K-BAP the Sixth

           Hello, My K-BAP followers. I think some of you might read the post about first ranking post of this K-Bap Blog. Do you think it was great information enough for you to find the places to buy Korean foods? If you have other specific questions about the shopping place for Korean food, leave your question in Q&A Page. It is already the sixth post of K-BAP story. K-BAP the Sixth would deal with the continuing series of Korean traditional sauce. The fourth K-BAP story was about Gochu-jang, which posted as the first one of traditional sauce series. Today’s target sauce is ‘Doen-jang’.

           At first, let’s see how this Korean sauce is literally made from. As I explained in the fourth story, Korean word ‘Jang’ usually refers to thick sauce. If you find any sauce’s name ends with ‘Jang’, it would be probably Korean sauce. Thus, if you wonder what the Korean sauce’s kind is, you should focus on the first syllable of it. In the case of ‘Doen-jang’, the first syllable is from the adjective means stiff. In other word, ‘Doen-Jang’ is traditional thick paste sauce. In Korean alphabet, ‘Doen-Jang’ is ‘된-장’. Remember what this sauce’s name looks like in Korean alphabet, and use it whenever you are trying to find it in Korean market.

           Secondly, let’s talk about how it looks like. Click this hyperlink ‘Doen-Jang’. That is how this sauce looks like. Yes, I know. It can be looked a little dirty. However, it is not the photo of “that” thing you are thinking now. Frankly, when ‘Doen-Jang’ is in its original state without any cooking procedure, it smells bad, especially for the people who have never tried to smell it. But, if you cook some kinds of Korean foods with this smelly paste sauce, those would become very delightful foods.

           Finally, let me tell you what exactly ‘Doen-Jang’ is. 된-장 is Korean fermented soybean paste sauce. I think some of you might already saw the Japanese ‘miso’ soup. The ‘miso’ is also fermented soybean sauce, but it was originally derived from Korea. Usually, Koreans use this sauce to cook ‘DoenJang-Jjigae’, which is a kind of ‘Gook’ made of ‘Doen-Jang’ and other vegetables. Sometimes, it is being used as dipping sauce for fresh vegetables or cooked meat. Although its smell is bad, it can be used to lose the odor of other foods like fish soup and meat soup.

           I can tell with confidence that ‘Doen-Jang’ is the most important sauce in Korean food culture. The delicious smell of ‘DoenJang-Jjigae’ makes Korean people to remind the memory of their mother's dishes. Despite it looks and smells bad, ‘Doen-Jang’ has meaning of home for Koreans. Thank you.

- S.Choi -