Also called Sweet Wheat Paste, Chinese Sweet Bean Paste (tiánmiànjiàng 甜麵醬) is made from wheat flour, salt, and water. Some versions do include fermented yellow soy beans. Despite the name, sweet bean paste is not really sweet. The taste is slightly sour, slightly salty. The flavor is savory (also called “umami”), but not spicy like doubanjiang or chili oil.
Tiánmiànjiàng is made by fermenting the wheat and soybeans with salt and sugar for many months.
Image credit: Glenn Emerson for My Chinese Home Kitchen, 2023.
Hoisin sauce is a sweeter, southern Chinese variant of sweet bean paste, used in Cantonese dishes.
When shopping, please read the labels for the ingredients. Some commercial brands are full of additives and goop. Look for brands that have only natural ingredients.
Recipes that use Chinese Sweet Bean Paste
Sweet Bean Paste is also a key ingredient for Peking Duck, and it can be substituted for Laoganma Chili Oil in Jing’s Northern Fried Noodles (zhajiangmian).
Shredded Pork in Beijing Sauce
Shredded Pork in Beijing Sauce, also called Peking Shredded Pork, is a dish from northern China, and it is a Beijing dish. This dish uses lean pork as an ingredient, you can use pork tenderloin or other lean cuts of pork. In this dish we will use a new sauce – 甜面酱 (tiánmiànjiàng), which in English is called sweet wheat paste, or sweet bean paste. This sauce is made by fermenting flour and beans. Shredded pork in Beijing sauce is a savoury (umami) and sweet dish. Peking shredded pork is eaten just like Peking duck, but this shredded pork is much easier to make in the home kitchen. We usually serve it with raw cucumbers and raw green onions. We put these ingredients in a thin pancake, like moo shu pancakes or spring roll wrappers, and roll them up to eat. In restaurants, this is a common dish. In Beijing it is just as popular as Peking Duck. Today, we will make a home version of Shredded Pork in Beijing Sauce, I hope you will like it.
Fried noodles are a traditional snack popular in both northern and southern China. Whether in the bustling streets or in formal restaurants, you will find pan-fried noodles. People use a wide variety of ingredients to cook a wide variety of fried noodles recipes. Most Chinese family lunches are a meal of rice and some stir-fry, but, if you don't want to cook rice and stir-fry at home, it's a good choice to make fried noodles. NOTE: Chinese broccoli or spinach leaves make a delicious choice for the leafy greens. For the protein, try diced Kou Rou, diced bacon, or diced ham for delicious alternatives. For a bit of spice, chop up a dried er jing tao pepper and add it with the garlic and red onion.
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Chen Jing
I was born in Guangxi. As long as I remember, I have liked cooking.
When I was a child, my dream was to become a gourmet and travel the world to taste the food of various countries. My ambition is to become a chef. The kitchen is my partner. There are many kinds of Chinese cuisine, there are 8 kinds, reflecting the richness and diversity of Chinese geography and history. I am very happy to share with you Chinese cuisine and cultural traditions.
