Hoisin sauce
, a sweet and salty dipping sauce from Southern China, is used in many areas of Asia. It has gained popularity in the U.S. due to immigrants from China and Vietnam bringing their cuisines to the country.
Origin
Hoisin sauce originated in the Canton region of China. It began as a dipping sauce for seafood. "Hoisin" means "seafood" in Cantonese. In Taiwan and China, the sauce is sold with a label specifically stating that it is seafood sauce, but cooks and diners do not limit the use of hoisin sauce to seafood.
Ingredients
Different brands of hoisin sauce contain different ingredients. Some of the common ingredients across brands are sweet potato, soybeans, garlic, salt, vinegar and water. Sauces labeled as vegetarian hoisin sauce do not contain garlic or chili because Taiwanese Buddhist vegetarians do not eat these foods.
Uses
In Chinese and Taiwanese cuisine, hoisin sauce is used both as a dipping sauce and as a cooking ingredient. For the well-known dish Peking duck, diners wrap duck pieces in crepelike pancakes and dip them into hoisin sauce. For a cooking ingredient, many Chinese and Taiwanese chefs use hoisin sauce in marinades for pork dishes. In Vietnam, for the popular dish pho, or beef noodle soup, diners add hoisin sauce to the broth or use it as a dipping sauce for the beef.
Tags: hoisin sauce, dipping sauce, hoisin sauce, Chinese Taiwanese, cooking ingredient, hoisin sauce contain, sauce contain
