Add One Umami Sauce To Your Pot Roast And Taste The Magic

When you think about the cozy aromas of pot roast, you likely get a nice, warm image in your mind. I can't blame you because it's a meal filled with tender meat and a cacophony of rich flavors mixed all into one dish. Still, there's a way to deepen your pot roast's savoriness with a twist — and that's by throwing in some hoisin sauce.

Adding hoisin to your pot roast might seem strange at first, but you get a unique taste when dashing in this fermented soybean sauce. Its natural meatiness and umami notes work hand-in-hand with beef, lending the dish a well-rounded flavor thanks to garlic, perhaps some chili peppers, vinegar, and sesame oil. It's also key to pair the best kind of red wine for your pot roast, along with the hoisin.

There are different ways you can add hoisin to your pot roast. The first is using it as a marinade for your meat before cooking. You can let the beef marinate in the hoisin sauce, either alone or with other complementary herbs like garlic or chili. Another option is to pour the sauce right into the stew itself so all of the ingredients cook together. You might want to start with a half cup then add more from there, depending on how strong of an umami kick you're after. If you choose to add it straight into the stew, the hoisin flavor will disperse throughout the entire dish.

Even after adding hoisin to your pot roast, you can continue to liven the umami flavor with other complementary additions. Similarly to adding aromatics to your marinade, you can also play with tangier ingredients like vinegar to brighten up the dish (Just don't add too much, as it can overpower the whole pot roast). You can also take advantage of fresh citrus like lemon or lime juice to further cut through the rich flavors of the meat.

To lean into the spiced (not spicy) notes of hoisin sauce, try adding ingredients like cinnamon to complement its sweetness — or fennel seeds to match the earthiness of the carrots, onions, and starchy vegetables. To create an Asian-inspired pot roast, miso makes any food better, lending sesame and soybean saltiness to go with the savory beef. 

Pot roast is known for being quite filling already, but you could also serve steamed rice on the side, or garlic mashed potatoes for comforting texture. Bok choy, broccoli, collard greens, or even a crunchy Japanese-style cabbage would offer slightly bitter, tangy flavors to go with the overall umaminess of your pot roast.