Tauco
/ˈtaʊ.tʃoʊ/noun
A salty fermented soybean paste used in Indonesian and Southeast Asian cooking.
Did you know?Tauco reflects the long culinary influence of southern Chinese Hokkien communities in Indonesia, whose fermented soybean traditions also produced foods such as tofu and douchi.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Chinese
Old Chinese
豆
“Bean or legume; the root later pronounced tau in Hokkien.”
6th–10th Century
Middle Chinese
豆醬
“Bean sauce or fermented bean paste; 醬 meant a seasoned fermented sauce or paste.”
Pre-modern period
Hokkien
tāu-chiùⁿ
“Bean paste or bean sauce, the source of the Southeast Asian culinary term.”
19th–20th Century
Malay/Indonesian
tauco
“Fermented soybean paste, adapted into local spelling and pronunciation.”
Modern English
English
tauco
“An Indonesian fermented soybean paste, usually used as a salty umami seasoning.”
Explore more surprising origins