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Try this easy hoisin dipping sauce made with just five ingredients! Perfect for dipping Vietnamese spring rolls, lettuce wraps, Peking duck, dim sum & dumplings!

hoisin dipping sauce with crushed peanuts in a glass bowl

This easy hoisin dipping sauce is a delicious, versatile sauce that can be paired with a variety of Asian dishes.

It’s a dark, syrupy sauce that’s sweet and savory with garlic and various spices like chili. It’s balanced nicely with brightness from fresh squeezed lime juice and topped with crunchy chopped peanuts for texture.

This makes a fantastic spring roll or summer roll dipping sauce and adds tons of flavor to mildly seasoned dishes.

Why you’ll love this recipe

  • It’s sweet, salty, and has tons of umami flavor from soybeans.
  • There’s a subtle hint of spice from chili pepper and other spices in the hoisin sauce.
  • Only 5 ingredients needed.
  • This sauce goes with everything – summer rolls, spring rolls, chicken lettuce wraps, vegetarian lettuce wraps, roasted duck, dim sum, dumplings, and more!
hoisin dipping sauce next to fresh summer rolls

Ingredients you’ll need

ingredients for hoisin dipping sauce
  • hoisin sauce – a thick, sweet and savory sauce flavored with soybeans and spices
  • lime juice – freshly squeezed is best
  • garlic – leave this out if you don’t like the taste of raw garlic or you can substitute with garlic powder
  • crushed peanuts – for garnish

Instructions

Set the water aside and mix the remaining ingredients together in a medium sized bowl.

Depending on how thick your hoisin sauce is, you may need more or less water than the recipe states. Add the water according to how thick you’d like the dipping sauce to be.

hoisin dipping sauce dripping off a spoon

Frequently Asked Questions

What is hoisin sauce made of?

The ingredients are soybeans, sugar, salt, garlic, and other spices. The consistency is thick with a dark, rich color similar to soy sauce.

The taste is sweet, salty, umami, with a slight hint of spice that adds subtle heat to your palate. For most people, this would not be considered spicy but if you’re sensitive, taste a small amount first.

How is it different from oyster sauce?

Oyster sauce is made with oyster extracts instead of soybeans like hoisin sauce. They both taste sweet and savory with a lot of umami flavor but are made with different main ingredients.

hoisin dipping sauce next to a plate of fresh spring rolls

Serving Suggestions

hoisin dipping sauce next to a plate of vegan spring rolls

Serve this with the following dishes:

Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.

More sauces and dips:

More recipes using hoisin sauce:

hoisin dipping sauce with crushed peanuts in a glass bowl
5 from 118 votes
Servings: 4

Easy Hoisin Dipping Sauce

Try this easy hoisin dipping sauce made with just five ingredients! Perfect for dipping Vietnamese spring rolls, lettuce wraps, Peking duck & dumplings!
Prep: 5 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
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Ingredients 

  • ½ cup hoisin sauce, – see Note 1
  • 4 teaspoons sugar
  • 4 teaspoons water
  • 4 teaspoons lime juice, – freshly squeezed
  • 1 clove garlic, – (optional) minced
  • 1 Tablespoon chopped peanuts, – for garnish

Instructions 

  • Set the water aside and mix the remaining ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Depending on how thick your hoisin sauce is, you may need to add more or less water.
  • Add the water a teaspoon at a time until it reaches your desired consistency. Adjust for seasoning if needed. Makes ¾ cup of sauce.

Notes

  1. Hoisin sauce can vary widely depending on the brand. Some are sweeter and thinner in consistency and others are too strongly flavored. I use and recommend this brand of hoisin sauce. It’s what I see in most Asian restaurants and the flavor is always consistent.
  2. Store leftovers in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
  3. Serve these with fresh vegetarian summer rolls. 
  4. This recipe is featured in 3 Classic Spring Roll Dipping Sauces. 

Nutrition

Calories: 92kcal, Carbohydrates: 20g, Protein: 1g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 1mg, Sodium: 556mg, Potassium: 41mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 13g, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 11mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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Jamie from Drive Me Hungry

Jamie

Hi there! I’m Jamie, enthusiastic eater and determined cook! I make is quick and easy recipes that still look amazing and taste delicious. Most of my recipes are perfect for weeknight meals as they're simple and easy to follow.

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Recipe Rating




19 Comments

  1. Lisa says:

    5 stars
    Question. My husband is trying to describe to me a Vietnamese salad he once had but can’t give me much info other than it’s light/fresh, has rice noodles, carrots and peanuts. He said it had a nice dressing lol. I wonder if the salad actually didn’t have peanuts but instead potentially had this sauce on it. I’m not too familiar with Vietnamese food but he said it’s a common salad they make. So sorry for the vague question! Thanks in advance for any help.

    1. Jamie says:

      Hi Lisa! Perhaps this Vietnamese noodle salad is what your husband was describing? https://drivemehungry.com/vietnamese-noodle-salad/ It’s made with a Vietnamese fish sauce and it’s light and refreshing. You can certainly add peanuts too if you’d like. I hope this helps!

  2. Addison says:

    5 stars
    So delicious on chicken! Yum!

  3. Adriana Lopez-Martin says:

    5 stars
    You always have the best ideas love this!

  4. Nora says:

    5 stars
    Great sauce, super fast and easy! Went great with chicken skewers. Thanks for sharing!

  5. Dennis says:

    5 stars
    I am sooo loving this hoisin sauce! Paired it with some chicken and lettuce wraps. Delicious!

  6. Jovita says:

    5 stars
    What a great sauce for spring rolls and lettuce wraps. And so easy to make!

  7. Adrianne says:

    5 stars
    This sauce is so easy and full of flavor. Combined with the rice paper rolls, it is yummy!!

  8. Gail says:

    5 stars
    My favorite is that it’s not difficult to make! Tasty, simple, and goes great with spring rolls!

  9. Amanda Wren-Grimwood says:

    5 stars
    I love hoisin sauce so this dipping sauce sounds perfect for so many diiferent things.

  10. Beth says:

    5 stars
    Only 5 minutes and 5 ingredients to this tasty dipping sauce?! Sign me up! Delish!

  11. Rachel says:

    5 stars
    I had no idea this sauce was so simple to make – it is something I enjoy eating at my local restaurant… and now I am so pleased to be able to make it at home! So many wonderful uses!

  12. Rose says:

    5 stars
    Had some duck breast that we cooked up the other night, and was looking for a way to enhance the flavour. I came across this recipe, and we loved it. We will make double batch next time as we will find many ways to use it. Thanks for a delicious recipe – we will try your peanut sauce next.

    1. Jamie says:

      Thank you Rose! So glad you enjoyed this hoisin sauce. 🙂

  13. Pam says:

    5 stars
    This sauce is great! I can think of so many different foods this hoisin sauce would go great with! Thanks for sharing such an easy recipe!

  14. Romina says:

    5 stars
    This sauce was perfect for spring rolls. Hoisin sauce is by far one of my favourite sauces ever!

  15. Gita Kshatriya says:

    5 stars
    Looking forward to making this hoisin sauce which will go perfect with the vegetable spring rolls that my daughter and I will experiment with this week!

  16. Patty says:

    5 stars
    We made this hoisin sauce to go with spring rolls and it was delicious! We had some left over so we used it with sushi too which was also fantastic!

  17. Alex says:

    5 stars
    I am a huge hoisin sauce fan, and add it to many dishes. This is a wonderful recipe that really heroes the hoisin sauce. It is perfect for some crispy spring rolls.