Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Lufu (food)

Lufu is a type of fermented from Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It is reddish yellow, and has a soft texture and a flavor. It is used as a condiment for ''k?o '', or made into a sauce for Yunnan-style barbecue and stinky tofu.

Hoisin sauce

Hoisin sauce, or Haixian Sauce, also called suckling pig sauce, is a Chinese dipping sauce. The word ''Hoisin'' is a romanization of the word "" as pronounced in . Mandarin-style Hoisin sauce ingredients include water, sugar, soybeans, white distilled vinegar, rice, salt, wheat flour, garlic, and red chili peppers, and several preservatives and coloring agents. Traditionally, Hoisin sauce is made using sweet potato. Despite the literal meaning of "seafood," ''Hoisin'' sauce does not contain fish. It is similar to the sweet noodle sauce made from fermented soybeans, but has the added ingredients of garlic, vinegar, and chili peppers. Additionally, it tastes less pungent than sweet noodle sauce.

Regional


Chinese


For a number of Chinese cuisine dishes, it is used for Peking duck, spring rolls, mu shu pork, popiah and .

Vietnam


Hoisin sauce is also a popular condiment for ph?, and for glazing broiled chicken.

Fermented bean paste

Fermented bean paste is a category of typically made from ground soybeans, which are indigenous to the cuisines of and Southeast Asia. In some cases, such as in the production of ''doubanjiang'', other varieties of beans such as s, may also be used.

The pastes are usually salty and , but may also be spicy, and are used as a condiment to flavor foods such as stir-fries, stews, and soups. The colours of such pastes range from light tan, to reddish brown and dark brown. The differences in colour are due to different production methods such as the conditions of fermentation, the addition of wheat flour, pulverized mantou, rice, or sugar and the presence of different microflora such as bacteria or molds used in their production, as well as whether the soybeans are roasted or aged before being ground.

Fermented bean pastes are sometimes the starting material used in producing soy sauces such as or , or an additional product created from the same fermented mass.

Due to the protein content of the beans, the fermentation process releases a large amount of free amino acids, which when combined with the large amounts of used in its production, produces a highly umami product. This is particularly true with miso, which can be used as the primary ingredient in certain dishes such as miso soup.

Types


Various types of fermented bean paste include:

Duck sauce

Duck sauce is a translucent sweet and sour orange condiment used in some Chinese-American restaurants. It may be used as a dip for deep-fried dishes such as duck, chicken, fish, spring rolls, egg rolls, or with rice or noodles. . It may be made of apricots, plums, peaches, sugar, vinegar ginger or chilis. It is rarely, if ever, used in traditional Chinese cooking.

Due to fruit content it may be called "plum sauce", which is confusing because plum sauce is a common name for the authentically Chinese Hoisin Sauce — a powerful , thick, dark sweet condiment which does not have fruit, and which is used in stir-frys and marinades, as well as for dipping .

Doubanjiang

Doubanjiang is a spicy, salty paste made from fermented , soybeans, red chili peppers, salt, and spices.

It is used particularly in Sichuan cuisine. It is also called ''la doubanjiang'' . A particularly well known variety is called Pixian ''doubanjiang'' , named after the town of Pixian, Sichuan.

This sauce may be eaten with rice or noodles as a quick meal, and is also commonly used as a primary flavoring for fried tofu dishes and cold tofu salads. It is also frequently mixed with instant noodles to improve the flavour of the usually -laden noodles.

In many Chinese communities and food factories, ''doubanjiang'' is produced with only soybeans and salt, and does not contain the broad beans or chili peppers typical of Sichuan style ''doubanjiang''.

In Korean cuisine, a similar form of hot bean paste is called ''gochujang''.

Chili oil

Chili oil is a condiment made from vegetable oil that has been infused with dried chili peppers and sometimes also additional ingredients. It is used as an ingredient used in Chinese cuisine as well as in some other cuisines of East and Southeast Asia. Particularly popular in Sichuan cuisine, it is used as an ingredient in cooked dishes as well as as a condiment. It is sometimes used as a dipping sauce for meat and dim sum. It is also employed in the noodle soup dish ''jjamppong''.

Chili oil is typically red in color. It is made from vegetable oil, often soybean oil or sesame oil, although olive oil or other oils may be used. Other spices may be included such as Sichuan pepper, garlic, or paprika. The spices are soaked in oil. Commercial preparations may include other kinds of oil, water, dried garlic, soy sauce, and sugar. Recipes targeted to Western cooks also suggest other popular oils such as canola, peanut, grapeseed, olive, and any dried or fresh chili peppers. The solids typically settle to the bottom of the container in which it is stored. When using chili oil, the chef or diner may choose how much of the solids to use; sometimes only the oil is used, without any solids.

Chili oil is commercially available in glass jars, although it may also be made from scratch at home. It is usually available by request at Chinese restaurants.

Yellow soybean paste

Yellow soybean paste is a made from yellow soybeans, salt, and water; wheat flour, though not formerly used, is often used as an additional ingredient in the modern day, and potassium sorbate may also be used as a preservative. Yellow soybean paste is produced in China and is used primarily in Beijing cuisine and other cuisines of . Despite its name, the paste is not yellow in color; it ranges from light to dark brown, or even black. The name comes from the fact that it is made from yellow soybeans, called ''huángdòu'' in Chinese. Although it would seem that the complete name in Chinese should be ''huángdòu jiàng'' , the word ''dòu'' is generally not used when referring to this paste.

Yellow soybean paste is used most notably in the noodle dish called ''zhajiang mian'' . In this dish, the yellow soybean paste is fried together with ground pork, then poured over the top of thick wheat flour noodles. Unlike sweet noodle sauce, yellow soybean paste is salty rather than sweet.

Yellow soybean paste is widely available in China, as well as in overseas, and comes in plastic packages. Three of the most prominent companies producing yellow soybean paste are the Liubiju company and the Wangzhihe company, both of Beijing; and the Tianyuan company of the Zhejiang province.

Other varieties


In recent years, a new form of yellow soybean paste, called "dry yellow soybean paste" , has been developed, and is widely available in plastic packages. Its texture is drier than that of regular yellow soybean paste , allowing for easier transportation and keeping. Dry yellow soybean paste is used in a similar manner as regular yellow soybean paste, but, when using the dry form, water is first added to dilute it, and then it is added to the dish; if it is added directly to a dish, the amount of water added to the dish should be adjusted accordingly.