Tianmian sauce (), also known as sweet bean sauce, sweet flour sauce or sweet wheat paste, is a thick, smooth, dark brown or black paste with either a mild, savory or sweet flavor. It is commonly used in Northern Chinese cuisine, Northeastern Chinese cuisine, as well as Korean-Chinese cuisine. Peking duck and '' jajangmyeon'' are two popular dishes that feature the

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

Etymology

The Chinese word ''tiánmiànjiàng'' () consists of characters meaning "sweet" (), "flour" (), and "sauce" (). It is also called ''tiánjiàng'' (), which means "sweet sauce". The origin of the Korean word ''chunjang'' () is unknown. One theory is that it derived from the word ''cheomjang'' (), which is the Korean reading of the Chinese characters .

Preparation

Although terms such as "sweet bean sauce" and "sweet bean paste" are used to describe the sauce, it is primarily made from fermented

wheat flour Wheat flour is a powder made from the grinding of wheat used for human consumption. Wheat varieties are called "soft" or "weak" if gluten content is low, and are called "hard" or "strong" if they have high gluten content. Hard flour, or ''bre ...

. A mixture of approximately 19 portions of

to one portion of

soybean The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu ...

is used. The fermentation starter is made from dried or stale '' mantou'' (a steamed bread), wrapped in a variety of muskmelon known as '' miangua'' and then bound and hung in a cool, dark place until completely dried. During the fermentation process, the glucose and maltose give the paste its distinctive sweet taste.

Variations and uses

Chinese varieties

Similar to hoisin sauce, sweet bean sauce may be used in dishes such as Peking Duck. It is also used as a sweeter substitute for saltier yellow soybean paste. In Northern China, the sauce is also eaten with raw scallions. There are many different types of sweet bean sauces. Recipes and methods of production vary depending on the geographical region and on manufacturer preferences. In northern China, more sugar is added to the sauce. In southern China, '' mantou'' flour instead of sugar is commonly used as the main ingredient. Traditionally, high-quality sweet bean sauces owe their sweet flavor to the fermentation of starches rather than to the addition of refined sugar. Sweet bean sauce can be found in standard Asian supermarkets under various English names. In Chinese, it is written 甜面酱.

Korean ''chunjang''

In Korea, ''chunjang'' () is most commonly used to make ''jajang'' (), a black gravy served with a popular noodle dish called '' jajangmyeon''. Other common dishes with ''jajang'' sauce include ''jajang- bap'' ("rice with ''jajang'' sauce") and ''jajang- tteok-bokki'' (stir-fried rice cakes with ''jajang'' sauce). Although stir-frying ''chunjang'' to make ''jajang'' is the most common use for the sauce, ''chunjang'' may also be served as an accompaniment to sliced raw

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...

s. In most Korean-Chinese restaurants, raw onions, ''chunjang'', and '' danmuji'' (yellow pickled radish) are the basic side dishes. Korean ''chunjang'' is similar to the

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

-style ''tiánmiànjiàng'', as it was first used in

Incheon Chinatown Incheon's Chinatown is Korea's only official Chinatown. It is in Jung-gu and was formed in 1884. It claims to be the largest Chinatown in South Korea, and features an 11-meter high Chinese-style gateway, or '' paifang''. As of 2007 few ethnic ...

, where the majority of restaurants were run by Chinese immigrants from

. However, now most Korean-Chinese restaurants are run by Koreans, and ''chunjang'' has adapted to Korean tastes, as have other Korean-Chinese dishes and ingredients.

Gallery

File:Peking duck wrap 1.jpg, Peking duck File:Jajangmyeon by KFoodaddict.jpg, '' Jajangmyeon'' File:Korean Chinese fried rice.jpg, Korean-Chinese '' bokkeum-bap'' (fried rice) File:Onion danmuji chunjang.jpg, Onion, '' danmuji'', and ''chunjang'' (typically served in Korean-Chinese restaurants) File:Zhajiangmian 20180501.jpg, Zhajiangmian File:Sliced Peking Duck.jpg, Peking duck

References

{{reflist, 2 Chinese condiments Chinese cuisine Chinese sauces Korean cuisine