Also called Peking sauce, this thick, reddish-brown sauce is sweet and spicy, and widely used in Chinese cooking. It's a mixture of soybeans, garlic, chile peppers and various spices. Hoisin sauce is mainly used as a table condiment and as a flavouring agent for many meat, poultry and shellfish dishes. It can be found in Asian markets and many large supermarkets. Once opened, canned hoisin should be transferred to a nonmetal container, tightly sealed and refrigerated. Bottled hoisin can be refrigerated as is. Both will keep indefinitely when stored in this manner.