Friday, March 11, 2016

How to make soy sauce and soybean paste(doenjang)

Soybean paste(Doenjang) is one of the basic sauces for Korean food, no, no itisn't enough, it is essence and soul of Korean.
Miso(Japanese doenjang) is different with Korean soybean paste, because miso is made from flour.
Korean soybean paste(doenjang) is made from soybean. The origin of soybean is also Korea. William J. Morse and T.H. Dorset were visit to Korea for gathering seed of soybean in early 20C. They gathered more than 3,000 species in Korea.

Anyway, I and my wife tried to make soybean paste and soy sauce by ourselves as below.
Before I start to explain how to make them, I want to say about Meju.
Meju, fermented soybean block, is made of soybean, shaped as brick.
Korean makes it in Autumn and dry it during winter season. During the winter season, meju is fermented by Bacillus fungus.
In Korea we can buy meju easily during the January(lunar calendar), because the lunar Jan. is best season for making soybean paste and soysauce.
Refer to how to make meju, I will write in Autumn when I try to make it.

1. Wash the meju and dry little bit.


2. Fumigate pottery with straw.
3. Put meju into pottery.

4. Make a brine(salt water). Salt concentration is good between 18% ~ 20%. If you don't have salinometer, you can use egg. If egg floats on the brine in coin size, it means 19%. Check this in the picture.
 5. Pour brine into potter through cotton cloth.
6. Add oak charcoal, dried redpepper and dried jujube.
The next most important step is just waiting. Nature as like sun, air, wind, temperature makes soybean paste.

7. Just put this pottery in sunny place for 45~60days.

After 45~60days, I will divide soybean block and brine. The divided soybean will be soybean paste. The devided brine will be soysauce after  boiling. I will write again when I do this in 2 months later.



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