Hoisin sauce, or Haixian Sauce, (hǎixiānjiàng) also called suckling pig sauce, is a Chinese dipping sauce. The word Hoisin is a romanization of the Chinese word "海鮮" as pronounced in Cantonese. Despite the literal meaning of "seafood," Hoisin sauce does not actually contain fish. It is similar to the sweet noodle sauce made from fermented soybeans, but has the added ingredients of garlic, vinegar, and chili peppers. Additionally, it tastes less pungent than sweet noodle sauce. Mandarin-style Hoisin sauce ingredients include water, sugar, soybeans, white distilled vinegar, rice, salt, wheat flour, garlic, and red chili peppers, and several preservatives and coloring agents. Traditionally, Hoisin sauce is made using sweet potato.
Hoisin sauce is also a popular condiment for phở or for glazing broiled chicken.
Cultural reference
On a Chinese-food themed episode of Emeril Live, Emeril Lagasse used hoisin sauce in unorthodox ways, calling it "Chinese Bar-be-que Sauce". Though it should not be confused with the more official Chinese barbecue sauces.
