Hoisin

This sauce’s name, erroneously translated literally as “sea freshness sauce,” is misleading. It’s not often used with fish or seafood, and it contains no fish or seafood. What it does contain is soybean paste, sesame, spices, garlic, sugar, sweet potato starch, cornstarch, and wheat flour. This dark brown sweet-and-salty Chinese condiment is an essential element in Asian preparations of roasted meats. It’s part of the classic Chinese dish, “Peking Duck.” In recent years it has also become a staple sauce served with phở, the spiced beef broth noodle soup of Northern Vietnam. Vietnamese: tương đen