This easy Copycat Ah-So Sauce is delicious used as a marinade, or a sauce to brush on meats and shrimp.
You may never buy the jarred version again, once you make our delicious, homemade Copycat Ah-So Sauce!
It only takes about twenty minutes to prepare, and chances are you already have most of the ingredients to make this easy, copycat version of this Copycat Ah-So Sauce at home!
How do you make Copycat Ah-So Sauce?
Our copycat recipe is a mix of honey, brown sugar, Hoison sauce, 5-spice powder, oil, sherry, and tomato paste, plus some corn starch to thicken your Copycat Ah-So Sauce and red food coloring to give it that distinctive bright color.
The original Ah-So Sauce is a sweet and sticky, bright red marinade that has been popular in the Northeast region of the United States for as long as I can remember. These days, you can find it online, as well as at many major grocery chains.
But with today’s recipe, save yourself a trip to the store (as well as save some money). You might even decide that our Copycat Ah-So Sauce tastes better than the original.
Follow along with us all week because we’re sharing a delicious Chinese Barbecued Pork recipe made with this Copycat Ah-So Sauce, as well as sharing a recipe for Egg Foo Young. You don’t want to miss it!
You may enjoy these other homemade sauce recipes:
PrintCopycat Ah-So Sauce
This easy Copycat Ah-So Sauce is delicious used as a marinade, or a sauce to brush on meats and shrimp.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
- Category: sauce
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
3/4 cup honey, *see Notes below if using this recipe as a marinade
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup Hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons 5-spice powder
2 tablespoons red food color
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons corn starch *see Notes below if using this recipe as a marinade
See note below about optional white miso
Instructions
If using as Marinade*:
- Place half the honey, brown sugar, Hoisin, 5-spice powder, red food coloring, vegetable oil, sherry, tomato paste and soy sauce in a medium sauce pan. Heat to hot, simmer three minutes then cool and marinate your meat or fish.
- Once the meat is done marinating, pour marinade into a sauce pan, add in the remaining honey and in a small bowl, stir in the corn starch with a little of the cold marinade then add to the sauce pan. Heat at a medium simmer for three minutes. Brush on your marinated meat or fish before and after cooking.
Sauce:
- If using strictly as a sauce, heat honey, brown sugar, Hoisin, 5-spice powder, red food coloring, vegetable oil, sherry and tomato paste in a medium sauce pan until hot. Mix the soy sauce with the corn starch and once dissolved, add to the sauce pan and heat until thick. Use to bush meat or fish before roasting or grilling.
Notes
*If using for a marinade, use half the amounts of honey and corn starch as listed in the ingredients.
One ingredient intentionally left out is white miso. Miso (fermented soy beans) can be added to this recipe in small quantities before using as a marinade or sauce. It changes the flavor enough that it no longer tastes like the jarred version so we left it out intentionally, but please feel free to add. I would use two tablespoons in the recipe if you chose to use.
Boston man here retiring in SW Florida. Very hard to find Ah-so in local supermarkets. Tried this recipe and found it to be very similar to the original. It’s my go to from now on.
Thanks Ken – glad you found our recipe!
leave out red food coloring use sugar free maple syrup sub for brown sugar
Thanks for the suggestions!
Great recipe. For anyone concerned about safe red food dye Watkins makes a good safe version and I didn’t have to use as much to get the desired color. Great job on this recipe!
Thanks for the suggestion Patti!
I love this stuff great recipe! I’m going to make sticky wings with it. For the people that don’t like to use the food coloring which includes myself, I used beet juice. It wasn’t as bright red but you could probably reduce it. Yummy! Oh and you can’t taste the beach
Thanks for the suggestion Shelley!
I haven’t tried this yet, it is my first time hearing of it and am excited. What do most people use it for?
Hi Lisa – this recipe is probably the most common use for it: https://www.afamilyfeast.com/chinese-bbq-pork/
There is NO tomato in Ah-so sauce!
Thanks Beatrice – This is a ‘copycat’ recipe – which means the flavor is the same or similar. We aren’t claiming to know every exact ingredient.
I love this recipe as a marinade. so delicious. Everyone was impressed. Its not like Ah So sauce like we had back in Connecticut. I tried it with 3/4 cup corn syrup, 1/4 cup Hoison, one tsp chinese 5 spice, 2 tsp sesame oil , one tablespoon corn starch, put in immersion blender and then simmered. AND only a few drops red coloring. It was AH so amazing. Thanks for the great recipe on the marinade.
Thanks Cally!
How long this sauce be stored? I’m really hoping that this is more like the sauce I remember growing up in NE, was buying it in jars for years and now it seems that it has been seriously cheapened, its all sweets (corn syrup) and no flavor. Can’t wait to make.
Hi Jodie – The sauce if good for one to two weeks in the refrigerator.
NAILED IT! I can only imagine if I’d used the sherry instead of vinegar, no star anise cause I didn’t have, and made my own 5 spice which was 4 spice in actuality.. and it’s STILL…AMAZING! THANK YOU!!!
You’re welcome Laura! Glad you enjoyed the recipe!