Zhaotong Sauce
Zhaotong Sauce, a traditional and historically significant local specialty from the Zhaotong region of Yunnan, is often referred to as the “king of sauces” in Yunnan Province. It is renowned for its unique reddish-brown color, vibrant, oily appearance, rich aroma, and delicious taste that combines freshness, richness, and a balance of spicy, salty, and mildly sweet flavors.
Key Features
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Color: Reddish-brown, vibrant, and oily
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Aroma: Rich and aromatic
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Taste: Fresh, mellow, spicy, salty, with a hint of sweetness aftertaste
Ingredients
For producing 100 kg of finished product:
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Yellow soybeans: 55.6 kg
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Dried chili peppers: 17.8 kg
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Salt: 17.8 kg
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Spices (including 28% star anise, 47.5% Sichuan pepper, 6.2% amomum, 8% grass fruit, 19% fennel, 6.8% dried tangerine peel): 900 g
Preparation Method 1
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Roasting the Soybeans: It is best to roast the soybeans according to their size to ensure they do not burn or remain raw.
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Grinding the Soybeans: After roasting, remove the skins and grind the beans into fine powder.
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Shaping the Dough: Add water and knead the mixture into dough balls, each weighing about 1 kg (for every 100 kg of soybeans, add around 75 kg of water).
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Fermentation: Place the dough balls in a fermentation room to ferment. Control the temperature carefully; it typically takes around 40 days (especially in the local winter).
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Making the Sauce: After winter, when the dough has fermented, remove the mold, crush the dough, and mix it with 35 kg of chili powder, 2 kg of mixed spices, 155 kg of clean water, and 40 kg of salted water. Stir well, and expose it to sunlight and night dew (cover it on rainy days). After 6 months, it is ready for consumption (stir it during this period).
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Drying the Sauce: Although the sauce tastes best when it is in a semi-liquid form, this type is not suitable for long-distance transportation. Therefore, the sauce is further dried to form solid sauce balls. Once packed, it becomes the finished product. The moisture content of the dried sauce is about 35–37%.
Note: During preparation and consumption, make sure to avoid oil contamination. A small amount of white liquor can be added during the process to enhance the flavor.
Product Characteristics
Zhaotong Sauce has a reddish-brown color, a vibrant and oily texture, a strong and rich aroma, and a delicious taste with a spicy, salty flavor that gives way to a sweet aftertaste.
When Zhaotong people visit relatives or friends, it is customary to bring a gift of Zhaotong Sauce. Outsiders may perceive this as a humble gift, but it is actually highly appreciated by locals, who find it delightful and indispensable. Zhaotong Sauce is not just a gift but a symbol of hometown affection, and it has become a beloved “delicacy” in the region.
Historical Records
Historical texts reveal that Zhaotong Sauce has been produced since the Western Han Dynasty, earning Zhaotong the title of “Sauce Town” throughout history. Because Zhaotong borders Sichuan, its sauce production has been influenced by Sichuan’s spicy and flavorful culinary traditions. The use of Longdong Spring water to brew Zhaotong Sauce has imparted it with a unique flavor.
The main ingredients of Zhaotong Sauce include yellow soybeans, cowhorn red peppers, and Sichuan salt, while its auxiliary ingredients consist of Sichuan pepper, fennel, star anise, amomum, grass fruit, and dried tangerine peel. These ingredients undergo several steps of preparation and require half a year of processing before completion. The preparation of Zhaotong Sauce typically starts in late winter and early spring, with the best-quality sauce made in the spring.
The reddish-brown sauce can enhance the flavor of meat dishes by reducing their greasiness. When added to lighter dishes, it imparts a savory aroma. It can also be served alone to complement meals, making it an excellent appetite stimulant with lingering aftertaste.
It is difficult to trace the exact historical origins of Zhaotong Sauce. Some believe that the local residents of Zhaotong were immigrants from various provinces, who brought their own techniques for making fermented sauces. Over time, they exchanged ideas and improved their methods, incorporating the unique local materials, climate, and water quality of Zhaotong to create the unique Zhaotong Sauce.
Preparation Method 2
The preparation method for Zhaotong Sauce is not overly complex but requires careful selection of ingredients and a long fermentation process.
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Making Soybean Powder: Select high-quality soybeans, roast them gently until crisp, grind them into fine powder, and sift it for use.
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Making the Sauce Mixture: Mix the soy powder with spring water to achieve the right consistency, which should allow it to be kneaded into clumps. There is a saying in the local folk culture: “Tighten three times, loosen three times, and then tighten again,” to ensure that the sauce mixture is evenly and compactly formed.
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Fermentation: Place the mixture in a bamboo basket lined with rice straw, cover it with more rice straw, and leave it to ferment for 60 days. During this period, adjust the mixture in the basket to ensure even fermentation. Once white and yellow mold appears on the surface, remove the mixture and break it into pieces. Dry it under the sun before grinding it into fine powder.
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Making the Final Sauce: Mix the finely ground powder with a suitable amount of salt, chili peppers, Sichuan pepper, star anise, fennel, grass fruit, and sesame. Add spring water and stir thoroughly. Place the mixture in a clay pot and cover it with a bamboo mat with a pointed top. Let it ferment outdoors. Stir it every 2-3 days and after 100 days, the sauce is ready to use.
In Zhaotong, making this sauce is an essential part of local customs. Every household makes its own sauce during the winter season, and it has become an iconic part of both urban and rural life in Zhaotong.
The Art of Making Zhaotong Sauce
The selection of ingredients for making Zhaotong Sauce is very particular. The soybeans, chili peppers, and salt must be locally sourced, while the Sichuan pepper must be from “Jinhe Pepper” and the water used must come from the Longdong Spring. While these conditions might seem mystical, it is clear that the unique taste of Zhaotong Sauce can only be achieved in Zhaotong due to the special climate, water quality, and other local factors.
During the Republic of China period, merchants from other regions hired Zhaotong craftsmen to make the sauce. Despite using the same ingredients and methods, the finished product lacked the rich color, aroma, and flavor of Zhaotong’s original sauce. Even Zhaotong people who have moved elsewhere have attempted to finish making the sauce outside Zhaotong, but the results are never quite the same. This phenomenon is reminiscent of the saying: “When an orange is grown in the south of the Huai River, it is an orange; but when it is grown in the north of the Huai River, it is a bitter orange. The leaves may look the same, but the taste is different. Why? Because the soil and climate are different.”
Modern Developments
As society develops, it has become increasingly difficult to maintain the traditional methods of making Zhaotong Sauce. To meet consumer demands and adapt to changes in the domestic market, the “old brand” Zhaotong Wanhe Sauce Factory has introduced new production techniques. They now produce Zhaotong Sauce in large quantities, meeting national standards while preserving the rich flavor of the traditional product. The factory has expanded its offerings to include several other types of sauce, such as fresh meat sauce, oil sauce, Sichuan pepper sauce, and more. These products remain delicious, convenient, and easy to carry, and continue to enjoy widespread popularity.
The color of high-quality Zhaotong Sauce is red, like agate, and it is spicy, numbing, salty, and fragrant. When added to dishes during cooking, it enhances the taste and stimulates the appetite.
