Photograph of the finished Beijing douzhi

China · Nước đậu xanh lên men Bắc Kinh

Beijing douzhi

40 min Hands-on time + 48 hr waiting
MediumDifficulty
6 stepsSteps
Serves 4 Amounts follow along 4

What to get ready

  • Photograph of Whole green beans Whole green beans 1.8 lb
  • Photograph of Garlic chives Garlic chives 5.6 oz
  • Photograph of Salt Salt 0.6 oz
  • Photograph of Dried chillies Dried chillies 8
  • Photograph of Pickled radish (xá bấu) Pickled radish (xá bấu) 5.6 oz
  • Photograph of Oil Oil ¼ cup

Method

  1. 1 Soak whole mung beans for 12 hours, then blend them with water to make a thin paste.
  2. 2 Filter out the solids, then let the liquid starch settle and ferment naturally for 36 hours in a warm place.
  3. 3 The water should be distinctly sour and have a fermented smell; if it's not sour, it hasn't fermented enough.
  4. 4 Pour off the clear liquid on top and keep the cloudy liquid at the bottom.
  5. 5 Cook the cloudy portion over low heat, stirring constantly, for 15 minutes until it simmers gently.
  6. 6 Stir continuously while cooking; if you stop, the liquid will separate and burn at the bottom of the pot.

With an appliance

  • Microwave 37 hr 8 min

    Replace steps 5–6: rotate the cloudy soybean liquid in the deep bowl at 600 W for five 2-minute cycles, stirring after each cycle and stopping when simmering; reduce from 15 to 10 minutes, avoiding burning the bottom and stirring only four times. The soaking, fermentation, and draining processes in steps 1–4 remain the same, so the total time is still over 36 hours.

Start cooking