Soy sauce is a product of soy beans.
The soybean is one of the most nutritious beans on Earth and a source of high protein. For thousands of years, the Chinese have called it the "meat of the earth," and now it's grown all over the world. It is used to create various foods and in other products.
Miso
Miso is fermented soy bean curd. In Japan it's been used for a variety of dishes for centuries. Miso may be thinned and used in soup, or used as a pickling medium, or as a marinade for grilled food. In Japan miso soup is served at breakfast -- and lunch and dinner as well. There are many kinds of miso, each with its own characteristics. They're all made by crushing boiled soybeans, adding wheat, barley or rice and then inoculating it with a yeast like mold. The mixture is allowed to mature for months or even years. Some varieties of miso are the sweet and firm textured white miso, the salty and tart yellow miso, and red miso, which can come in salty and sweet forms. Hatcho-miso is the miso with the strongest flavor.
Soy Sauce
Soy sauce was used to prevent foods from spoiling in the days before refrigeration. It's made from soybeans, wheat and salt, though now you can buy soy sauce without wheat or gluten. The soy beans are roasted, then the roasted beans and wheat are inoculated with aspergillus mold. The resulting culture is called koji and it takes three days to grow. The koji is then mixed with brine to make a mash, which is then transferred into fermentation tanks and left to ferment for a year. Afterward, the raw soy sauce is separated from the dregs and refined.
Tofu
A block of plain tofu made out of soybeans.
The Chinese have been eating tofu for 2,000 years, and it came to Japan around the eighth century. Tofu is made from dry soy beans which are soaked in water till soft, then crushed and boiled. Then it's separated into pulp and milk. A coagulant is added to the milk to make it separate into curds and whey like cheese. The curds are poured into molds then soaked in water to help them firm up and stay fresh. Sometimes a skin is allowed to form on the soy milk, and this is eaten as a delicacy.
Edamame and Tempeh
Edamame are young soybeans in their fuzzy green pods. They're blanched and then eaten out of hand. Tempeh is also a soybean product made in cakes that have a bland and crunchy texture.
Crayons
The Dixon Ticonderoga corporation makes some of its Prang crayons out of a soybean and oil base.
Tags: Chinese have, made from, soaked water