As a key ingredient in countless Chinese recipes, we explore everything there is to know about Hoisin Sauce and how best to use it. The fragrant and flavourful sauce is championed in the most authentic dishes and despite ‘Hoisin’ meaning seafood, it remains a plant-based sauce for everyone to enjoy.
A savoury-sweet sauce made from selected spices and soybean, Hoisin Sauce is a popular condiment used in sauce mix, stir-fries, marinades and grilled dishes. It packs lots of flavours making it a key sauce for mixing table condiment in different Asian dishes, most well-known being Peking Duck. Whilst it’s a perfect pairing for meat dishes, Hoisin is suitable for vegans and vegetarians.
The word "Hoisin" is Cantonese and translates to 'seafood sauce', although it contains no seafood. It was created by a chef as a dip to accompany seafood at a local food stall. It was so unique and tasty, that people refer to the sauce as "seafood sauce" and the name stuck with the sauce.
Hoisin sauce is a complex flavour sauce made with the following key ingredients: soybeans, garlic, sesame, chillies and spices, giving it a fragrant, salty, sweet and umami flavour. Often referred to as the Chinese barbecue sauce, Hoisin is thick in consistency and has an authentic oriental flavour that's simply delicious.
From using it as a sauce mix, dipping sauce and in stir fry dishes to marinating BBQ meat, Hoisin can be used in a variety of yummy recipes. It can be found in many authentic Chinese dishes such as Char Siu ( Cantonese Roast Pork) and Kung Pao Chicken. It also pairs great with Mayo as a sandwich dressing. Discover some of our favourite ways to use Hoisin Sauce...
Throw together our ‘Plum & Ginger Pork Belly’ for summer barbeque that marries pork and Hoisin together to make a flavourful combination.
Enjoy a classic ‘Kung Pao Chicken’ using Hoisin sauce along with other traditional Chinese sauces.
We love Hoisin sauce in our veggie ‘Peking Mushroom Pancakes’ for a delicious plant-based option
The Lee Kum Kee Hoisin family consists of our beloved Gluten-free Hoisin cooking sauce as well as the Sweet Hoisin Sauce, which is more commonly used for dipping.
Our Hoisin sauce is available in most mainstream retails and oriental supermarkets, or you can purchase it via our online shop.
The Lee Kum Kee Sweet Hoisin Sauce is an irresistably savoury-sweet table sauce which is more commonly used for dressing and dipping. Thanks to it's squeezy bottle, it provides more convenience when it comes to using it as a dipping condiment for fries, as a dressing for wraps, or as a sauce for ribs or even roasts!
An essential ingredient in Asian cooking and used in kitchens around the world, Hoisin Sauce has a rich heritage and continues to influence contemporary cooking. What is your favourite way to use Hoisin Sauce? Let us know on our social channels.
