Chinese Vegan Guide to Fermented Pastes

Fermented. Paste. Made from beans. It's hardly the most appetising sounding thing, but I promise this little flavour bomb opens a secret portal to umami heaven.

Many countries in Asia have their own versions of fermented pastes — for example miso in Japan, doenjang in Korea and doubanjiang in China. Within each cuisine there are regional variations but what connects them all is the method of production, where some kind of bean and/or chilli is fermented with salt. Sometimes you may find other ingredients in the mix, such as miso made with a high percentage of fermented rice or barley. In the Chinese Sichuan province, a particular spicy sauce made from fermented broad beans, rather than soybeans, is known as doubanjiang. It's so well loved that you could probably call it the ketchup of Sichuan, but due to its very overpowering flavour it tends to be limited to Sichuan cooking.

If you're looking for a milder, more versatile flavour, then you will love miso for the savoury depth that it adds. Miso comes in different colours and flavours; as a general rule — the darker the paste, the deeper and more complex the flavour. So I love to have white or yellow miso on hand to create salad dressings, for braising light vegetables and even making vegan salted caramel, while red miso is perfect for marinades and tastes particularly good when caramelised on a grill or BBQ.

Below you will find some recommended fermented pastes, available to buy in the UK:

Benefits

Full of probiotics to aid digestion
High in antioxidants
Boosts immunity
High in protein
Source of copper, manganese, vitamins B, E, K

Tips

Add a teaspoon of any fermented bean paste into a vegetarian chilli con carne or vegetable stew.
Be careful to moderate or omit additional salt in recipes, since all fermented pastes already have a high sodium level.
The flavour of doubanjiang is best activated when stir fried with a little oil. Frying longer will caramelise the paste and unlock sweetness.
Allergic to soy? One of my favourite local UK miso producers makes a soy-free version.