Dou Zhi (Fermented Mung Bean Juice)
A rag? A habit unique to fermentation products!? The craziest fermented soup that Beijingers are enthusiastic about
Description
Traditional Beijing breakfast. A thick, grey soup made by fermenting the 'mung bean dregs' leftover from making glass noodles. Features an intense, sour, rotting-garbage-like odor. Strictly for the hardcore.
Restaurants serving Dou Zhi (Fermented Mung Bean Juice)
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The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Fermented mung bean dregs/juice
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- Soak and grind mung beans, letting the starch (used for noodles) settle.
- Transfer the leftover 'mung bean dregs and water' to a crock and leave at room temperature for days to undergo wild lactic fermentation.
- Once it develops an intense sourness and distinct rotting (fermented) odor, move the grey liquid to a pot.
- Heat slowly on low. Stop exactly before it boils; overboiling causes it to curdle and ruins the flavor. Maintaining a slight simmer is the artisan's skill.
- Serve completely unseasoned (not even salt), presenting the pure, unadulterated sour, astringent funk of the fermented beans.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Intense lactic acid sourness and unique funk
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
(Irreplaceable - completely unique flavor)
Pairing
Jiao Quan (Fried dough rings) / Xian Cai(Pickles)
Trivia
[Trivia] 'You aren't a true Beijinger until you enjoy Dou Zhi.' Even Chinese people from other provinces spit it out, but elderly Beijingers are so addicted they carry it in thermoses.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] NEVER drink it alone. Dunk 'Jiao Quan' (hard, crunchy fried dough rings) heavily into the soup, and nibble on extremely salty pickles (Xian Cai) to neutralize and wash down the intense sourness.
Allergen
Soybeans (Mung beans)