Douchi
A close-up of douchi
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| Alternative names | fermented black soybeans, Chinese fermented black beans, salted black beans, salty black beans |
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| Place of origin | Chinese |
| Main ingredients | fermented Soybean |
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| Douchi | |||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | |||||||||||||||||
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| Hanyu Pinyin | dòuchǐ | ||||||||||||||||
| Cantonese Yale | dauh sih | ||||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
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| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | dòuchǐ |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | dauh sih |
| Jyutping | dau6si6 |
| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | tāu-sīⁿ |
Douchi (Chinese: 豆豉; pinyin: dòuchǐ; Jyutping: dau6si6) is a type of fermented and salted black soybean. In English, it is known as fermented black soybeans, Chinese fermented black beans (黑豆豆豉; hēidòu dòuchǐ; hak1dau6 dau6si6), salted black beans, salty black beans, or just black beans. They are a flavoring most popular in the cuisine of China, where they are most widely used for making black bean sauce dishes.
Douchi is made by fermenting 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.
The process and product are similar to ogiri and iru, both being African fermented bean products.
Douchi, "Chinese salted black beans", and "black soybeans" should not be confused with the black turtle bean, a variety of common bean that is commonly used in the cuisines of Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.
Fermented black soybeans are the oldest-known food made from soybeans. In 165 BC, they were placed, clearly marked, in Han Tomb No. 1 at Mawangdui tomb site in South Central China. The tomb was sealed about 165 BC 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.
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Wikipedia