10 Hoisin Sauce Substitutes

When it comes to things like ramen to stir fry, we all know the delicious taste of hoisin sauce. This stuff is slathered all over the famous hoisin duck, coming in a thick sauce that will certainly leave an impact on your taste buds.

This sauce is made from fermented beans, five-spice and soy sauce, but let’s face it, not all of us have access to those ingredients. So what types of sauces are close enough to hoisin but don’t require that much effort to make?

10 Hoisin Sauce Substitutes

Well, luckily for you, we have compiled a list of some of the best hoisin-like sauces that you can find on the market. So what exactly are they?

What ingredients do they have? In what ways do they resemble hoisin and in what ways are they different? Well, you should keep reading to find out.

10 Best Hoisin Duck Substitutes

1. Oyster Sauce

This first sauce is probably the closest to hoisin duck in terms of flavor. This is a very rich and tangy sauce that you’ll be able to pair with most Asian-style dishes.

Whether you are making stir fry or noodles, you can add this to the side or mix it right in with the main dish itself.

This is a fishy type of sauce that does lack the sweetness of the traditional hoisin sauce. However, you can sweeten it up with some natural ingredients such as honey or sugar until it closely resembles its hoisin cousin.

It’s all about getting the balance right in terms of sweetness, salt and savory ingredients.

You might want to have a side of hoisin sauce nearby so you can compare the flavors of the two until you get your oyster sauce just right.

You can get this from most local Asian fish markets, which means that it is widely available. You should make sure that you shop around until you get oyster sauce for a decent price though.

2. Mustard, Raisin And Miso Paste

This next paste is rich in umami and is actually a key ingredient in some versions of hoisin sauce. It is usually added to the hoisin sauce to give it that amazing thickness.

This is a great method of making hoisin-like sauce with ingredients that you have laying around your pantry. All you have to do is add these ingredients until it is as close to the original sauce as possible.

If you’re wanting this recipe to be sweet and chewy, then raisins are the secret ingredient. You should be able to get a generous helping of raisins from your local supermarket.

Here follows a few other ingredients that you’ll need to make this paste:

  • A cup of raisins soaked in water overnight
  • One and a half cups of water
  • A tablespoon of sesame seed oil
  • A tablespoon of miso paste
  • A tablespoon of mustard (see also ‘The 5 Best Amazing Substitutes For Whole Grain Mustard‘)
  • Two garlic cloves
  • Half a tablespoon of crushed red peppers

Once the raisins are softened up adequately, then you should soak them in warm water in order to rehydrate them.

Once you have done this, blend all of the ingredients in a food processor.

Once you have done this, then taste it with a spoon. At this point, you can add some sriracha or Asian chilis to make the whole recipe a lot more spicier.

You can adjust any of the ingredients above to change the consistency and overall flavor of the paste.

You’ll probably need one cup of raisins for every cup of water, although you can obviously amend this to however much paste that you want to make.

This is a delicious hoisin substitute and you can serve it with pretty much any dish that you can serve hoisin sauce with.

3. Black Beans And Plums

If you want something that resembles the texture and the thickness of hoisin sauce, then you’ll definitely want to try black beans.

However, mixing black beans with plums will be a surefire method of getting the texture of hoisin exactly right.

This sauce will be both rich in sweetness and flavor. All you have to do is get the following ingredients:

  • Two chopped plums (large)
  • A quarter cup of brown sugar
  • Two tablespoons of water
  • Three tablespoons of garlic sauce with black beans
  • Two tablespoons of soy sauce
  • One tablespoon of rice vinegar
  • One and a half tablespoons of sesame seed oil (see also ‘18 Substitutes For Sesame Oil‘)
  • Half a teaspoon of five-spice powder

First, you should take the plums, the water and the sugar and mix them up until it becomes a jam. This will be the thickness that you’ll need for it to resemble hoisin sauce.

Once you have done this, then you should leave it to cool before mixing it in with the vinegar, oil, soy sauce and five-spice powder. If you have a blender, then you should use this for the mixing process.

If you like your hoisin duck with that added touch of spice, then you should try adding a little dash of sriracha.

However, this is totally down to personal preference and we would recommend that you keep tasting a syou are adding these ingredients so they don’t get too spicy.

4. Ginger And Plum Jam

Plum jam is something that you might not often use, but it might be lingering around in the back of your fridge. Well, it’s about time that you put it to good use and utilize it to make your hoisin sauce.

All you have to do is take your jam and mix it in with the classic hoisin ingredients that we have listed above, including soy sauce (see also ‘The 5 Top Alternatives For Black Soy Sauce‘), garlic, pepper flakes and ginger.

You can be quite versatile with these ingredients, using either regular ginger paste or freshly greeted ginger for that authentic flavor. We would certainly recommend the latter, as it packs more of a punch than ginger paste.

All you have to do is take the following ingredients and follow the recipe underneath:

  • Two tablespoons of plum jam
  • Fresh ginger (grated finely)
  • One tablespoon of teriyaki sauce
  • Two garlic cloves
  • Half a tablespoon of crushed red peppers

All you have to do is take all of the above ingredients and mix them in a food processor.

Once you have done this, you should have a smooth sauce. You can add water if you want your hoisin sauce to be slightly runnier.

5. Barbeque Sauce And Molasses

If you are wanting to rustle up some hoisin sauce all by yourself, then we would recommend that you try this recipe, as it will involve a lot of ingredients that you might already have in the back of your cupboard.

All you need to do is take your BBQ sauce and mix it in with molasses, five-spice and soy sauce (see also ‘The 5 Top Alternatives For Black Soy Sauce‘). You won’t even need to mix this with a food processor, all it takes is a little bit of elbow grease!

You can also use allspice (see also ‘5 Allspice Substitutes‘) or masala sauce if you are unable to get your hands on any five-spice.

There is not a strict recipe for this one, you’ll just have to adopt the taste and adjust the method in accordance with whatever your preferences are.

Here are some of the ingredients that you’ll need along with a rough estimate of measurements:

  • Three-quarters of BBQ sauce
  • Three tablespoons of molasses
  • One tablespoon of soy sauce
  • One and a half tablespoons of five-spice powder

The great thing about this recipe is the few ingredients that you’ll need. This is important if you want to rustle up a hoisin sauce relatively easily and quickly.

6. Soy And Peanut Butter

Next up, we have something a little different. Now you might not figure that peanut butter has any place in a hoisin sauce replica recipe, but that’s where you’d be wrong.

This butter is actually very versatile, giving you a balancing agent that contains enough salt and savory goodness to actually get quite close to hoisin.

This sauce will be perfect for adding to your Asian dishes including stir fry and noodles. You can heat this one up very quickly, which is great if you want something quick and easy.

Here are the ingredients that you need, along with the essential recipe:

  • One-quarter cup of soy sauce
  • Two tablespoons of creamy peanut butter
  • Two tablespoons of hot sauce
  • Two teaspoons of sesame seed oil
  • Two teaspoons of white vinegar
  • One-quarter teaspoon of brown sugar
  • One-quarter teaspoon of honey
  • One-eighth of a teaspoon of black pepper
  • One-eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder

The peanut butter will make up a large portion of the body of the sauce, while the soy sauce will add that traditional hoisin sauce flavor and texture.

If you prefer your hoisin sauce nuttier, then we would recommend using a crunchier version.

Once you have mixed these two together, then you’ll need to heat it up gently. This is when you mix in all the other ingredients. Keep heating until the honey and sugar have completely dissolved.

Once you have given this a mix, then you should notice that it amazingly transforms into something that closely resembles hoisin sauce.

7. Sriracha And Molasses

We’ve seen sriracha appear as an added ingredient in a lot of these recipes, as it will give you that heat and fire that you are desperately looking for. However, in this sauce, it is the main event.

This is a great recipe to try if you do not have any other spices in your kitchen. Follow this recipe, adding and subtracting your own ingredients as you see fit to taste:

  • One tablespoon of sriracha
  • One-quarter cup of soy sauce
  • Two tablespoons of molasses
  • One tablespoon of peanut butter
  • One tablespoon of rice vinegar
  • One tablespoon of sesame seed oil
  • One tablespoon of water
  • One garlic clove
  • Half a teaspoon of five-spice powder

If you are looking for that extra kick to your sriracha combo (see also ‘12 Best Sriracha Substitutes You Should Know About!‘), then you can put in an extra teaspoon of this hot sauce. This should be very easy to get from your local supermarket.

First, you’ll need to take the sriracha and heat it up in your pan. Once the sauce has started to bubble, then mix in the soy sauce, molasses, sesame seed oil, rice vinegar and just a little bit of peanut butter.

Once the mixture is fully integrated, then you can lower the heat and wait for the mixture to cool. You can add a bit of water if you want the hoisin sauce to be a little runnier.

8. Garlic And Prunes

This is one of the easiest recipes that you can use to make your hoisin sauce substitute. Prunes will be perfect for getting the sweetness of your sauce exactly right.

You’ll need to make sure that these prunes are boiled to soften them up. When you have done that then you can start mashing them into the mix.

Here are the ingredients that you’ll need for this recipe:

  • Two cups of water
  • Three-quarters of pitted prunes (boiled)
  • Two tablespoons of soy sauce
  • One and a half tablespoons of dry sherry
  • Two garlic cloves

Once you have all of these ingredients, simply throw them into a vegetable puree machine and start mixing them together. You can add a little bit of water if you want the mixture to be smoother.

9. Bean Paste And Brown Sugar

Bean paste (see also our favorite substitutes for achiote paste) is one of the key ingredients for making hoisin sauce, although it is not always the easiest paste to get your hands on at your local store.

If you start mixing the brown sugar with the bean paste, then you can be sure of getting that classic hoisin consistency.

All you need is a food processor and the following ingredients:

  • One-third cup of dark brown sugar
  • Three tablespoons of Chinese Black bean paste
  • Two tablespoons of soy sauce
  • Two tablespoons of water
  • One tablespoon of rice vinegar
  • Half a tablespoon of Chinese five-spice powder
  • Half a teaspoon of sesame oil

Remember, as with a lot of our other hoisin sauce substitutes, you can tailor the number of ingredients to get the exact flavor that you want.

10. Garlic Teriyaki

Teriyaki is very similar in flavor to hoisin sauce, so it is perfect to use in one of these substitute recipes.

You can puree all of these ingredients until you get a perfect consistency:

  • Three-quarters of a cup of kidney beans
  • Three tablespoons of molasses
  • Three tablespoons of teriyaki sauce
  • Two tablespoons of red wine vinegar
  • Two teaspoons of five-spice powder
  • Two garlic cloves

The kidney beans and the molasses will really help you to thicken up the sauce. But you can always add water to make it runnier.

Conclusion

We hope that our hoisin-a-like sauce recipes have helped you to decide which one you’ll be opting for when you next eat ramen or stir fry.

10 Hoisin Sauce Substitutes

10 Hoisin Sauce Substitutes

Recipe by Jenna

In this article, we’ll be looking at some alternatives to hoisin sauce that will be both easy to source and easy to make.

Course: Substitutes
5 from 1 vote

Ingredients

  • Oyster Sauce

  • Mustard, Raisin And Miso Paste

  • Black Beans And Plums

  • Ginger And Plum Jam

  • Barbeque Sauce And Molasses

  • Soy And Peanut Butter

  • Sriracha And Molasses

  • Garlic And Prunes

  • Bean Paste And Brown Sugar

  • Garlic Teriyaki

Directions

  • Decided on what substitute you need
  • Pick a substitute from the list above
  • Read what you need to substitute with
  • Create the recipe and enjoy

Recipe Video

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