Fermented soy pastes and sauces
developed into many different regional
variations in Asia. Among them is the
Indonesian condiment kecap, whose name
gave us our term for a sweet-sour tomato
condiment. Kecap is made by allowing
Aspergillus mold to grow on cooked
soybeans for about a week, brine-
fermenting the moldy mass for 2 to 20
weeks, then boiling it for 4 to 5 hours, and
filtering off the solids. The salty version is
called kecap asin. To make sweet kecap
manis, palm sugar and a variety of spices
— among them galangal, makrut lime,
fennel, coriander, and garlic — are added
to the fermented beans just before the
boiling.
OPPOSITE: Making soy sauce. The more
involved and time-consuming fermentation
produces a much more flavorful result than
the quick chemical production method.
To make sure you’re buying genuine soy
barry
(Barry)
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