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This simple Vietnamese Peanut Sauce is made with just 3 ingredients (plus water to thin it) and is a classic dipping sauce for spring rolls, but it’s also delicious stir-fried with beef, chicken, shrimp, or veggies.
This Vietnamese Peanut Dipping sauce is designed for fresh spring rolls (also known as gỏi cuốn or summer rolls). It’s thick, creamy, and so delicious with the vegetables, herbs, and shrimp or pork belly that you fold into rice paper wrappers. When you inevitably have leftovers though, there’s plenty to do!
First, it makes a delicious salad dressing. Try it on my Mango Chicken Bowl or a Rainbow Salad, or use it as a topping for lettuce wraps. You can also stir fry it with rice noodles, vermicelli noodles, or your favorite protein. Try chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, or even tofu. I suggest stir-frying the protein first, then adding the sauce at the end.
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Hoisin sauce: This thick, soybean-based condiment has a salty-sweet flavor and is common in Asian cooking. Lee Kum Kee is a popular brand.
- Peanut butter: Creamy peanut butter is classic, but nobody will stop you from grabbing the chunky kind if that’s your preference. Almond butter and sunflower seed butter work too but have a slightly different taste.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a small bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce, peanut butter, and garlic. Stir in warm water to thin to desired consistency. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts if desired.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes about 1 cup sauce, enough for 8 servings, 2 tablespoons each.
- Storage: Store leftover sauce in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Nuoc cham: Another famous sauce for spring rolls, Nuoc Cham is made with fish sauce, fresh lime juice, sugar, garlic, and chili garlic sauce (or sriracha sauce).
Frequently Asked Questions
This simple Asian condiment is made with hoisin sauce, peanut butter, and garlic thinned with water to your preferred consistency.
Thai dipping sauce (or salad dressing) is made with peanut butter, rice vinegar, honey, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, and red chili flakes.
Even though “hoisin” means “seafood” in Chinese (海鮮), this condiment is naturally vegan. It is commonly served with seafood dishes, though, thus the name. It is not necessarily gluten-free due to many manufacturers using wheat or other wheat-based thickeners.
More Asian-inspired recipes
Vietnamese Peanut Sauce
This simple Vietnamese Peanut Sauce is made with just 3 ingredients (plus water to thin it) and is a classic dipping sauce for spring rolls, but it’s also delicious stir-fried with beef, chicken, shrimp, or veggies.
-
In a small bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce, peanut butter, and garlic. Stir in warm water to thin to desired consistency. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts if desired.
- Hoisin sauce: This thick, salty-sweet soybean-based condiment is common in Asian cooking. Lee Kum Kee is a popular brand.
- Peanut butter: Creamy peanut butter is classic, but nobody will stop you from grabbing the chunky kind if that’s your preference.
- Yield: This recipe makes about 1 cup sauce, enough for 8 servings, 2 tablespoons each.
- Storage: Store leftover sauce in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Serving: 2 tbspCalories: 87kcalCarbohydrates: 10gProtein: 2gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 314mgPotassium: 69mgFiber: 1gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 11mgIron: 0.3mg
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
