Hoisin sauce

海鮮醬 hǎixiānjiàng

Flavor and role: A sweet, rich brown sauce made from fermented soybean paste with sugar, vinegar and five-spice. Despite the name (seafood sauce), it contains no seafood.
Typical dishes and uses: Peking duck, pho condiment, dipping sauce for fresh spring rolls, char siu marinade
Substitutes: 1 tbsp hoisin = 1 tbsp chunjang (Korean black bean paste; or Chinese sweet bean sauce) or doenjang (or miso) + 1 tsp honey + 1/2 tsp vinegar + a pinch of five-spice powder.
Storage: Unopened: 1-2 years at room temperature. Opened: 6 months to 1 year in the fridge.
Main countries: China · Vietnam
Used in this book: Pho Bo (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)Char Siu Gỏi Cuốn (Fresh Spring Rolls with Shrimp and Pork)Peking-Style Hoisin Chicken Blini Rolls Barbecue-Shop Char Siu with Maltose Glaze Char Siu Tacos with Charred Pineapple Salsa Crispy Rice-Paper Char Siu Cheese Dumplings Char Siu Cubano (Cantonese x Cuban)Bacon Egg Foo Young Sliders with Hoisin Mayo and Quick Pickles Galbi Pho (Vietnamese Pho × Galbitang)Coconut-Poached Pork and Tiger Prawn Summer Rolls Phnom Penh-Style Kuy Teav with Crispy Garlic Phở Đặc Biệt with 4-Hour Oxtail Broth Phở French Dip Sandwich Phở-Spiced Beef Fried Rice Tafelspitz Pho (Austrian × Vietnamese)

Updated 2026-10-10