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Sauces and condiments from Northern Vietnam

Tương (Vietnamese fermented soybean–rice paste/sauce)tương

Steamed glutinous rice is left on trays until a yellow mould covers it, while roasted, ground soybeans soak in water in a jar until they turn sweet. The two are mixed with salt in clay jars and set in the sun for weeks, stirred often, into a thick dipping sauce.

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

DocumentedSauces and condiments24 days – 40 days

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe 6 to 5 ratio of rice mould to soybeans is from Bùi Quang Chiêu's 1905 description, as summarised by Shurtleff and Aoyagi. Village makers use no fixed batch, and no source gives the salt amount.
Mouldy glutinous rice (mốc tương)6 partsSteamed glutinous rice; Hưng Yên makers use yellow-flower glutinous rice[sic-miso][vietnamplus2026]
Roasted, ground soybeans with their soaking water5 parts[sic-miso]
SaltNo source gives the amount[sic-miso][vietnamplus2026]
Starterspontaneous mould on steamed glutinous rice (mốc tương)

Total time across the recorded steps: 24 days – 40 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
shapes, not to countMoulds

What changes: Steamed glutinous rice on trays grows a coat of yellow mould

Step 1 of 3
Grow the rice mould (mốc)
Time
2–3 days
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds

Output: mốc tương (rice koji).

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
white rice turns mould-yellow

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

Steamed glutinous rice is left on trays until a yellow mould covers it, while roasted, ground soybeans soak in water in a jar until they turn sweet. The two are mixed with salt in clay jars and set in the sun for weeks, stirred often, into a thick dipping sauce. Made in 3 steps over 24 days – 40 days. The longest step, mix with salt and ferment in the sun, takes 15–30 days (Shurtleff W 1905). Yellow mould on the rice does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step15–30 daysReported[sic-miso]Mix with salt and ferment in the sun

What makes this one different

Tương is made from a glutinous-rice mould mixed with roasted soybeans, not from moulded soybeans alone. It is set in open jars in the sun and eaten without filtering.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Tương Bần (chunky)The most popular kind, from Bần Yên Nhân in Hưng Yên.
  • Tương Cự Đà (smooth)A smooth sauce made only in Cự Đà.
  • Corn tươngBùi Quang Chiêu also described a version made with roasted soybeans and corn.

History and sources

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

Bùi Quang Chiêu gave the earliest detailed description in 1905. A 1981 account says soy tương had disappeared from North Vietnam after about 1950 because of rice and soybean shortages during the war. Bần Yên Nhân elders date the village craft to at least the 17th–18th centuries, though no document confirms it.

  1. [sic-miso] Shurtleff W., Aoyagi A., History of Miso and Soybean Jiang, Soyinfo Center (online chapter; summarises Bùi Quang Chiêu 1905 and Hoang Van Chi 1981)book
  2. [vietnamplus2026] VietnamPlus (Vietnam News Agency), Tương Bần Hưng Yên, từ nghề truyền thống đến sinh kế bền vững, 14 October 2026web