 tsp. Chinese five spice powder

When you think of hoisin sauce, you might not think of prunes. But you can use this fruit to make your own sauce, too.

Boil 3/4 cup of pitted prunes with 2 cups of water until soft and tender. Blend the soft prunes with 2 garlic cloves, 2 tbsp. soy sauce, and 1 1/2 tbsp. dry sherry in a blender or food processor.

Prunes aren’t the only fruit you can use to make hoisin sauce. If you don’t have prunes, use plums instead.

For this recipe you’ll need:

2 large chopped plums 1/4 cup brown sugar 3 tbsp. black bean and garlic sauce 2 tbsp. soy sauce 1 tbsp. rice wine vinegar 1 1/2 tsp. sesame oil 1/2 tsp. Chinese five spice powder

Combine the plums, brown sugar, and 2 tbsp. of water in a saucepan. Boil until the plums are tender. Add the black bean sauce to the pan. Pour saucepan mixture into a blender, then add the remaining ingredients. Blend to the desired consistency.