''Ssamjang'' () is a thick, spicy paste used with food wrapped in a leaf in
Korean cuisine
Korean cuisine is the set of foods and culinary styles which are associated with Korean culture. This cuisine has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Originating from ancient Prehistoric Korea, agricultural and nomad ...
. The sauce is made of fermented soy beans (''
doenjang''), red chili paste (''
gochujang''),
sesame oil,
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), 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 onion which was classifie ...
,
garlic,
green onions, and optionally
brown sugar
Brown sugar is a sucrose sugar product with a distinctive brown color due to the presence of molasses. It is either an unrefined or partially refined soft sugar consisting of sugar crystals with some residual molasses content or produced by t ...
.
Etymology
''
Ssam'' means "wrapped" and ''jang'' means "paste" or "thick sauce". Together as ''ssamjang'' they mean "wrapping sauce".
Variations
Besides the standard way of making ''ssamjang'', other ingredients can be added to make special versions. There are also commercially prepacked ''ssamjang'' available on the market.
*Nut ''ssamjang'' (): ground walnuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and other nuts are added
*''
Jjukumi'' ''ssamjang'' (): diced
short-arm octopus is stir-fried with diced red peppers and onions, and mixed together with ''ssamjang''
*
Tofu
or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...
''ssamjang'' (): crushed tofu is added
*
Flying fish roe ''ssamjang'' (): flying fish roe is added
*''
Namul'' ''ssamjang'' (): various beans are diced and added
*River snail ''ssamjang'' (): boil the water with ''
doenjang'', river snail, green onion, garlic, and red pepper powder.
See also
*
Fermented bean paste
References
{{portal bar, Food
Fermented foods
Korean condiments
Food paste