[dòu chǐ]

Douchi is a special seasoning for fermented bean products in China. Douchi is made by using black beans or soybeans as the main raw materials, decomposing soybean protein with Mucor, Aspergillus or bacterial protease, adding salt, wine and drying to inhibit the activity of enzymes and delay the fermentation process. There are many kinds of lobster sauce, which can be divided into black lobster sauce and yellow lobster sauce according to processing raw materials, and salty lobster sauce and light lobster sauce according to taste.

Douchi is a traditional fermented bean product in China. In ancient times, Douchi was called "secluded" or "addicted". The earliest record can be found in Liu Xi's book "Interpretation of Names and Diet" in the Han Dynasty, which praised Douchi as "the sum of five flavors, there must be it". There is also a record of "making black beans" in the Book of Songs in the 2nd-5th century. The ancients not only used lobster sauce for seasoning, but also used it as medicine, and attached great importance to it. Han Shu, Historical Records, Qi Yaomin Shu and Compendium of Materia Medica are all recorded, and their production history can be traced back to the pre-Qin period. According to records, the production of douchi was first spread in Taihe County, Jiangxi Province. After continuous development and improvement, Douchi is unique, becoming a favorite condiment and spreading overseas.