Hoisin Sauce substitutes

Per 1/4 cup hoisin: 2 tbsp light miso + 1 tbsp honey + 1 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tsp rice vinegar + 1/2 tsp sesame oil + a pinch of five-spice

Keeps the sweetener, umami, flavour and thickener roles.

The closest homemade version, but thinner than the bottled sauce. Simmer it for a minute to thicken it up.

Per 1/4 cup: 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter + 2 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tbsp honey or molasses + 2 tsp rice vinegar + 1 tsp sesame oil + 1 crushed garlic clove

Keeps the sweetener, umami, flavour and thickener roles.

Very close on thickness and nuttiness. Obviously not nut-free, and it will separate if it sits, so whisk before using.

Per 1 tbsp: 1 tbsp barbecue sauce + 1/2 tsp soy sauce + a pinch of five-spice

Keeps the sweetener, flavour and thickener roles; loses umami.

Smokier and much more tomato-forward. Works as a glaze on ribs, wrong as a dipping sauce for duck pancakes.

Per 1 tbsp: 1 tbsp oyster sauce + 1/2 tsp brown sugar + a pinch of five-spice

Keeps the umami, flavour, thickener and sweetener roles.

Less sweet and more seafood-savoury. Fine stirred through a stir-fry, less convincing brushed on as a glaze.

Per 1 tbsp: 2 tsp black bean sauce mashed smooth + 1 tsp honey

Keeps the umami, flavour, sweetener and thickener roles.

Saltier and considerably funkier, with visible bean pieces unless you mash it. Pull back on salt elsewhere.

1:1, with a splash of soy sauce added

Keeps the sweetener, flavour and thickener roles; loses umami.

Sweeter and fruitier with far less salt and none of the fermented soybean depth, which is why it needs the soy.