Douchi

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Douchi

Douchi, also called Chinese fermented black beans, is a flavoring most popular in the cuisine of China, and is used to make black bean sauce.

Douchi is made by fermenting

Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically refers to the conversion of sugar to alcohol using yeast under anaerobic conditions. A more general definition of fermentation is the chemical conversion of carbohydrates into alcohols or acids....
and salting soybean

Soybean

The soybean or soya bean is a species of legume native to East Asia. The plant is classed as an oilseed rather than a Pulse . It is an annual plant that has been used in China for 5,000 years as a food and a component of drugs....
s. The process turns the beans black, soft, and mostly dry. The flavor is sharp, pungent, and spicy in smell, with a taste that is salty and somewhat bitter and sweet.

Douchi should not be confused with black turtle beans

Common bean

The common bean, Phaseolus vulgaris, is an herbaceous annual plant domesticated independently in ancient Mesoamerica and the Andes, and now grown worldwide for its edible bean, popular both dry and as a green bean....
, a variety of common bean

Common bean

Japanese language

IPA: [n?iho?go] is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is related to the Ryukyuan languages....
, douchi is also referred to by the same kanji

Kanji

are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese language logogram along with hiragana , katakana , Arabic numerals, and the occasional use of the Latin alphabet....
and pronounced as touchi.

The process and product are similar to ogiri
Ogiri

Ogiri is a flavoring made of fermentation 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....
and iru
Iru

Ir? is a type of fermented locust beans used as a condiment in cooking. It is similar to ogiri and douchi. It is very popular among the Yoruba people of Nigeria....
, both being African fermented bean products.

hi is especially used to flavor fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
or stir-fried

Stir frying

Stir frying is an umbrella term used to describe two fast cooking techniques: chao and b?o . The term stir-fry was introduced into the English language by Buwei Yang Chao, in her book How to Cook and Eat in Chinese, to describe the chao technique....
vegetables (particularly bitter melon

Bitter melon

Momordica charantia is a tropical and subtropical vine of the family Cucurbitaceae, widely grown for edible fruit, which is among the most Taste#Bitterness of all vegetables....
and leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaf eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender Petiole s and shoots....
s).

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Encyclopedia

Douchi, also called Chinese fermented black beans, is a flavoring most popular in the cuisine of China, and is used to make black bean sauce.

Douchi is made by fermenting

Fermentation (food)

Soybean

Common bean

Japanese language

Kanji

Use

Douchi is especially used to flavor fish

Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
or stir-fried

Stir frying

Bitter melon

Leaf vegetable

Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaf eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender Petiole s and shoots....
s). Unlike some other fermented soybean-based foods such as natto

Natto

is a traditional Japanese cuisine made from fermentation soybeans, popular especially for breakfast. As a rich source of protein, natto and the soybean paste miso formed a vital source of nutrition in History of Japan#Feudal_Japan_.2812th_-_19th_century.29....
or tempeh

Tempeh

Tempeh, or tempe in Javanese language, is made by a natural culturing and controlled fermentation process that binds soybeans into a cake form....
, douchi is used only as a seasoning, and is not meant to be consumed in large quantities, being typically much more salty.

Small packets of douchi are available wherever Chinese foods are sold.

Some common dishes made with douchi are Steamed Spare ribs

Spare ribs

Spare ribs are a variety of pork ribs , cooked and eaten in various cuisines around the world. They are the most inexpensive cut of pork ribs....
with Fermented Black Beans and Chili Pepper, and Braised Mud Carp

Carp

Carp is a common name for various freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish originally from Eurasia and southeast Asia....
with Fermented Black Beans.

Black bean paste

In Chinese cuisine, a condiment called black bean paste or black bean garlic sauce is made from douchi, as well as garlic and soy sauce, a typical combination used for seasoning a dish. This paste is commercially available in glass jars from companies such as Lee Kum Kee

Lee Kum Kee

Lee Kum Kee International Holdings Ltd. is a food company which specialized in manufacturing oyster sauce and a wide range of authentic Chinese and Asian sauces founded by Mr....
, although most Chinese restaurant chefs prefer to use actual douchi to prepare such sauces rather than using commercially available black bean paste.