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Fermentation Atlas

Soy and legumes from Myanmar

Pè bok (pe poke) — Myanmar fermented soybeanပဲပုပ်

wet paste or dried discs; fried disc relish and salads. Made in 3 steps over 5 days – 8 days. The longest step, wrap in leaves and ferment, takes 3–5 days (Tamang J.P. et al. 2021). Bacillus thermoamylovorans and Bacillus subtilis do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step3–5 daysMeasured[tamang2021]Wrap in leaves and ferment
AciditypH 7.6–8.7Measured[tamang2021]Wrap in leaves and ferment
DocumentedSoy and legumes5 days – 8 daysMore soy and legumesMore from Myanmar

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
soybeans
Starter: spontaneous; leaf wrapping (Ficus leaves reported for Burma)

Total time across the recorded steps: 5 days – 8 days

Start
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What changes: Soybeans soak and boil soft

Step 1 of 3
Soak, boil soft
Time
overnight soak (typical); boil several hours (typical)
Typical
Temperature
100
Unconfirmed
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Bacillus

Output: cooked beans.

Flavour
cooked
Texture
soft
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

spores survive

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

Variants

  • Wet pè bokEaten fresh after the leaf ferment; short shelf life [WP-Thua nao].
  • Pè bok bya (dry chips)Lashio home industry: boiled beans ground with salt and chilli, pressed onto leaves and sun-dried 2–3 days [swemartin2008].
  • Pè ngapiBoiled beans are salted, drained and left 2–3 days, then pounded and dried repeatedly and stored in jars like fish ngapi; no koji. Made in Shan State in place of fish ngapi [mizutani1988].
  • Salted and chilli-aged pè bok (northeastern Shan State)Steamed beans are fermented, then aged after salt and red pepper are added [kiuchi2007].

Safety

same hygiene concerns as thua nao (typical)

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The name ပဲပုပ် means "rotten bean" and may be a calque of Shan thua nao. Listed as "pepok of northern Myanmar" in the Bacillus soybean family [T2015].

  1. [WP-Thua nao] English Wikipedia, Thua naowiki
  2. [T2015] Tamang JP. Naturally fermented ethnic soybean foods of India. J Ethnic Foods 2015;2:8-17. doi:10.1016/j.jef.2015.02.003paper
  3. [tamang2021] Tamang J.P. et al. 2021, Pè bok of Myanmar (bacterial community by stage), PLoS One 16(12):e0260777paper
  4. [kiuchi2007] Kiuchi K. 2007, survey of northeastern Shan State (KAKEN 17300238; Kyoritsu Women's University Bulletin 13)paper
  5. [swemartin2008] Swe Mar Tin et al. 2008, pè bok bya home industry in Lashiopaper
  6. [mizutani1988] Mizutani T. et al. 1988, A chemical analysis of fermented fish products (6), Bull. Natl Mus. Ethnol. 12(3)paper