Soy paste is a uniquely Taiwanese ingredient made from cooking soy sauce with rice starch to give it body. The end result is similar in texture to oyster sauce, with a deeply umami and sweet soy flavor. Use it to glaze stir fries, marinate meats and tofu, or as a ready-to-go sauce for steamed vegetables. It makes a great sauce for dry noodle dishes or dip for danbing (Taiwanese egg crepe).
Yu Ding Xing's Spicy Soy Paste gets its heat and red color from ground heaven-facing chilis, also known as "chicken heart" pepper for its small, conical shape. The addition of tomato, a Taiwanese favorite, boosts the umami in the sauce, contributing to a deeply flavorful condiment that balances slightly fruity heat with light sweetness and umami.
It makes a great sauce for dry noodle dishes or a dip for danbing. In cooking, use it as a flavorful base for a marinade.
Tasting Notes and Usage
Bell pepper, molasses, with a kick
Flavor your stir-fries with it, use it as a base for marinades, mix into dry noodles, drizzle over sunny-side up eggs, or pair with danbing.
Ingredients and Instructions
Water, non-GMO black soybeans, glutinous rice, sea salt, sugar, licorice, ground tomatoes, facing heaven chili powder, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, xantham gum, alanine
Contains soy. Gluten free.
No preservatives or food coloring.
Note: Yu Ding Xing's mid-grade range of soy sauces and pastes does contain added flavoring, unlike their other offerings. These additives are derived naturally from the fermentation of tapioca starch, and interact with the natural glutamates present in the soy sauce to create a flavor that is distinctly Taiwan. We are comfortable with these ingredients, and even though not required to declare them in the ingredients list, we do. Read more here.
Volume: 14.2 fl oz / 420 ml
Keep refrigerated after opening.
About Yu Ding Xing
Based in Xi Luo, Taiwan, Yu Ding Xing 御鼎興 is a family-owned soy sauce brewery founded in 1947. They hand make their soy sauces and soy pastes the traditional way: sun-brewed in giant earthenware vessels (many of which have been in use for decades), then cooked slowly over a wood-burning fire.
While tradition is their foundation, under the leadership of third-generation operators Yi-Cheng and Yi-Che Hsieh, the brewery blends inherited know-how with experimental impulse and collaborative spirit to expand the boundaries of soy sauce production. Think soy sauce brewed with Taiwan-grown pineapples or soy paste mixed with local miso.
As with coffee or wine, Yu Ding Xing's ethos and practice illuminate how technique and terroir contribute to the flavor and body of a soy sauce. Learn more about their history and production process in our mini-documentary Time, Terroir, Taiwan.
