Chinese Food Substitutes

>are any substitutes for the usual non-paleo suspects: soy sauce, hoisin
>sauce, rice vinegar.

In some recipes, you can try fish sauce instead of soy sauce. It has a similar flavor. It is made with anchovy extract and sea salt. Toasted sesame oil can give the flavor you are looking for as well. Don't be stingy with the salt. Use a good sea salt like Maldon or Fleur de Sel. Go with the garnishes (toasted sesame seeds, sliced scallions), and you might not miss the soy sauce. Fermented foods have a unique flavor that is hard to duplicate, but toasted seeds and anchovies come close.

By Stacie Tolen. Posted to the PaleoRecipe Mailing List, Nov. 2000

2012 update:
People are now using coconut animos to replace soy sauce. It is sweeter and less salty than soy sauce.