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, which has numerous uses. Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu a ...

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

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, chemical 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 so ...

may be used as a preservative.

Usage

Yellow soybean paste is used most notably in the noodle dish called ''

zhajiang mian Zhajiangmian (; pinyin: Zhá jiàng miàn), literally "fried sauce noodles", commonly translated as "noodles served with fried bean sauce", is a Chinese dish consisting of thick wheat noodles topped with ''zhajiang'' sauce. Zhajiang sauce is no ...

'' ("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 domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

, then poured over the top of thick wheat flour noodles. Outside of Beijing,

sweet bean sauce 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 ...

hoisin sauce Hoisin sauce is a thick, fragrant sauce commonly used in Cantonese cuisine as a glaze for meat, an addition to stir fry, or as dipping sauce. It is dark-coloured in appearance and sweet and salty in taste. Although regional variants exist, ho ...

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 salty, solid with low salty 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