Tianmian sauce

Tianmian sauce , also known as sweet bean sauce, sweet flour sauce or sweet wheat paste, is a thick, smooth, dark brown or black paste with either a mild, savory or sweet flavor. It is commonly used in Northern Chinese cuisine, Northeastern Chinese cuisine, as well as Korean-Chinese cuisine. Peking duck and jajangmyeon are two popular dishes that feature the sauce. The Chinese word tiánmiànjiàng (甜麵醬) consists of characters meaning "sweet" (甜), "flour" (麵), and "sauce" (醬). It is also called tiánjiàng (甜醬), which means "sweet sauce". The origin of the Korean word chunjang (춘장) is unknown. One theory is that it derived from the word cheomjang (첨장), which is the Korean reading of the Chinese characters 甛醬. Although terms such as "sweet bean sauce" and "sweet bean paste" are used to describe the sauce, it is primarily made from fermented wheat flour. A mixture of approximately 19 portions of wheat flour to one portion of soybean is used.[clarification needed] The fermentation starter is made from dried or stale mantou (a steamed bread), wrapped in a variety of true melon known as miangua and then bound and hung in a cool, dark place until completely dried. During the fermentation process, the glucose and maltose give the paste its distinctive sweet taste.

Source: Wikipedia