Tianmian sauce
Chinese sauce in the form of a thick brown paste
Tianmian sauce (Chinese: 甜麵醬/甜醬; pinyin: tiánmiànjiàng; tiánjiàng), also known as sweet bean sauce, sweet flour sauce or sweet wheat paste, is a thick, smooth, dark brown or black paste with either a mild, savory or sweet flavor. It is commonly used in Northern Chinese cuisine, Northeastern Chinese cuisine, and Korean-Chinese cuisine. Peking duck and jajangmyeon are two popular dishes that feature the sauce.
Etymology
The Chinese word tiánmiànjiàng (甜麵醬) consists of characters meaning "sweet" (甜), "flour" (麵), and "sauce" (醬). It is also called tiánjiàng (甜醬), which means "sweet sauce". The origin of the Korean word chunjang (춘장) is unknown. One theory is that it derived from the word cheomjang (첨장), which is the Korean reading of the Chinese characters 甛醬.
Preparation
Although terms such as "sweet bean sauce" and "sweet bean paste" are used to describe the sauce, it is primarily made from fermented wheat flour. A mixture of approximately 95% of wheat flour to 5% of soybean is used. The fermentation starter is made from dried or stale mantou (a steamed bread), wrapped in a variety of true melon known as miangua and then bound and hung in a cool, dark place until completely dried.
The public source identifies “Tianmian sauce” as chinese sauce in the form of a thick brown paste. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Tianmian, sauce and Chinese.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Tianmian sauce”, the useful work is to connect “chinese sauce in the form of a thick brown paste” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1040612. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Tianmian sauce”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Tianmian sauce primary sources, Tianmian sauce archive and Tianmian research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Tianmian sauce”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Tianmian sauce” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.