Substitute for Hoisin Sauce

Hoisin is sweet first and salty second. Lee Kum Kee’s version lists sugar ahead of everything else, followed by water, fermented soybean paste, salt, sweet potato powder, sesame paste, garlic, spices and chili. USDA data put it at about 44 percent carbohydrate and roughly 260 mg of sodium per tablespoon, less than a third of the salt in soy sauce. A substitute therefore needs sugar, body to make it thick and sticky, and only a modest amount of salt. Plain soy sauce fails on all three.

Stir-fries and glazes

The soy sauce, tahini and molasses mix rebuilds hoisin from its parts: soy for the fermented saltiness, sesame paste for body, molasses for the dark sweetness, five-spice and garlic for the aroma. One teaspoon of soy sauce per tablespoon keeps the sodium close to hoisin’s; a tablespoon would more than triple it. Whisk until smooth before it goes in the pan, because tahini seizes in small lumps if it hits hot liquid alone.

For a glaze on ribs or pork, barbecue sauce with a dash of soy sauce browns and sticks just like hoisin. It brings tomato tang, which suits roasted meat better than a stir-fry. Brush it on in the last 10 minutes of cooking; both sauces burn if they go on at the start.

Dipping sauces and wraps

Spring rolls, lettuce wraps and pho tables use hoisin straight from the bottle. Plum sauce with soy sauce is the friendliest raw swap, since it is already thick and glossy. For Peking duck and moo shu, sweet bean sauce is the traditional Beijing condiment; sweeten it slightly and loosen it with a few drops of sesame oil.

When not to substitute

Char siu and Peking duck depend on hoisin’s specific mix of sweetness and fermented bean flavor; the homemade blend comes closest, but expect a difference. Where hoisin is a minor seasoning in a stir-fry sauce, any of the swaps works.

For allergies, hoisin and most swaps contain soy and wheat. The tahini mix contains sesame and the peanut butter version contains peanuts, both major allergens.

Common mistakes

• Using soy sauce on its own. It is several times saltier per spoon, thin and not sweet at all.
• Skipping the sugar in sweet bean sauce. The dish tastes salty and dull.
• Brushing sugary glazes on too early. Hoisin and every swap here scorch over high heat.
• Using smoky barbecue sauce in a delicate stir-fry. The smoke dominates everything else.