Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant condiment that originated in southern Chinaโs Guangdong province.
Its name hints at its origin โ hoisin means โseafoodโ in Cantonese โ yet the sauce contains no seafood. It is entirely vegan, made from fermented soybeans, sugar, vinegar, garlic and spices. The resulting umami flavour is savoury, slightly sweet and spicy.
Hoisin sauce resembles oyster sauce in colour and texture, but their flavours differ.
Oyster sauce lacks the prominent sweetness of hoisin, and while hoisin serves as both a cooking ingredient and a dipping sauce, oyster sauce is primarily used for cooking and only rarely as a condiment.
In Cantonese cuisine, hoisin sauce is used to glaze meats and enhance stir-fries, and is essential for making the marinade for char siu barbecue pork. It also accompanies cheung fun โ steamed rice noodle rolls found in dim sum restaurants and street stalls โ as a dipping sauce.