Tauco facts for kids
Bottled taucos are on display in Indonesian supermarket
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| Alternative names | Taucu, Tauchu |
|---|---|
| Type | Cooking sauce and condiment |
| Place of origin | Indonesia |
| Region or state | Southeast Asia |
| Associated national cuisine | Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei |
| Created by | Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia |
| Main ingredients | Fermented soy |
| Variations | Closely related to douchi |
Tauco (also called Taucu, Taotjo, or Tauchu) is a special paste. It is made from yellow soybeans that have been fermented. This means the soybeans are left to change over time. It's a popular ingredient in Chinese Indonesian cuisine and Malaysian Chinese cuisine. You can find tauco used a lot in countries like Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei.
How is Tauco Made?
Making tauco is a careful process. First, yellow soybeans are boiled. Then, they are ground up into a paste. This paste is mixed with flour. After that, it starts to ferment. This first step creates a basic soy paste.
Next, this soy paste is put into salt water. It is then left to dry in the sun for several weeks. This sun-drying helps the fermentation process continue. During this time, the paste slowly changes color. It turns from yellow to a reddish-yellow. Good tauco has a very unique and strong smell.
Where is Tauco Used?
Tauco is often used as a condiment. This means it adds flavor to many dishes. It's great for stir-fried meals. For example, you might find tahu tauco. This is tofu cooked in a delicious tauco sauce. Another dish is kakap tahu tausi. This combines red snapper fish with tofu in soybean sauce.
Tauco is also used in soups. Swikee oh is a soup with frog legs and tauco. Pie oh is a soup with softshell turtle and tauco. You can also stir-fry it with kangkung, which is a type of water spinach.
In Indonesia, tauco is a common ingredient. It is used in Sundanese cuisine and Javanese cuisine. Chinese cooks in Malaysia, Singapore, and Brunei also use taucu a lot.
Where Does Tauco Come From?
The idea for tauco came from Overseas Chinese people. These are Chinese people who moved to countries in Southeast Asia. They brought their cooking traditions with them.
Today, big places that make tauco in Indonesia are Cianjur in West Java. Another important area is Pekalongan in Central Java. In Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei, a main brand for taucu is Yeo Hiap Seng (often called Yeo's).
