Doenjang

Doenjang is made by first boiling and crushing dried soybeans into blocks called "meju." These blocks are dried, bound with rice straw to introduce wild bacteria, and then placed in brine to undergo a slow fermentation process that splits the mixture into liquid soy sauce and solid doenjang paste.

While both are fermented soybean pastes, traditional Korean doenjang is made without any added grain, giving it a much grittier texture and a deeper, more pungent, and earthier flavor than Japanese miso. Miso is also typically fermented for a shorter time and often incorporates rice or barley.

Doenjang is most famously used as the base ingredient for "doenjang-jjigae," a robust and earthy Korean tofu and vegetable stew. It is also mixed with garlic, sesame oil, and gochugaru to make "ssamjang," a thick dipping sauce eaten with grilled meats and lettuce wraps.

Doenjang is among the oldest and most foundational condiments in Korean cuisine, with historical records of its production dating back to the Three Kingdoms period, which began around the 1st century BCE. Buddhist monks historically played a major role in refining the fermentation techniques used to make it.