Hoisin sauce
Encyclopedia
Hoisin sauce, or haixian sauce, is a Chinese
dipping sauce. The word hoisin is a romanization
of the Chinese
word for seafood
"" as pronounced in Cantonese.
-style hoisin sauce ingredients include starches such as sweet potato
, wheat
or rice
, and water, sugar, soybeans, white distilled vinegar, salt
, garlic, red chili peppers, and sometimes preservatives or coloring
agents. Traditionally, hoisin sauce is made using sweet potato. Despite the literal meaning of "seafood
", hoisin sauce does not contain fish.
dishes such as spring rolls, mu shu pork, popiah
, Peking duck
and barbecued pork
use the sauce. It is especially common for Cantonese cuisine
flavoring.
for phở
; the sauce can be directly added into a bowl of phở by the diner, or can be used as a side dip for the meat of phở dishes. The sauce is also used for glazing broiled chicken.
Chinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
dipping sauce. The word hoisin is a romanization
Romanization
In linguistics, romanization or latinization is the representation of a written word or spoken speech with the Roman script, or a system for doing so, where the original word or language uses a different writing system . Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written...
of the Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
word for seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
"" as pronounced in Cantonese.
Ingredients
MandarinBeijing cuisine
Beijing cuisine is a cooking style in Beijing, China. It is also known as Mandarin cuisine.-Background:Since Beijing has been the Chinese capital city for centuries, its cuisine has been influenced by culinary traditions from all over China, but the cuisine that has exerted the greatest influence...
-style hoisin sauce ingredients include starches such as sweet potato
Sweet potato
The sweet potato is a dicotyledonous plant that belongs to the family Convolvulaceae. Its large, starchy, sweet-tasting, tuberous roots are an important root vegetable. The young leaves and shoots are sometimes eaten as greens. Of the approximately 50 genera and more than 1,000 species of...
, wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
or rice
Rice
Rice is the seed of the monocot plants Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima . As a cereal grain, it is the most important staple food for a large part of the world's human population, especially in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, and the West Indies...
, and water, sugar, soybeans, white distilled vinegar, salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
, garlic, red chili peppers, and sometimes preservatives or coloring
Food coloring
Food coloring is a substance, liquid or powder, that is added to food or drink to change its color. Food coloring is used both in commercial food production and in domestic cooking...
agents. Traditionally, hoisin sauce is made using sweet potato. Despite the literal meaning of "seafood
Seafood
Seafood is any form of marine life regarded as food by humans. Seafoods include fish, molluscs , crustaceans , echinoderms . Edible sea plants, such as some seaweeds and microalgae, are also seafood, and are widely eaten around the world, especially in Asia...
", hoisin sauce does not contain fish.
China
A number of Chinese cuisineChinese cuisine
Chinese cuisine is any of several styles originating in the regions of China, some of which have become highly popular in other parts of the world – from Asia to the Americas, Australia, Western Europe and Southern Africa...
dishes such as spring rolls, mu shu pork, popiah
Popiah
Popiah is a Fujian/Chaozhou-style fresh spring roll common in Taiwan, Singapore, and Malaysia. Popiah is often eaten in the Fujian province of China and its neighbouring Chaoshan on the Qingming Festival. In the Teochew dialect, popiah is pronounced as "Bo-BEE-a", which means "thin wafer"...
, Peking duck
Peking Duck
Peking Duck, or Peking Roast Duck is a famous duck dish from Beijing that has been prepared since the imperial era, and is now considered one of China's national foods....
and barbecued pork
Char siu
Char siu , otherwise known as barbecued meat in China or Chinese-flavored barbecued meat outside China, is a popular way to flavor and prepare pork in Cantonese cuisine. It is classified as a type of siu mei, Cantonese roasted meat...
use the sauce. It is especially common for Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine
Cantonese cuisine comes from Guangdong Province in southern China and is one of 8 superdivisions of Chinese cuisine. Its prominence outside China is due to the great numbers of early emigrants from Guangdong. Cantonese chefs are highly sought after throughout the country...
flavoring.
Vietnam
Hoisin sauce is also a popular condimentCondiment
A condiment is an edible substance, such as sauce or seasoning, added to food to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. Many condiments are available packaged in single-serving sachets , like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with...
for phở
PHO
PHO may refer to:* Primary Health Organisation* Potentially hazardous object, an asteroid or comet that could potentially collide with Earth...
; the sauce can be directly added into a bowl of phở by the diner, or can be used as a side dip for the meat of phở dishes. The sauce is also used for glazing broiled chicken.
See also
- Duck sauceDuck sauceDuck sauce is a condiment with a sweet and sour flavor and a translucent orange appearance similar to a thin jelly. Offered at Chinese-American restaurants, it is used as a dip for deep-fried dishes such as duck, chicken, fish, spring rolls, egg rolls, or with rice or noodles. It is often provided...
- Plum saucePlum saucePlum sauce is a viscous, light brown sweet and sour condiment. It is used in Chinese cuisine as a dip for deep-fried dishes, such as spring rolls, egg rolls, noodles, and deep-fried chicken balls as well as for roast duck...
- Siu haau sauceSiu haau sauceSiu haau sauce is the primary barbecue sauce used in Chinese and Cantonese cuisine. It is used during the barbecue-cooking process as opposed to a flavoring sauce after the food is made....
(primary Chinese BBQ sauce) - Soy sauceSoy sauceSoy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
- Sweet and sour sauce