Douchi
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''Douchi'' () or ''tochi'' (also known as fermented black soybeans, Chinese fermented black beans (), salted black beans, salty black beans, or just black beans) is a type of
fermented Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...
and salted black
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 an ...
most popular in the
cuisine A cuisine is a style of cooking characterized by distinctive ingredients, techniques and dishes, and usually associated with a specific culture or geographic region. Regional food preparation techniques, customs, and ingredients combine to ...
of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, where they are most widely used for making black bean sauce dishes. Shurtleff, W.; Aoyagi,
History of Fermented Black Soybeans (165 B.C. to 2011)
Lafayette, California: Soyinfo Center, 2011
''Douchi'' is made by
fermenting Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...
and salting black soybeans. The black type soybean is most commonly used and the process turns the beans soft, and mostly semi-dry (if the beans are allowed to dry). Regular soybeans (white soybeans) are also used, but this does not produce "salted black beans"; instead, these beans become brown. The smell is sharp, pungent, and spicy; the taste is salty, somewhat bitter and sweet. The product made with white soybeans is called ''mianchi''. ''Douchi'', "Chinese salted black beans", and "black soybeans" are not the same as the black turtle bean, a variety of
common bean ''Phaseolus vulgaris'', the common bean, is a herbaceous annual plant grown worldwide for its edible dry seeds or green bean, green, unripe pods. Its leaf is also occasionally used as a Leaf vegetable, vegetable and the straw as fodder. Its Pla ...
that is commonly used in the cuisines of
Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
,
South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
, and the
Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
.


History

Fermented black soybeans are the oldest-known food made from soybeans. In 165 BCE, they were placed, clearly marked, in Han Tomb No. 1 at Mawangdui Tomb Site in
South Central China South Central China, South-Central China or Central-South China ( zh, c = 中南, p = Zhōngnán, l = Central-South), is a region of the People's Republic of China defined by State Council that includes the provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, He ...
. The tomb was sealed about 165 BCE and was first opened in 1972. The high-ranking woman to whom the undisturbed tomb belonged was probably the wife of the first Marquis of Tai. In 90 BCE, in the ''
Records of the Grand Historian ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...
'' by
Sima Qian Sima Qian (; ; ) was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty (206AD220). He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his ''Records of the Grand Historian'', a general history of China covering more than two thousand years b ...
, Chapter 69, refers to 1,000 earthenware vessels of mold-fermented cereal grains and salty fermented soybeans ''(shi)''. They were now an important commodity in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. When the prince of
Huainan Huainan () is a prefecture-level city with 3,033,528 inhabitants as of the 2020 census in north-central Anhui province, China. It is named for the Han-era Principality of Huainan. It borders the provincial capital of Hefei to the south, Lu'a ...
(legendary inventor of tofu) was exiled for inciting rebellion (in 173 BCE) against his brother, the Han Emperor Wendi, his retinue and he were, nevertheless, provided with such necessities of life as firewood, rice, salt, ''shi'' (fermented black soybeans), and cooking utensils. This date, 173 BCE, is before Han Tomb No. 1 at Mawangdui was sealed.


Use

It is used as an ingredient for ''
mapo tofu Mapo tofu () is a popular Chinese dish from Sichuan province. It consists of tofu set in a spicy sauce, typically a thin, oily, and bright red suspension, based on douban (fermented broad bean and chili paste), and douchi (fermented black b ...
''. ''Douchi'' is also used to flavor
fish Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
or
stir-fried Stir frying () is a cooking technique in which ingredients are fried in a small amount of very hot oil while being stirred or tossed in a wok. The technique originated in China and in recent centuries has spread into other parts of Asia and t ...
vegetables (particularly
bitter melon ''Momordica charantia'' (commonly called bitter melon; Goya; bitter apple; bitter gourd; bitter squash; balsam-pear; with many more names listed below) is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown in Asia, Afr ...
and
leaf vegetable Leaf vegetables, also called leafy greens, pot herbs, vegetable greens, or simply greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. Leaf vegetables eaten raw in a salad can be called salad gre ...
s). Unlike some other fermented soybean-based foods such as '' natto'' or ''
tempeh Tempeh or tempe (; jv, ꦠꦺꦩ꧀ꦥꦺ, témpé, ) is a traditional Indonesian food made from fermented soybeans. It is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form. A fungus, '' Rhiz ...
'', ''douchi'' is used only as a seasoning, and is not meant to be consumed in large quantities, being typically much saltier. Small packets of ''douchi'' are available wherever Chinese foods are sold. Some common dishes made with ''douchi'' are steamed
spare ribs Spare ribs (also side ribs or spareribs) are a variety of ribs cut from the lower portion of a pig, specifically the belly and breastbone, behind the shoulder, and include 11 to 13 long bones. There is a covering of meat on top of the bones an ...
with fermented black beans and chili pepper (豉椒排骨), and braised mud
carp Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish from the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. While carp is consumed in many parts of the world, they are generally considered an invasive species in parts of ...
with fermented black beans (豆豉鯪魚).


Around the world

Fermented black soybeans are an ancient traditional food, used as condiments and seasonings in many Far Eastern countries and Chinese diaspora communities, where they are known by a variety of names. *In
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
, ''douchi'' is also referred to as ''daitokuji natto'', ''hamanatto'', ''hamananatto'', ''shiokara-natto'', and ''tera-natto'', sometimes using the same Han characters (豆豉), similar ones (豆鼓), or completely different ones; however, they are almost never known by their Chinese name ''Zushi'' (豆豉 or ずし) *In
Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
, a similar black bean sauce made from roasted soy beans called '' chunjang'' is used in the well-known ''
jjajangmyeon ''Jajangmyeon'' () or ''jjajangmyeon'' () is a Korean noodle dish topped with a thick sauce made of '' chunjang'', diced pork, and vegetables. Variants of the dish use seafood, or other meats. History ''Jajangmyeon'' was introduced in the la ...
''. It was first introduced by Chinese settlers in Incheon in the early 20th century; ''chunjang'' has made several changes and evolutionary steps over time. *In
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
, this sauce is called ''เต้าซี่'' and is made from the black soybean. Normally, Chinese Thais use it for original old Chinese recipe such as sauce, steam etc. *In
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, this sauce is called ''tàu xì'' or ''đậu xị'' and is made from the black soybean. *In
Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...
, ''douchi'' is also referred to as ''seang'', or fermented salted bean, in the Khmer language, and is a common recipe. It is often used with the fermented salted fish ''
prahok ''Prahok'' (; km, ប្រហុក, prâhŏk, ) is a salted and fermented fish paste (usually of mudfish) used in Cambodian cuisine as a seasoning or a condiment. It originated as a way of preserving fish during the months when fresh fish ...
''. *In
Philippine cuisine Filipino cuisine ( fil, lutong Pilipino/pagkaing Pilipino) is composed of the cuisines of more than a hundred distinct ethnolinguistic groups found throughout the Philippine archipelago. A majority of mainstream Filipino dishes that compose Fi ...
, it is called ''tausi'' in Cebuano and Tagalog, both derived from the
Lan-nang Philippine Hokkien is a dialect of the Hokkien language of the Southern Min branch, primarily spoken vernacularly by Chinese Filipinos in the Philippines, where it serves as the local Chinese '' lingua franca'', primarily spoken as an oral lan ...
''tāu-sīⁿ'' (豆豉). It is often used when steaming fish. * In
Cantonese Cantonese ( zh, t=廣東話, s=广东话, first=t, cy=Gwóngdūng wá) is a language within the Chinese (Sinitic) branch of the Sino-Tibetan languages originating from the city of Guangzhou (historically known as Canton) and its surrounding are ...
-speaking regions, ''douchi'' is referred to as ''dau6si6'' ("douchi") or ''hak1dau2 dau6si6'' ("black-bean douchi"). *In
Chinese Indonesian cuisine Chinese Indonesian cuisine ( id, Masakan Tionghoa-Indonesia, ) is characterized by the mixture of Chinese with local Indonesian style. Chinese Indonesians, mostly descendant of Han ethnic Hokkien and Hakka speakers, brought their legacy of ...
, it is called ''tausi'' which is derived from its Hokkien name. It is usually used in ''kakap tahu tausi'', which is stir-fried
red snapper Red snapper is a common name of several fish species. It may refer to: * Several species from the genus ''Lutjanus'': ** ''Lutjanus campechanus'', Northern red snapper, commonly referred to as red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlanti ...
, tofu, and ''douchi''. *In
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
-speaking parts of
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, ''douchi'' is commonly referred to as ''tausí'' or ''tau-sí''. *Similar African fermented products are ''
ogiri Ogiri is a flavoring made of fermented oil seeds, such as sesame seeds or egusi seeds. The process and product are similar to iru or douchi. Its smell is like cheese, miso, or stinky tofu. Ogiri is best known in West Africa West Africa or ...
'' and '' iru''.


Black bean paste

A condiment called black bean paste, black bean sauce (豆豉醬),BBC Food: black bean sauce recipes
/ref> or black bean garlic sauce (蒜蓉豆豉酱), Tochidjan (豆豉醬), prepared from ''douchi'', garlic, and
soy sauce Soy sauce (also called simply soy in American English and soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermented paste of soybeans, roasted grain, brine, and '' Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''Asp ...
, is popular in Chinese cuisine.


See also

*
List of fermented foods This is a list of fermented foods, which are foods produced or preserved by the action of microorganisms. In this context, fermentation typically refers to the fermentation of sugar to alcohol using yeast, but other fermentation processes involv ...
*
List of fermented soy products This is a list of fermented soy products. A diverse variety of soy food products made from fermented soybeans exists. Fermented soy products See also * List of fermented foods * List of food pastes * List of meat substitutes * List of soy-bas ...
*
Yellow soybean paste Yellow soybean paste is a fermented paste made from yellow soybeans, salt, and water. Yellow soybean paste is produced in China and is used primarily in Beijing cuisine and other cuisines of northern China. Etymology In Chinese, the full na ...


References

{{Cantonese cuisine Fermented soy-based foods Umami enhancers Indonesian Chinese cuisine