Ganjang Gejang

About the dish

The taste of food is the taste of jang — a mother's hand in the soy sauce. There was a time when winter brought the smell of fermenting meju from house to house. Once the meju was fermented and the soy sauce set, before you could feel free of that smell, the scent of simmering jang would blanket the whole village.

Key ingredient

Blue crab (kkotge) — rich in essential amino acids that stimulate brain activity; strengthens the liver and relieves fatigue; good for high blood pressure and obesity with strong diuretic action; supports wellness around body-fat buildup and is traditionally believed to help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. In season April; mainly from Yeosu.

Ingredients

Soybeans 14.4kg, water 25L · For brining: salt 7kg, glutinous rice 750g (4 cups), water 36L, jujube, a little charcoal

Simple recipe

1. [Making meju]
2. Wash the soybeans well and boil with water well above the beans.
3. When it steams, lower the heat; if it threatens to boil over, keep the lid on and pour cold water on top so the beans do not spill.
4. Simmer on low until the beans are cooked, drain, and while hot pound in a mortar and shape into firm squares.
5. Dry on straw until firm, tie crosswise with straw, twist the rest into rope, and hang in a warm room to dry.
6. After about 10 weeks, take down and ferment in a boiler room or warm room.
7. When fermented, dry in the sun, scrape off clinging straw, and brush clean.
8. [Making soy sauce]
9. Dissolve salt in water, let impurities settle, and strain again through fine cloth.
10. Sterilize a wide-mouthed jar with boiling water and rinse clean.
11. Stack the meju in the jar, pour over the brine, add charcoal, chili and jujube wiped clean, cover tightly, then open to sun, wipe the rim, seal with mesh, and leave about 40 days.
12. After 40 days, remove the charcoal, chili and jujube, set a sieve over a jar, and strain the jang.
13. Use the strained soy sauce as is, or boil it, skim the foam, cool, and use.

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A Glass · Traditional pairing