Today, traditional Korean and Chinese condiments are freely available in any supermarket. They are indeed very popular with Europeans. However, it is unlikely that a person who has tried homemade Korean-made real thick soybean paste (chai) will appreciate the industrial version.
It is necessary
soybeans, salt, soy sauce
Instructions
Step 1
It must be said that modern Koreans themselves rarely make this traditional product, without which there can be no Korean table. Chai cooking is a real art that has been adopted from generation to generation. Chai does not require many ingredients, but the process itself is quite laborious and takes many months. Firstly, you need some kind of separate room, where a constantly high temperature (+35) will be maintained. Secondly, even knowing the basic recipe, it is advisable to do the first time together with an experienced person who knows all the secrets of cooking.
Step 2
Ty doesn't prepare every day. Usually, in every native Korean family, this paste was made once a year, or even in several years in large volumes (up to 30 kg). When it ended, they did it again. Only a product prepared according to all the rules is able to withstand such a long storage. Real chai is made only from soybeans, which today are often replaced by other legumes. They are boiled until cooked, cooled down and slightly warm scrolled through a meat grinder. In the old days, they were simply pushed. In some recipes, the soybeans are rolled with the addition of bread to make the fermentation process more intense. But you can do without it.
Step 3
Then salt, sometimes soy sauce, is added to the twisted soy mass. From the resulting mixture, either cakes or bricks are molded, and laid out in a warm room to dry. When they are firm, you can hang them, cover with gauze and continue to dry in the shade. The whole process takes 2-3 months, while the product exudes a not very pleasant smell, since it is covered with mold. It's all right. Dried soy cakes are an intermediate for making a paste. They are called copper or meju. If this step is done correctly, then the soy cakes become almost stone, cracked.
Step 4
The next task is to grind the copper into powder. Previously, the cakes are washed thoroughly from mold, crushed into small pieces and turned into a base for chai soybean paste. Previously, a special foot mechanism was used for crushing, now a food processor. If done in small quantities, a coffee grinder will do too. Some make their work easier and, after washing the cakes from mold, simply soak them in boiled water. When they are swollen, knead to a smooth paste. But it is more correct to grind and then fry in vegetable oil with various seasonings: onion, garlic, cilantro, hot red pepper, etc.
Step 5
In the production of chai pasta on an industrial scale, the process is naturally simplified, so the taste is different. Ty, cooked according to all the rules, can be stored for more than one year. The longer it stands, the richer the taste. Chai is used as a sandwich mass, as a base for making sauces, as an addition to soups.
