Sauce – Substitution for hoisin sauce

• Are there different qualities in prepared Hoisin sauces?

Think of it like barbecue sauce or chili powder: every company has their own recipe, and it's always hard to know the precise justification for a specific price. The high price on one may be part of their premium brand image, and have nothing to do with the quality of the ingredients. Ultimately, you just have to try a few brands and decide which flavor appeals to you, and whether you find the price reasonable.

• If so, would I be better served by making my own?

As far as I can tell, hoisin sauce does not need to be fermented, so it's going to be much easier to make authentic hoisin sauce at home than something like soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce. It's more like making your own barbecue sauce.

A few different websites have minor variations on this recipe: http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/420/Hoisin_Sauce12082.shtml

Is it worth the effort? That's a matter of personal opinion. It's probably hard to justify on purely economic terms; do you really use more than a few cents worth of hoisin sauce in any given meal, and are the ingredients that much cheaper than the product itself? But of course, there are other reasons to cook than just to save money. I think you've just inspired me to try making my own hoisin sauce :)

• If I make my own, how long will it keep for?

Each of those ingredients can last months on its own, often without any refrigeration, and together would create a highly acidic and antimicrobial environment. The worst that might happen to homemade hoisin sauce in several months of refrigerated storage is it might separate a bit and have to be remixed.

White wine in tomato sauces adds:

• Some acidity, but tomatoes are quite acidic as well
• A touch of fruitiness and flavor
• Alcohol, which does not all cook off, which can enhance the perception of the dish due to some flavor molecules being alcohol soluble, especially in tomatoes

Since you are avoiding alcohol itself, some of the options you might use are:

• Simply omit the wine. The dish may not be quite as good, but it will still be good.
• Use a splash of verjuice (un-fermented grape juice) if you can get it; this will give you some of the fruity and acidic qualities, without the alcohol.
• Use a splash of white wine vinegar (unless you are concerned with the trace amounts of alcohol that may persist from its production); this will give you some acid, but you are not likely to use enough to add any significant fruitiness.

Since you are specifically avoiding alcohol, you necessarily lose the flavor enhancing effect it can have, but a good well seasoned dish will stand up without it.

I would suggest you make your sauce, and if you feel it lacks brightness, to try cooking down a little white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar and adding it; otherwise, leave it alone.

And of course, taste as you are cooking to season it well.

Again, as one component of several in a lasagna, which is all about the integration and balance of all of the components, I wouldn't worry about it this overly much.