I love Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls, period. They’re fresh, healthy and unbelievably satisfying, especially during those sweltering summer days. But what brands them as a GAME CHANGER – yes, there’s a way to make them even better – is this Peanut Hoisin Sauce. It’s SO good that I had to give it a post of its own! Can you imagine just how seductively it would envelop each rice paper roll?
No rice paper roll is ever complete without a creamy, sweet and savoury dip!
If you’re anything like me, you’ll be loading your rice paper roll with this sauce as if you’ll never get a chance to eat it again. It’s that really good! When you take that first bite, it’s like waking up to a brilliant summer’s day after endless months of dreary winter.
What is hoisin sauce?
I grew up eating this intense sweet-savoury sauce as a dip to blanched vegetables or boiled meat as part of our family hotpot dinners. You don’t need anything else once hoisin sauce hits the table, I tell you.
The closest common sauce I can think of to hoisin’s flavour palette is the good ol’ BBQ sauce. Even their colours are identical!
What sets them apart is hoisin is sweeter and, oddly enough, more savoury too. This is probably due to the fact that contains a number of starches like rice, wheat and sweet potato along with sugar.
I know what you’re thinking – sugar, sugar, sugar! But don’t fret! This Peanut Hoisin sauce is exactly that. The sweetness will be mixed in with luscious peanut butter and you’ll only be dipping a little bit at a time (unless you’re anything like me…)!
What you'll need to make this sensational sauce
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 3 tbsp Hoisin sauce
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup water (or Chicken and Pork Stock if available)
- 1/4 lemon’s juice
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- crushed peanuts (optional)
Considering how flavourful this dip is, it’s actually quite easy to make. Start by heating up the oil in a small pan. Lower the heat to a low-medium and brown the garlic.
Add the Hoisin sauce, peanut butter and sugar, mixing until well combined.
Adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding water or stock until it reaches a consistency you like. Our family prefers it rather thick, so I don’t normally add too much liquid.
Add the lemon juice to balance out the potent hit of savoury and sweet. At this point, you can adjust the sauce or leave it as is.
To finish it off, drizzle sesame oil and give it a stir. Garnish it with crushed peanuts before serving.
Dunk some Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls into the dip to complete this summer dream!
Peanut Hoisin Sauce for Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 4 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 3 tbsp Hoisin sauce
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 cup water (or Chicken and Pork Stock)
- 1/4 lemon’s juice
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- crushed peanuts optional
Instructions
- Heat up the oil in a small pan. Lower the heat to a low-medium and brown the garlic.
- Add the Hoisin sauce, peanut butter and sugar, mixing until well combined.
- Adjust the thickness of the sauce by adding water or stock until it reaches a consistency you like.
- Add the lemon juice.
- To finish it off, drizzle sesame oil and give it a stir.
- Garnish with crushed peanuts before serving.
SHARE YOUR CREATION!
If you recreated this authentic recipe, I’d love to see it! Tag @wokandkin on Instagram with the hashtag #wokandkin! See you there!
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Such a lovely dipping sauce idea, I like that it is thick and full of flavor!
The best part is how thick and flavourful it can be! Thanks, Alina!
We are going to make some summer rolls at the weekend, so I will have to make some of this to go with it.
How exciting! I hope you and your family enjoy it!
I love Asian style foods! This hoisin sauce for Vietnamese rice paper rolls are no exception!! I can’t wait to try this on the weekend. Love the little bit of peanut butter in it as well!
I hope you love the jam-packed flavour profile of this recipe as much as I do!
Such beautiful presentation! I always find it so hard to roll mine let alone have them looking like yours. Really beautiful.
Thanks! I sometimes like to sneak a few over to Grandma because she rolls it best! But practise makes perfect!
I have a cupboard full of Asian sauces and spices and don’t really know how to use many of them… Thanks for the info about hoisin. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
I’m so glad this post helped! Enjoy the recipe!