Tauco, Taucu, Taotjo, Tao Jiew or Tauchu (; , ) is a paste made from preserved fermented yellow soybeans in

Chinese Indonesian Chinese Indonesians (), or simply ''Orang Tionghoa'' or ''Tionghoa'', are Indonesians whose ancestors arrived from China at some stage in the last eight centuries. Chinese Indonesians are the fourth largest community of Overseas Chinese in th ...

, Malaysian and Thai cuisines. Tauco is made by boiling yellow soybeans, grinding them, mixing them with flour, and fermenting them to make a soy paste. The soy paste is soaked in salt water and sun-dried for several weeks, furthering the fermentation process, until the color of the paste has turned yellow-reddish. Good tauco has a distinct aroma. The sauce is also commonly used in other

Indonesian cuisine Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions by various ethnic groups that formed in the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed ...

traditions, such as

Sundanese cuisine Sundanese cuisine (; ) is the cuisine of the Sundanese people of West Java, Western Java, and Banten, Indonesia. It is one of the most popular foods in Indonesia. Sundanese food is characterised by its freshness; the famous lalab eaten with sa ...

and

Javanese cuisine Javanese cuisine () is the cuisine of Javanese people, a major Native Indonesian, ethnic group in Indonesia in the provinces of Central Java, Yogyakarta, and East Java. Definition Javanese cuisine refers exclusively to the cuisine of Javan ...

. Taucu is generally used in cooking by Chinese

Malaysians Malaysians (Malay language, Malay: ''Orang Malaysia'') are citizens who are identified with the country of Malaysia. Although citizens make up the majority of Malaysians, non-citizen residents may also claim a Malaysian identity. The countr ...

Singaporeans Singaporeans are the citizens and nationals of the sovereign island city-state of Singapore. Singapore is home to a people of a variety of ethno-racial-religious origins, with the city-state itself being a multi-racial, multi-cultural, m ...

, Bruneians, and

Thais Thais can be the plural of ''Thai'' and refer to: * The Thai people, the main ethnic group of Thailand * The Thai peoples or Tai peoples, the ethnic groups of southern China and Southeast Asia In the singular, Thais may refer to: People Ancien ...

. The sauce is often used as a condiment and flavouring for stir-fried dishes such as ''tahu tauco'' (

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 ...

in tauco sauce), ''kakap tahu tausi'' ( red snapper with tofu in soybean sauce), in soup such as ''

swikee ''Swikee'' or ''Swike'' is a Chinese Indonesian cuisine, Chinese Indonesian Frog legs, frog leg dish. The dish can be served as soup, deep fried or stir fried frog legs. Originally a Cuisine of China, Chinese dish, this dish is popular in Indones ...

oh'' (

frog legs Frog legs () are the muscular hindlimbs of frogs that are consumed as food by humans in some cuisines. Frog legs are rich in protein, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A, and potassium. They are often said to taste like chicken because of the mild fl ...

in tauco soup) and ''pie oh'' (

softshell turtle Trionychidae is a family of turtles, commonly known as softshell turtles or simply softshells. The family was described by Leopold Fitzinger in 1826. Softshells include some of the world's largest freshwater turtles, though many can adapt to li ...

in tauco soup), or stir fried with ''kangkung'' (water spinach). Today the major production centre of tauco in Indonesia are in

Cianjur Cianjur () is a town and district in the West Java province of Indonesia, and is the regency seat, seat of Cianjur Regency. The district of Cianjur is located along one of the main roads between Jakarta (120 km to the northwest) and Bandung ...

West Java West Java (, ) is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province on the western part of the island of Java, with its provincial capital in Bandung. West Java is bordered by the province of Banten and the country's capital region of Jakarta to t ...

, and

Pekalongan Pekalongan () is a city of Central Java, Indonesia. It was formerly the seat of Pekalongan Regency on the northern coast of the province, but is now an independent municipality within the province. It covers a land area of 45.25 km2 and had a p ...

Central Java Central Java (, ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, located in the middle of the island of Java. Its administrative capital is Semarang. It is bordered by West Java in the west, the Indian Ocean and the Special Region of Yogya ...

. In Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei, the main commercial brand of taucu is

Yeo Hiap Seng Yeo Hiap Seng Limited ( zh, t=楊協成, s=杨协成, p=Yáng Xiéchéng, poj=Iûⁿ Hia̍p-sêng, Commonly known as Yeo's) is a Singaporean beverage company. It operates as an investment holding company as well as a drink manufacturer in Sing ...

(Yeo's). In Thailand, the sauce is often used in stir-fries, such as Pad Mee Korat & stir-fried vegetables, and also dipping sauces such as Khao Man Gai.

References

Chinese condiments Indonesian Chinese cuisine Sundanese cuisine Javanese cuisine Indonesian condiments Malaysian condiments Fermented soy-based foods {{Malaysia-cuisine-stub

See also

References