A clay jar is packed with blocks of red fermented curd, one block sits in a small dish beside a porcelain spoon, a bowl of plain congee stands in front, another bowl holds black douchi, and more douchi dries on a bamboo tray.
Fermented beans
Introduction
Fermented bean curd and fermented soybeans.
Fermented curd and douchi cover fermented soy products, chiefly fermented bean curd and douchi. Fermented bean curd is usually fermented with mucor moulds and then pickled in brine, wine or red yeast rice, and the common kinds are red, white and green. Douchi is yellow or black soybeans soaked and fermented, then sun-dried and steamed, several times over, and it is mostly used to season dishes. The Shi ji chapter on merchants already records the trade in koji, salt and douchi. Plain tofu belongs to Tofu and fermented pastes belong to Sauces and Pastes.