From-Scratch Hoisin Sauce

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

Real hoisin starts with fermented soybean paste, not peanut butter — that's what gives the bottled stuff its deep, savory-sweet backbone. This 20-minute version builds it properly: miso or Chinese sweet bean sauce bloomed in sesame oil with garlic, then simmered with dark brown sugar, molasses, black vinegar and five-spice until it coats a spoon like lacquer. Glossier, less cloying and far more aromatic than anything from a jar, and it keeps for a month in the fridge for char siu, Peking duck pancakes, lettuce wraps and stir-fry glazes.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup Chinese sweet bean sauce or red miso paste
• 3 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic, finely grated
• 1 tablespoon Chinese sesame paste or tahini

• 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 2 teaspoons unsulphured molasses
• 2 tablespoons Chinkiang black vinegar (or rice vinegar)
• 1/3 cup water

• 3/4 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 to 2 teaspoons sambal oelek or chili-garlic sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon cold water, for the slurry

Instructions

1. Grate the garlic on a microplane (or mince it very finely) so it melts into the sauce instead of leaving chunks. Whisk the cornstarch with 1 tablespoon cold water in a small cup and set aside.
2. Warm the sesame oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, about 30 seconds — do not let it smoke. Add the grated garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 45 to 60 seconds, just until fragrant and no longer raw-smelling.
3. Add the sweet bean sauce or miso and the sesame paste. Cook, mashing and stirring with a silicone spatula, for 2 minutes. The paste will darken slightly and smell toasty — this step cooks out the raw fermented edge and is what separates real hoisin from a stir-together dip.
4. Stir in the brown sugar, honey, molasses, soy sauce, black vinegar, and 1/3 cup water. Whisk until completely smooth, scraping the corners of the pan.
5. Add the five-spice, black pepper, and sambal. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat, then reduce to low and cook 5 to 7 minutes, stirring often, until the sauce has reduced by about a quarter and lightly coats the back of a spoon.
6. Stir the cornstarch slurry to recombine and drizzle it in while whisking. Simmer 45 to 60 seconds more, until the sauce turns glossy and thick enough to hold a line when you drag a spoon through it. It will thicken noticeably as it cools, so pull it slightly looser than you want.
7. Taste and adjust: another teaspoon of vinegar if it reads flat, a pinch of salt if the miso was mild, a little more sugar if you want it closer to the bottled sweetness. If you prefer a completely smooth, jarred texture, blitz with an immersion blender or push through a fine-mesh sieve.
8. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes, then transfer to a clean jar and refrigerate. Makes about 1 cup.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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