How to make Anhui fermented soybeans

The condiment of soybean paste is quite common in our lives. We usually use it with other ingredients, such as steamed spareribs with soybean paste or steamed fish with soybean paste, so we should choose soybean paste of better quality. The most famous fermented soybeans are Anhui fermented soybeans. We can learn its production method and then make fermented soybeans by ourselves at home, so as to avoid the addition of preservatives.

How to make soybean paste

The first step is to cook the beans. Wash the selected soybeans in cold water, put them directly in the pot and add tap water to cover the soybeans about two fingers deep. Then start cooking the beans like rice, until they taste slightly floury. After taking out the beans, place them on a sieve and let them cool overnight.

After the soybeans have cooled, start mixing with the noodles. Evenly coat the soybeans with a thin layer of noodles so that they do not stick to each other. If the beans are too dry to be mixed with the dough, pour a little of the reserved bean cooking water on the soybeans, enough to coat the dough.

The second step is to cover the beans by laying three or four layers of newspapers on a wooden board or some breathable material (avoid using glass or plastic), and then lay a layer of clean white paper or kraft paper on the newspapers. Spread the mixed soybeans evenly on the white paper, about one finger thick. Place a layer of breathable paper on the spread soybeans. Do not open the doors and windows of the room where the beans are kept frequently. Try to maintain a stuffy and humid environment. When the temperature is low in spring, you can cover the beans with paper and a layer of towel blanket on top of the paper to facilitate the fermentation of the beans.

If the soybeans turn black on the third day after covering them, it means they are covered just right. If they become sticky, it means the humidity is too high and you can peel off the covering paper. After 3 days, white hair will grow on the soybeans. Wait for another one or two days and the white hair will turn green. Put the beans covered with green hair in a sieve and dry them in the sun. It will take about two days. The entire process of covering and drying the beans will not exceed 7 days.

The third step is to mix the sauce before drying it, which is very important. Be sure to listen to the weather forecast before mixing the sauce. You can only mix the sauce if there is no continuous rainy weather within a week. The weather needs to be fine on the day of making the sauce. Before mixing the sauce, pick out and discard the green or black hairs stuck in the beans.

One pound of soybeans should be matched with three or four ounces of salt and four or five pounds of watermelon pulp. First wash the peppercorns, aniseed, etc. with water, then take them out, add salt and soak them in a bowl of boiling water. After the water cools down, pour it into the prepared large basin, then pour in the dried beans, stir and soak for two hours, then add the watermelon pulp and stir.

Cover the mouth of the bowl with the evenly mixed soybean sauce with a layer of cotton gauze and sprinkle some peppercorns on the gauze to prevent flies.

Place the fermented bean pot covered with gauze in the sun to dry, stir it once when taking it out in the morning, and move it back indoors at night to prevent it from raining. After drying for half a month, you can stir-fry and eat it when you smell the aroma of the sauce.