In My Kitchen: Hoisin Ginger Barbecue Sauce

I have done nothing to this recipe. It is straight from Ming Tsai. I got it off of one of his websites about three years ago. I have made it regularly ever since. Luckily, I saved the ingredients to my computer, because I tried looking for it again about a year ago, and wherever I got it from does not archive their recipes. This barbecue sauce works great on the grill or in the oven. I pretty much only use it on dark meat chicken, which means quarter legs, drumsticks, and thighs. Wings are too expensive and don't have enough meat, whereas thighs and drumsticks are money. This sauce tastes a lot spicier when you cook in the oven instead of the grill, so you may want to cut the amount of sambal if you're oven cooking for someone who isn't so heat tolerant. It is definitely worth the effort to use fresh garlic and fresh ginger. Sometimes I grate the ginger with a cheese grater to save on time, but it depends on the hunk of ginger I'm using. Some ginger is easier to cut. Chopping the garlic, green onions, and ginger can take a little while, so I like to make a super big batch, toss in chicken pieces, and freeze the chicken in the marinade so that it can soak in the flavor whenever I choose to thaw and cook it.

This sauce can also be used on tofu. Here, I marinated some pressed, extra firm tofu and threw that on the grill as well. It turned out just as delicious as the chicken.


Hoisin Ginger Barbecue Sauce
recipe by Ming Tsai

2 cups hoisin sauce
2-4 tbs sambal oelek
2 bunches scallion, chopped
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup minced garlic
1/4 cup minced ginger (can grate with a cheese grater to save time)
2 tsp ground black pepper
8+ pieces of chicken, (legs, wings, and thighs) or many more pieces of tofu

1. Combine hoisin sauce, sambal, scallions, wine, garlic, ginger, and pepper. Mix well.

2. Marinate the chicken pieces in the sauce overnight in the refrigerator.

3. Grill the chicken until it is done, or bake in the oven at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, flipping pieces over halfway through. You can also broil for the last 5 minutes to crisp the skin.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It is one of my favorites and definitely something that my friends and family request.