Yellow soybean paste is a fermented paste made from yellow

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. Soy is a staple crop, the world's most grown legume, and an important animal feed. Soy is a key source o ...

s, salt, and water. Yellow soybean paste is produced in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and is used primarily in

Beijing cuisine Beijing cuisine, also known as Jing cuisine, Mandarin cuisine and Peking cuisine and formerly as Beiping cuisine, is the local cuisine of Beijing, the national capital of China. Background As Beijing has been the capital of China for centuries ...

and other cuisines of

northern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions that display certain differences in terms of their geography, demographics, economy, and culture. Extent The Qinling, Qinling–Daba Mountains serve as the transition zone ...

Etymology

In Chinese, the full name of the condiment is ''huángdòu jiàng'' (), but it is commonly referred to as just ''huáng jiàng'' ("yellow paste").

Description

Although it is made from yellow soybeans, the paste itself is not so much yellow as light to dark brown or even black in color. Wheat flour, though not formerly used, is often used as an additional ingredient in the modern day, and

potassium sorbate Potassium sorbate is the potassium salt of sorbic acid, structural formula CH3CH=CH−CH=CH−CO2K. It is a white salt that is very soluble in water (58.2% at 20 °C). It is primarily used as a food preservative (E number 202). Potassium ...

may be used as a preservative.

Usage

Yellow soybean paste is used most notably in the noodle dish called '' zhajiang mian'' ("fried sauce noodles"), in which the yellow soybean paste is fried together with ground

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

, then poured over the top of thick wheat flour noodles. Outside of Beijing, sweet bean sauce or

hoisin sauce Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant sauce originating in China. It features in many Chinese cuisine, Chinese cuisines, but is most prominent in Cantonese cuisine. It can be used as a glaze (cooking technique), glaze for meat, an addition to stir fr ...

is often mixed with or used in place of the condiment, thus giving the dish a sweeter taste.

Availability

Yellow soybean paste is widely available in China, as well as in Chinese grocery stores overseas, and comes in plastic packages, bottled or in tins.

Other varieties

In recent years, a new form of yellow soybean paste, called "dry yellow soybean paste" ( 干黄酱, pinyin: ''gān huángjiàng''; or 干酱, pinyin: ''gān jiàng''), has been developed, and is widely available in plastic packages. Its texture is drier than that of regular yellow soybean paste (due to its lower water content), allowing for easier transportation and keeping. Dry yellow soybean paste is used in a similar manner as regular yellow soybean paste, but, when using the dry form, water is first added to dilute it, and then it is added to the dish; if it is added directly to a dish, the amount of water added to the dish should be adjusted accordingly. In Thai cuisine, a variant of yellow soybean paste, often mixed with chilies, is also popular.

Technical process

There are different kinds of soybean sauce, i.e., the liquid state with high salt, solid with low salt and ferment of combination of liquid and solid according to its making process and high temperature fermentation, middle temperature fermentation and low temperature fermentation according to the temperature of the ferment.

References

{{Soy, state=collapsed Chinese condiments Fermented soy-based foods Food paste