Doenjang: Korean Soybean Paste Explained

What does doenjang taste like?

Doenjang is much stronger than Japanese miso. You taste salt, a deep, almost meaty savoriness and a slightly funky note that recalls aged cheese. The paste is brown to dark brown and often coarse, sometimes with visible pieces of bean. Homemade doenjang from Korea smells more intense than most store-bought kinds. Cheonggukjang, a quick-fermented relative that Koreans also use in stews, smells stronger still.

Straight from the tub it tastes too harsh for many people. Simmered in broth it turns rounder and blends with vegetables, tofu and seafood.

How it is made: from meju to paste

Traditionally, Korean cooks boil soybeans until soft, mash them and shape them into firm blocks called meju. The blocks dry and ferment for weeks, in the old days hung from rice straw, which brings in bacteria and molds.

The meju blocks then go into large clay pots with salt brine. After a few months the cooks separate the liquid from the solids. The liquid becomes soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang), and the crushed solids become doenjang. The paste keeps maturing afterward, often for a year or longer.

Industrial doenjang follows a shorter process. Many producers add wheat flour, rice or koji so the paste tastes milder and more even.

Doenjang vs. miso

Both are fermented soybean pastes, but they are made differently. Japanese miso ferments with koji, which is rice or barley carrying a beneficial mold. That makes it sweeter and creamier. Classic doenjang needs only soybeans and salt and matures through the meju blocks. It tastes saltier, earthier and less sweet. In recipes you can swap the two only with some compromises. For more on the Japanese types, see miso varieties.

Do not confuse doenjang with gochujang either. Gochujang is red, sweet and spicy, and it contains chili. The article on gochujang shows the two side by side.

How to use it in the kitchen

1. Stew: The classic is doenjang jjigae. Dissolve two to three tablespoons of paste in anchovy or vegetable broth and simmer zucchini, potato, onion, tofu and mushrooms in it.
2. Soup: For doenjang guk, a lighter soup, use less paste and more broth, plus spinach, napa cabbage or clams.
3. Dip: Ssamjang mixes doenjang with gochujang, garlic, sesame oil and sesame seeds. You eat it with lettuce wraps and grilled meat, for example with galbi or bossam.
4. Marinade: A little doenjang with garlic, sesame oil and sugar seasons pork before grilling.
5. Vegetables: Instead of soy sauce, you can dress blanched spinach or soybean sprouts with a teaspoon of doenjang, sesame oil and garlic.

One tip for jjigae: stir the paste smooth in a ladle of broth before it goes into the pot. That keeps out the lumps. Afterward, do not let the soup boil for hours, or it turns bitter.

Doenjang substitutes

• Dark miso (aka miso or hatcho miso): the best substitute. It tastes slightly sweeter and less funky. Use about the same amount and adjust to taste.
• Light miso only in an emergency. It is too mild and sweet for a hearty jjigae.
• Chinese soybean paste (huang jiang or dou jiang) works in braised dishes. Check beforehand whether it contains chili.

Allergens, buying and storage

Doenjang contains soy. Many store-bought kinds also contain wheat and therefore gluten. If you cook gluten-free, read the ingredient list carefully. The paste is very salty, so factor that in when you season.

You can buy doenjang at an Asian grocery store with a Korean section and online, usually in plastic tubs of 500 g to 1 kg. You rarely find it in regular supermarkets. Because the paste is potent, one tub lasts a long time.

After opening, store it in the fridge. Smooth the surface and press a piece of plastic wrap onto it so it does not dry out. It keeps for many months this way. The color darkens over time, which is normal. Use a clean, dry spoon to scoop it out.