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Soy and legumes from Cambodia

Sieng (Cambodia)សៀង

Sieng is a Cambodian fermented soybean seasoning. Boiled soybeans are fermented for a few days in shallow bamboo baskets, where Bacillus subtilis grows on them as in natto, and are then put into strong salt water and aged for more than a week.

A short entry: the sources we found record only what is said here about Sieng itself.

Short entrySoy and legumes7 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedWhat goes in. No source gives amounts for this ferment.
soybeans
Starterspontaneous (reported)

Total time across the recorded steps: 7 days

Start
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What changes: Soybeans are boiled

Step 1 of 3
Boil the soybeans
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Bacillus subtilis

Output: boiled soybeans.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

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

At a glance

Sieng is a Cambodian fermented soybean seasoning. Boiled soybeans are fermented for a few days in shallow bamboo baskets, where Bacillus subtilis grows on them as in natto, and are then put into strong salt water and aged for more than a week. Made in 3 steps over 7 days. The longest step, add to strong brine and age, takes at least 7 days (KAKENHI project 17300238 2005). Bacillus subtilis does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 7 daysReported[KAKEN-sieng]Add to strong brine and age

What makes this one different

A natto-type food aged in strong brine after the first fermentation [KAKEN-sieng], unlike unsalted natto or kinema. Related Bacillus soybean ferments are called thua nao in Laos and pe pok in Myanmar.

Related ferments

Safety

Because it ferments with whatever bacteria land on it, sieng carries a Bacillus cereus risk. 12 of 120 samples held B. cereus, 2 of them enterotoxin-producing strains. The filtered culture liquid of one B. subtilis strain (CeM6-7) slowed several Gram-positive pathogens, such as S. aureus, in broth, so the report proposes it as a starter. It reports no trial in sieng [NARO-sieng].

Hazards the sources name: Bacillus cereus (in 12 of 120 samples; 2 with enterotoxin-producing strains).

History and sources

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

  1. [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
  2. [T2024] Tamang JP. Unveiling kinema: blending tradition and science in the Himalayan fermented soya delicacy. J Ethnic Foods 2024;11:29paper
  3. [NARO-sieng] Ek Sopheap, Isolation, characterization and bio-control activities of Bacillus subtilis from fermented soybean in Cambodia, NFRI (NARO) report, UNU-Kirin fellowshipgov
  4. [KAKEN-sieng] KAKENHI project 17300238, research abstract and final report summary on soybean ferments of Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, 2005–2007 (read 2026-10)gov