Yellow Bean Sauce   -   [Nuoc Tuong (Viet)]
Bottled Sauces

Sometimes called "Brown Bean Sauce or "Soy Bean Paste", this sauce is made from fermented yellow soy beans. It is a very common ingredient in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine and available in markets serving Southeast Asian communities.

The "dragonfly" brand (Kwong Hung Seng brand) is common, inexpensive and well thought of. It looks ugly (and they don't get the labels on straight) but it has a complex and pleasant flavor. It is the one I use and recommend, and the one I used in my Vegetarian Fish Sauce recipe. Ingredients: Yellow Bean, Salt, Starch, Sodium Benzoate. Thailand.

The center one labeled "Soy Bean Paste" (Pantai brand) is very sweet and I do not recommend it. It's also much more expensive than "Dragonfly". Ingredients: Soybean, Sugar, Water, Salt, Rice Flour (thickener), Modified Corn Starch, Wheat Flour, Glycene Disodium 5' Inosinate, Disodium 5' Guanylate, Citric Acid, Sodium Benzoate, Beta Carotene, Coriander Seed, Cumin. Thailand.

The short jar to the right (Pantai brand) is a much lighter and more liquid style, with split beans that are firmer than in the other two. It is sharper and less complex than "Dragonfly". Ingredients: Soy Bean, Water, Salt, Sodium Benzoate. Thailand.



Sauces The photo to the left shows the sauces in the same order as in the photo above.

Buying:   Buy the "Dragonfly" one (or a similar well fermented brand) unless you have a specific reason to have another. These sauces can be found in markets serving a Southeast Asian community. Packaging may vary, usually in tall bottles but also packed in short jars depending on brand.

Storing:   This sauce contains enough salt that it can be stored at a cool room temperature for months in a tightly sealed container. If there is a lot of air space in the jar, it's a good idea to repackage it in a smaller jar as it will darken some exposed to air.

Using:   This sauce may be used as is, with the whole beans, or crushed to a paste depending on the effect that you want.

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