Doenjang is a traditional Korean fermented soybean paste. Beans are boiled and ground by rock into fine bits and formed into a block, which is called meju (메주). The blocks are then exposed to sunlight to be dried, during which mold special to soybean appears and the initial fermentation process begins. This sometimes produces an unpleasant fish-like smell. After the blocks have been dried, they are put in a warmer place to speed up the fermentation. Still later, they are put into large opaque pottery jars with brine and left to further fermentation, during which time various beneficial bacteria transform the mixture into a further vitamin-enriched substance, similar to the way milk ferments to become yogurt. Liquids and solids are separated after the fermentation process, and the liquid becomes Korean soy sauce (Joseon ganjang; 조선간장). The solid, which is doenjang, is very salty and quite thick, often containing (unlike most miso) some whole, uncrushed soybeans. Image File history File linksMetadata 12_017. ... Jamo redirects here. ... Hanja is the Korean name for Chinese characters. ... The Revised Romanization of Korean is the official Korean language romanization system in South Korea. ... McCune-Reischauer romanization is one of the two most widely used Korean language romanization systems, along with the Revised Romanization of Korean, which replaced (a modified) McCune-Reischauer as the official romanization system in South Korea in 2000. ... Beer fermenting at a brewery. ... Binomial name Glycine max (L.) Merr. ... A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Unfired green ware pottery on a traditional drying rack at Conner Prairie living history museum. ... Phyla Actinobacteria Aquificae Chlamydiae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Lentisphaerae Nitrospirae Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Verrucomicrobia Bacteria (singular: bacterium) are unicellular microorganisms. ... Retinol (Vitamin A) For the record label, see Vitamin Records Vitamins are nutrients required in tiny amounts for essential metabolic reactions in the body. ... A glass of cows milk. ... Yoghurt Yoghurt or yogurt, less commonly yoghourt or yogourt, is a dairy product produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. ... Soy sauce (US) or soya sauce is a fermented sauce made from soybeans (soya beans), roasted grain, water and salt. ... A magnified crystal of a salt (halite/sodium chloride) Salt covering the floor of Bad Water in Death Valley, CA, the lowest point in the US. A salt, in chemistry, is defined as the product formed from the neutralisation reaction of acids and bases. ... Miso ) is a traditional Japanese food produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and kōji (the most typical miso is made with soy). ...

While traditional homemade doenjang is made with soybeans and brine only, many factory-made variants of doenjang contain a fair amount of wheat flour just like most of factory-made soy sauce does. Some current makers also add fermented, dried and ground anchovies to intensify doenjang's savor. {{Taxobox classis = Actinopterygii | ordo = Clupeiformes | familia = Engraulidae | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = Amazonsprattus Anchoa Anchovia Anchiovella Cetengraulis Coilia Encrasicholina Engraulis Jurengraulis Lycengraulis Lycothrissa Papuengraulis Pterengraulis Setipinna Stolephorus Thryssa }} The anchovies are a family large but uncommon schooling saltwater plankton-feeding fish. ...

Doenjang can be eaten as a condiment in raw paste-form with vegetables, similar to the way some people dip celery into cheese, but it is more commonly mixed with garlic, sesame oil, and sometimes gochujang to produce ssamjang which is then traditionally eaten with or without rice wrapped in leaf vegetables such as Chinese cabbage. This dish is called ssambap. Sesame oil (also known as gingelly oil and til oil) is an organic oil derived from sesames, noted to have the distinctive aroma and taste of its parent seed. ... Gochujang is a popular Korean condiment made from glutinous rice powder mixed with powdered fermented soybeans and powdered red peppers. ... Fresh Swiss chard Fresh water spinach Creamed spinach Steamed kale Leaf vegetables, also called potherbs, greens, or leafy greens, are plant leaves eaten as a vegetable, sometimes accompanied by tender petioles and shoots. ... Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa, chinensis group) is a Chinese leaf vegetable related to the Western cabbage. ...

It can also be used as a component of soup broth, for example in a popular stew (jjigae) called doenjang jjigae which usually includes tofu, various vegetables such as chile peppers, zucchini and welsh onion, and (optionally) mushrooms, red meat, or scallops. Jjigae (pronounced jih- geh)is a Korean dish similar to a Western stew. ... Tofu (the Japanese Romaji spelling), also called doufu (the Chinese Pinyin spelling often used in Chinese recipes) or bean curd (the literal translation), is a food of Chinese origin[1], made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. ... The chile pepper, chili pepper, or chilli pepper, or simply chile, is the fruit of the plant Capsicum from the nightshade family, Solanaceae. ... Binomial name Cucurbita pepo L. Two Tondo di Piacenza Courgettes Two typical Courgettes or Zucchinis Ovary at the base of a female flower Zucchini (Zoo-Keen-Ee) (US, Australian, and Canadian English) or courgette (New Zealand and British English) is a small summer marrow or squash, also commonly called Italian... Binomial name Allium fistulosum Linnaeus Allium fistulosum L., widely known as the Welsh onion, is a member of the onion family, Alliaceae. ... It has been suggested that Mycophagy be merged into this article or section. ... Red meat in culinary terminology, refers to meat which is red-colored when raw, while in nutritional terminology, it refers to meat from mammals. ... Genera See text. ...

Doenjang is rich in flavonoids and beneficial vitamins, minerals, and hormones which are sometimes claimed to possess anti-carcinogenic properties. Molecular structure of flavone The term flavonoid refers to a class of plant secondary metabolites based around a phenylbenzopyrone structure. ... Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes. ... Plant hormones (or plant growth regulators, or PGRs) are internally-secreted chemicals in plants that are used for regulating the plants growth. ... The hazard symbol for carcinogenic chemicals in the Globally Harmonized System. ...

Uses in popular culture

Doenjang has entered modern Korean slang with the word doenjangnyeo (된장녀; literally "soybean paste girl") which is a pejorative term for a young woman who portrays an image of being pretentiously affluent, shallow, and materialistic.[1]

See also

• List of Korea-related topics
• Korean cuisine
• Miso
• Cheonggukjang

This is a list of Wikipedia articles on Korea-related people, places, things, and concepts. ... Korean cuisine is based on the traditional foods and preparation techniques of Korea. ... Miso ) is a traditional Japanese food produced by fermenting rice, barley and/or soybeans, with salt and kōji (the most typical miso is made with soy). ... Cheonggukjang is a fermented soybean paste used in Korean cuisine. ...

External links

• Comprehensive doenjang information
• Photo of South Korea-produced doenjang