Oyster sauce and hoisin sauce play integral roles in Asian cuisine, each bringing a depth of flavor to dishes that is at once exciting and delicious. But while they are both popular in a variety of recipes and even appear together in some (like teriyaki dishes), they are not always well understood. Knowing the difference between the two — from what they are made from and how they taste to how they can enhance your cooking — is key to mastering the art of cooking.
Both sauces originated in South China, namely in the Guangdong province. While they are not used interchangeably, they can be combined to create rich, flavorful dishes and are very common in Cantonese cuisine. Additionally, they are both similar in price and available from a wide variety of manufacturers, but that’s where the similarities end. While they are typically used separately in recipes due to the different ways they impact the food you are cooking, they can actually be used in conjunction with each other, using the oyster sauce to enhance the natural flavor and the hoisin to build on that flavor with more complex notes.
Oyster sauce is a great tool for building on flavor
Oyster sauce is known for the undeniable complexity it brings to dishes. You might be tempted to believe it’s the same as fish sauce, and while they are both derived from seafood, that’s where the similarities end. Although it has a saltiness to it, oyster sauce is sweeter and denser compared to fish sauce’s extreme saltiness, pungent flavor, and fluid texture.
The classic condiment is made from oyster extract, and because of its saltiness, it doesn’t lend well to dipping. Instead, chefs focus on using it in conjunction with other ingredients to build complex flavor profiles in dishes like stir-fried pork belly and chili peppers. This is a useful sauce, one that chefs like Le Cordon Bleu-educated Food Network star Jet Tila recommend as a staple for a well-stocked pantry. It brings out the natural flavor of many things, like vegetables, so you can continue to build on your flavor profile.
Hoisin is a versatile sauce that packs a punch of flavor
Hoisin sauce has its roots in soybeans, lending to a fragrant taste that is reminiscent of a sweet soy sauce. It brings a variety of flavor to popular dishes like beef and broccoli. The consistency is thick, much like that of oyster sauce, and can be compared to a classic barbecue sauce. However, the color tends to be much darker and richer than the red tint barbecue sauce is known for.
Hoisin is used in a variety of recipes, but it’s delicious enough on its own. It can be used as a dipping sauce for things like spring rolls if you want something with a stronger flavor than your basic sweet and sour or sweet chili sauce. Unlike oyster sauce, which is derived directly from a difficult-to-extract source, hoisin sauce can easily be made at home with a few simple ingredients. Recipes commonly call for soy sauce, peanut butter, brown sugar, garlic, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar — elements that all lend to beautiful Asian flavors and are easily found in most kitchen pantries.
