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Sauce, Hoisin, Ready-To-Serve
Hoisin sauce is a thick, sweet-savory Chinese condiment made from fermented soybean paste, sugar, garlic, vinegar, and spices. At 1.082 g/ml, it is moderately denser than water — lower density than teriyaki or sweet-and-sour because its sugar concentration, while high, is partially offset by the thick paste structure and entrapped air in the thick emulsion. A tablespoon weighs approximately 16 g; a cup weighs approximately 256 g. Pours slowly and clings to the spoon; best measured by weight for precision. Used in Peking duck pancakes, spring rolls, char siu glaze, Vietnamese pho as a table condiment, and stir-fry sauces.
What is Sauce, Hoisin, Ready-To-Serve?
Hoisin sauce is a thick, sweet-savory Chinese condiment made from fermented soybean paste, sugar, garlic, vinegar, and spices. At 1.082 g/ml, it is moderately denser than water — lower density than teriyaki or sweet-and-sour because its sugar concentration, while high, is partially offset by the thick paste structure and entrapped air in the thick emulsion. A tablespoon weighs approximately 16 g; a cup weighs approximately 256 g. Pours slowly and clings to the spoon; best measured by weight for precision. Used in Peking duck pancakes, spring rolls, char siu glaze.
Volume measurements can drift because settling, packing, and texture change the amount of ingredient inside the same spoon or cup. When gram values look surprising, structure is usually the reason rather than an error. Use the same fill method each time and verify by weight.
Chef note:Chef-level consistency starts when one reference cup is matched to a gram baseline.
Quick convert
- US cup = 236.588 mL
- 1 tbsp = 14.787 mL
- 1 tsp = 4.929 mL
Kitchen Conversion Chart
Cups, tbsp, tsp, mL and oz — all in one printable reference for oils, liquids, dairy and sauces.
Condiments
Viscous condiments like ketchup, BBQ sauce, or dips tend to cling stubbornly to measuring cups. This leads to waste and messy cleanup. Weighing directly into your dish or pan is the professional, clean, and accurate method.
FAQ
- How many grams is a tablespoon of hoisin sauce?
- At 1.082 g/ml, one tablespoon (14.79 ml) of hoisin sauce weighs approximately 16 g — about 1.2 g more than a tablespoon of water. For most recipes that call for 1–2 tablespoons, this difference is negligible, but in large-batch recipes scaled by tablespoon count, weigh for consistency.
- Is hoisin sauce denser than soy sauce?
- Hoisin sauce (1.082 g/ml) is comparable to soy sauce in density (shoyu is typically 1.07–1.10 g/ml), but hoisin's thick, paste-like consistency creates more measurement variability. Soy sauce pours freely and fills a measuring spoon accurately; hoisin may leave air pockets at the sides. Weighing hoisin by gram is more reliable than measuring by tablespoon.
- Does the brand of hoisin sauce affect its gram weight?
- Yes, moderately. Hoisin sauces from different manufacturers vary in sugar content and thickness — some are thicker (closer to 1.10 g/ml) and others more pourable (closer to 1.06 g/ml). The USDA value (1.082 g/ml) is a reference average. For precise recipes, measure by weight using your specific product.