Going back to doenjang’s roots
In the early 2000s, husband and wife, Lee Kyung-woo and Lee Jin-rang, thought doenjang had come to its end.
“At that point in time, we thought it was gone,” said photographer Lee Kyung-woo. “We thought it was disappearing.”
Lee, a soft-spoken man with a knack for words, and wife, food columnist Lee Jin-rang, embarked on a one-and-a half year journey into the world of the traditional fermented soybean paste and into the lives of the artisans who make it.
For their book “Masters of the Art of Doenjang,” which was published in 2004, they documented 12 doenjang masters.
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| Gi SunDo doenjang relies on traditional methods to make meju, allowing them to ferment for 30 to 40 days. Goryo Traditional Food Company |
They witnessed the boiling and steaming of fresh soybeans, the crushing of the beans by hand and machine. They helped shape the crushed beans into bricks called meju and laid them down or hung them up with rice straw, leaving them to ferment for about one to three months.
After the fermentation period, they returned again, for when the meju would be stacked into huge jars, covered with saltwater and left to ferment for around one to two months.
“The saltwater turns into soy sauce,” Sempio Doenjang School principal Kim Jung-soo explained, detailing how the meju is then removed, finely crushed and put into another jar for additional fermentation for two to three months.
After nearly a year’s worth of work, they were able to enjoy the golden brown paste, revel in the nutty scent, the salty, sweet and deep tang that arises from one of the primary staples of the Korean diet.
Origins, development and trends
The origins of doenjang are not clear.
“Masters of the Art of Doenjang” (Geobook, 2009, 5th printing) states that the Goguryeo Dynasty might be a potential starting point and that records point to the existence of a type of jang during the Goryeo Kingdom.
Sempio’s Kim told a fable of how meju, the cornerstone to making doenjang, was the accidental creation of Genghis Khan and his troops.
According to the tale, Genghis Khan’s troops carried cooked soybean rations on their horses. The warmth rising from the horses’ bodies naturally caused the fermentation of the beans, resulting in a rudimentary form of meju.
According to “Masters of the Art of Doenjang” there were records on how to make doenjang from the Joseon period and in modern-day Korea the industrialization of the paste was spurred by the Japanese in the 1930s. Eventually modified meju — which is generally created by fermenting cooked soybeans inoculated with specified bacillus for approximately three days — appeared on the scene.
According to Lee Jin-rang, in the past, doenjang was passed down within the household, from a mother to her daughter-in-law. Then, when the custom of extended families living in the same residence started to disappear, so did the tradition of learning to make doenjang from one’s mother-in-law.
Apartment-style living also reduced the practice of making doenjang, a craft that requires optimal sunlight and environmental conditions for the proper fermentation of meju.
“Young housewives ended up purchasing mass-produced, factory-made doenjang from marts,” said Lee.
Then a growing number of doenjang artisans began to appear, faithfully recreating the traditional paste, eschewing the modified meju used in mass-produced doenjang for the time-consuming, old-style form.
“People say, ‘If I retire and there is nothing else to do, then I will go to the countryside and make doenjang, I guess’” Lee Kyung-woo explained the surge in artisanal doenjang.
According to the Korea Food Research Institute Food Certification Center head Kim Myung-ho, a total of 36 doenjang brands that adhere to traditional production methods received Korean traditional food (KTF) certification from the institute.
Kim noted a sharp increase in 2008 and 2009, when around 15 new businesses’ doenjang products were certified.
Shinsegae Department Store, according to deputy section chief Woo Dong-suk, also experienced a sharp increase in traditional-style doenjang brands in 2009, when they renovated the Gangnam branch.
They currently sell seven brands of traditional doenjang. According to Woo, sales started to increase greatly three to four years ago.
“I think that a shift in perception (toward doenjang) is coming now, where it is now being seen as a much-needed food product,” said Sempio’s Kim.
In addition, Lee Jin-rang noted a trend amongst Koreans toward visiting doenjang masters and learning how to make the paste themselves.
“Since people cannot make it in their apartments in Seoul, they go to these doenjang houses,” she elaborated. “They get their own jar. They put their family’s name on the jar and make it themselves.”
Sempio Doenjang School — which holds a year-long organic bean farm course where families grow their own soybeans, harvest them and make meju and doenjang — is also seeing a growing interest in their program.
“Five times the number of people that we can accept into the program apply,” said Kim, noting that the increase in applicants is a recent trend.
Famed artisanal doenjang brand Gi SunDo, one of Shinsegae’s bestselling traditional doenjang products, also teaches visitors how to make the paste.
“There is an increase in customers who come to us through famous department stores,” said the brand’s CEO, Gi Sun-do, via e-mail.
Furthermore, a new generation ensures the continuation of traditional doenjang.
Prominent artisanal doenjang family brands like Mac Doenjang and Gi SunDo, for example, are continuing their legacy through their children and their daughter-in-laws.
“Those who have succeeded in the doenjang business are passing it down to the next generation,” said Lee Kyung-woo. “This is the just beginning.”
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| At Sempio Doenjang School, doenjang jjigae (left), a traditional stew, serves as a classic example of Korean cuisine. The surprisingly nutty and creamy doenjang pasta (right) showcases the innovative ways that the fermented soybean paste can be used. Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald |
Health benefits
Aside from being a tasty condiment, doenjang also could have various health benefits.
According to Korea Food Research Institute principal research scientist Choi Shin-yang, who has been studying the paste, doenjang was found to inhibit, to a certain extent, the growth of cancer cells through in vitro tests.
Jung Keun-ok, Park Su-young and Park Kun-young’s research paper “Longer aging time increases the anticancer and antimetastatic properties of doenjang” (Nutrition, May 2006) also stated that doenjang fermented for two years showed a “two- to three-fold increase in antitumor effects” and “inhibits tumor formation more” than doenjang fermented for three or six months in studies conducted on mice.
The same paper also noted that two-year old doenjang exhibited discoloration primarily produced from melanoidin, a polymer that showcases antioxidative and anticancer effects.
Korea Food Research Institute principal researcher Ku Kyung-hyung, who took part in a doenjang project devoted to the globalization of hansik, said that through a study conducted on 32 varieties of traditional-style doenjang, doenjang fermented for two to three years exhibited the definitive characteristics of the traditional paste in both scent and flavor, which means that not only is two-year old doenjang potentially healthier but it is also tastier.
What makes traditional doenjang different?
Sempio Foods Company, CJ CheilJedang Corporation and Daesang Corporation, all major producers of doenjang, rely on a combination of modified meju and traditional meju to make their products.
According to Sempio’s Kim, CJ PR department specialist Lee Eun-young and Daesang Food Research and Development Center manager Byun Jae-eon, their products use modified meju which is created by inoculating cooked soybeans with specified bacillus and fermenting it for approximately three days.
Sempio’s Kim pointed to a controlled environment as a defining difference between traditional doenjang and mass-produced doenjang. That does not mean, however, that there are safety concerns regarding the traditionally-produced doenjang that is sold through official channels, says Korea Food and Drug Adminstration deputy director Han Sang-bae, who asserts that toxic substances are thoroughly monitored and managed.
Miso, a Japanese soybean paste, exhibits striking similarities to doenjang, but Kim says that while traditional Korean doenjang only uses beans, miso uses both rice and beans.
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| For their book, husband and wife team of Lee Kyung-woo and Lee Jin-rang documented 12 doenjang artisans Park Hyun-koo/The Korea Herald |
As a result, says Korea Food Research Institute’s Choi, the amount of protein in miso is slightly lower than that of traditional doenjang.
“Our traditional doenjang tastes good,” said Lee Jin-rang. “Because it has a deep taste.”
“Miso has its pros,” she added. “Because it has soft and light flavors, it is easy for young people and children to try. In my opinion, it is probably easier for foreigners to try also.”
It seems, however, that there is no denying the unique charm of doenjang, a paste that hearkens back to a time when mothers took time throughout the year to create a healthy, delicious condiment that would regularly adorn the table in the form of stews, soups, and as a seasoning for vegetables.
“I think it has a simple and honest flavor,” said Lee Kyung-woo.
Details
Gi SunDo Doenjang
Located in Damyang, Gi SunDo Doenjang is produced under Goryo Traditional Food Company and stems from 360 years of tradition. Bamboo salt, for which the region is famed, fresh domestic beans and mineral water from 150 meters below ground are used to create this popular traditional soybean paste. The paste exhibits a deep, clean and fragrant flavor. Gi SunDo can be found in department stores including Shinsegae Department Store. For more information, visit www.ksdo.co.kr or call (080) 383-6209.
Mac Doenjang
Founded in 1989, this famous doenjang brand can be found in department stores and marts in Korea and is also sold in Japan, America and Canada. The deep and complex flavors of Mac Doenjang are created by using domestic soybeans, water from 150 meters underground and sun-dried salt. For more information visit www.koreamac.co.kr or call (080) 424-1472.
Sempio Doenjang School
Founded in 2006, this school operates from Sempio’s headquarters in Chungmuro and offers two-hour theoretical classes on doenjang along with its organic bean farming program. Classes are for free. For more information, visit www.ijang.org or call (080) 996-7777.
By Jean Oh (oh_jean@heraldm.com)