Sweet Bean Sauces

This pureed sauce of soybeans typically includes sugar, maltose, garlic, sesame oil, and such ingredients as brown rice and wheat flour, depending on the manufacturer. It is similar to hoisin sauce and other thick brown sauces based on soybeans that are sweetened to varying degrees. Despite the name, sweet bean sauce is not actually all that sweet, and even has a touch of saltiness. In Cantonese it is called tin min jeong, and in Mandarin, tian mian jiang, or “sweet noodle sauce, ” because it is often eaten with noodles in Beijing, Shanghai, and western China. It comes in jars and cans labeled “sweet bean sauce, ” often with “Sichuan” added to indicate its origin. In Beijing, it is the sauce that arrives with the pancakes for Peking duck.