Traditionally hoisin sauce is made with fermented wheat and soy beans. It is flavoured with five spice powder and is robust, sweet and garlicky.
While gluten-free versions are available, we prefer to make our own and use black bean sauce as the base for our hoisin sauce. You'll find our g-f black bean sauce recipe in our 'Salty Spice' blog under 'Other' in 'What's Cooking'.
Once you have your gluten-free black bean sauce, home made or purchased, then making our Hoisin is a ten minute exercise.
Here we’ve used it very simply with green beans, garlic and chilli but its uses are pretty endless. I like to mix it with some yoghurt, chilli and lime juice and slather it all over a halved and flattened chicken ready to roast with half a cup of water in the baking dish for moisture during the roasting process and to help produce a delicious sauce.
A family favourite is to marinate pork spare ribs in hoisin before slow-baking to produce tender, melting-off-the-bone meat. Then we throw the ribs on a hot barbeque to give a delicious, smoky, charred finish.
Peel and quarter small red onions, toss in vegetable oil, hoisin sauce and a little chilli and roast on a low heat, tossing from time to time until caramelised.
Hoisin adds flavour and complexity to stir fries and marinades and makes a delicious dipping sauce for anything from Peking duck to steamed dumplings.
Go on, mix up a batch, keep it in the fridge and throw it over whatever takes your fancy.
Rosie
HOISIN SAUCE
Makes 250mls
100 gm palm sugar
3 tablespoons g-f black bean sauce
2 tablespoons g-f soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
4 fresh dates, pitted
½ teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
2 tablespoons water
1 pinch of chilli powder, or to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.
Transfer to a sterilised jar and store in the fridge.
GREEN BEANS WITH GARLIC, CHILLI AND HOISIN SAUCE
Serves 8 as an accompaniment to a meal
40 mls vegetable oil
600 gm fresh, green beans
4 long red chillies, halved lengthways and seeded
50 mls g-f hoisin sauce
4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
Sea salt flakes
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok and when smoking, add the green beans and stir- fry for 2-3 minutes or until almost tender. Add the chillies, hoisin sauce and garlic and stir-fry for a further minute or until the beans are just cooked.
Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with sea salt flakes to taste.