| Hoisin sauce | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Deep-friedjiaozi with hoisin sauce | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 海鮮醬 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 海鲜酱 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | seafood sauce | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | tương đen | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hán-Nôm | 醬𪓇 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | black sauce | ||||||||||||||||||||
Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant sauce originating inChina. It features in manyChinese cuisines, but is most prominent inCantonese cuisine. It can be used as aglaze for meat, an addition tostir fry, or asdipping sauce. It is dark-coloured, sweet and salty. Although regional variants exist, hoisin sauce usually includessoybeans,fennel, redchili peppers, and garlic. Vinegar,five-spice powder, and sugar are also commonly added.
The wordhoisin is derived from theCantonese pronunciation of theChinese words for "seafood" (simplified Chinese:海鲜;traditional Chinese:海鮮;Cantonese Yale:hói sīn;pinyin:hǎixiān), although the sauce does not contain any seafood ingredients and is not commonly consumed with seafood.[1] The reason for the name is "seafood flavour", a common adjective in Chinese cuisine, especiallySichuanese ("fish fragrant").
The key ingredient of hoisin sauce isfermented soybean paste.[2][3]
Some hoisin sauce ingredients include starches such assweet potato,wheat andrice, and water, sugar, soybeans, sesame seeds, white distilled vinegar,salt, garlic, redchili peppers, and sometimespreservatives orcoloring agents. Traditionally, hoisin sauce is made using toasted mashed soybeans.
Hoisin sauce is used inCantonese cuisine as a marinade sauce for meat such aschar siu, or as a dipping sauce for steamed or panfriedrice noodle roll (cheung fun肠粉).[4]
Hoisin sauce is used as a dipping sauce forPeking duck and lettuce wraps. Hoisin sauce is used as a dipping sauce formoo shu pork.[5][6]
In Vietnamese, hoisin sauce is calledtương đen. It is a popularcondiment forphở, a Vietnamese noodle soup, in southern Vietnam. The sauce can be directly added into a bowl ofphở at the table, or it can be used as a dip for the meat ofphở dishes. Inphở, hoisin is typically accompanied bySriracha sauce ortương đỏ. The hoisin sauce is also used to make a dipping sauce for Vietnamesegỏi cuốn (often translated as 'summer roll') and other similar dishes. In cooking, it can be used for glazing broiled chicken.
