Vegan Seoul Food
  • Home
  • Cooking
    • Recipes
    • Ingredients
    • Measurements
  • Blog
  • About
    • About Alex
    • Contact

Soybean Paste

1/13/2017

Comments

 
English Name: Soybean Paste or Fermented Soybean Paste
Korean Name: 된장
Romanized: Doenjang or Dwenjang
Storage: Keep in fridge after opening
Classified Under: Sauces, Seasonings & Pastes
Wikipedia Entry

Soybean paste is a key ingredient in making Korean dishes such as soups, stews, and side dishes. Compared to Japanese miso, doenjang has a deeper, nuttier, and more umami flavor. 

It can be easily found in Korean grocery stores, and sometimes at Chinese and Japanese grocery stores. Make sure to get ones that come in a brown plastic rectangular tub (and please check expiration dates!)

Make sure to get a soybean paste that has a brown color. Not dark brown or light brown. Just in the middle (as pictured below). Usually the color of the tub matches the color of the soybean paste so if a tub is significantly darker or lighter than others, don't get them.

Also, soybean paste varies a lot in salt content from brand to brand. The one I use has 640mg of sodium for 1TBS of soybean paste. If yours has more sodium, use a little less than I call for in recipes. If it has less, use a bit more. 

I prefer Haechandle brand (pictured below). 

Substitutions: Though I do not recommend it, if you absolutely cannot find Korean soybean paste, you can substitute with miso. If you can, buy red miso rather than a white or yellow mild miso. Red miso has more pungent, in-your-face flavors like Doenjang. 
Buy on Amazon
Picture
Front of Haechandle Soybean Paste
Picture
Back of Haechandle Soybean Paste
Various Brands of Soybean Paste
Various Brands of Soybean Paste
Soybean Paste Consistency
Soybean Paste Color & Consistency
Comments
comments powered by Disqus

    About Me

    Picture
    After going vegan, I missed eating Korean food I grew up with. Seeing the lack of resources on plant-based Korean cooking, I decided to develop and share delicious and easy vegan Korean recipes that anyone can make! ​​
    More about me>
    ​
    Copyright © Vegan Seoul Food. 
    All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Cooking
    • Recipes
    • Ingredients
    • Measurements
  • Blog
  • About
    • About Alex
    • Contact