Hoisin at Home - This Sauce Can Do it All

Of all the condiments that have never crossed your mind to make at home, hoisin sauce is probably at the top of the list.  After all, barring some sort of catastrophic event, you'll be able to get hoisin at the store, but is that a chance you really want to take in this crazy world?  Even if you only cook a meager amount of Chinese food, hoisin's applications are many, and this homemade version will stay in the fridge for a long time. 

Still, you might be wondering what kind of person makes this at home.  Oh, I don't know, maybe someone with a sense of curiosity and culinary wonder.  Maybe you're gluten free, don't eat refined sugars, or the idea of modified corn starch irks you.  Or maybe, just maybe, you're planning on making char siu (Chinese BBQ'd pork) and you need some hoisin for the marinade (hint, hint). 

Whatever your needs and desires may be, homemade hoisin couldn't really get much easier.  Despite the fact that it's name is a bastardization of the Cantonese word for seafood (hoi seen), hoisin has no seafood or animal products in it at all.  It works great as a dipping sauce, a glaze, a marinade, spread on bao, or as an essential accompaniment to pho.  A truly versatile condiment, real hoisin doesn't have any soy sauce in it, but fermented bean paste instead.  For my homemade version, a mixture of soy sauce and red miso (a fermented bean paste) works great for flavor and the accessibility of ingredients. 

If you cook Asian food, most of this stuff should be in your pantry already.  The tahini might look a bit strange in this recipe, but sesame paste is pretty commonplace in hoisin.  If you don't want to take the two seconds to make tahini at home, I bet you've got some peanut butter hiding somewhere that would work in a pinch (although, I will add, I am not a fan of this).  If you've got a nut allergy, send me a message or leave a comment and I can rack my brain for you. 

I know you'll enjoy this simple, straightforward recipe and be sure to stay tuned for my upcoming char siu project using some gorgeous pork belly, this hoisin, and my Chinese five-spice. 



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Ingredients: (yields ~3 tablespoons)*

3 T soy sauce
2 t rice wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely grated or minced
1 t homemade sesame paste **
1 t sambal oelek or homemade sriracha
1 T honey or agave nectar
1 t red miso paste

*  If you're making this for my char siu project, double the recipe so you can have some for the marinade and extra to spread on some delicious steamed bao.
**  If you're making the sesame paste for the hoisin specifically, use peanut or another neutral vegetable oil instead of olive oil. 

9, 1 tsp servings	Calories	Protein (g)	Carbs (g)	Fat (g)	Sodium (mg)	Sugar (g)
Total:	141	8	21	3	3,114	19
Per Serving:	16	1	2	0	346	2

1.  Mix all ingredients except miso in a sauce pan.  I like to use a microplane grater for the garlic.
2.  Cook over medium to medium-high heat on stovetop until sauce is reduced by about 1/3.
3.  Turn the heat off and let the sauce cool for about five minutes.
4.  Once sauce has cooled some, whisk in miso paste until dissolved.  Let cool before refrigerating. 

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