Type | Fermented soyabeans |
---|---|
Place of origin | India |
Region or state | Nagaland |
Associated cuisine | Indian |
Main ingredients | Soyabeans |
Axone is an Indian fermented soybean product commonly used in Naga cuisine. It is a commonly used fermented product of the Indian state of Nagaland.
The word Axone is from Sümi dialect, and is a combination of two words Axo-ne, Axo means "aroma" or "smell" and the word ne or nhe (similar word "tho") means "deep" or "strong". So it can be literally translated as "deep Smell" or "strong smell".
It is prepared year-round from soybeans by people of all tribes, but most notably the Sümi Nagas of Nagaland. Soybeans grow at an altitude of 1,500 m and in rainy conditions, making them well suited for the Naga hills. They are also a protein-rich legume and traditionally protein-sparse diet.
Axone is prepared by rinsing picked soybeans in freshwater, and then boiling them until they are soft, but still whole. The excess water is drained and the soybeans are placed into a pot or degchi and left either out in the sun or next to the fire to let them ferment. This takes three to four days to ferment in summer and around one week in winter. [1]
As with the majority of fermented products in Nagaland, it is considered to be ready when it “smells right”. The soybeans are then placed in a wooden pestle and mashed with a mortar. They are not mashed completely but instead crushed as you would with garlic. A handful is then scooped up and placed in the center of a banana leaf, its edges closed to make a parcel. The package is sold or stored next to the fire and can be used immediately or kept for some weeks, darkening in color each day.
Akhuni fermentation results in proteolysis giving it a distinctive umami taste. Axone is then used in a huge variety of dishes. Two examples are fire-smoked pork and axone & nula (snails with axone).
A 2019 Indian Hindi/English film titled Axone , directed by Nicholas Kharkongor, deals with a day in life of a group of friends getting ready for a wedding and cooking Axone dish in a Delhi neighborhood which does not allow them to cook axone because of its strong smell. [2]
It is quite similar to Japanese nattō, piak of Arunachal Pradesh, Nepali kinema, tungrymbai of Meghalaya, hawaijaar of Manipur and bekang um of Mizoram.
Miso is a traditional Japanese seasoning. It is a thick paste produced by fermenting soybeans with salt and kōji and sometimes rice, barley, seaweed, or other ingredients. It is used for sauces and spreads, pickling vegetables, fish, or meats, and mixing with dashi soup stock to serve as miso soup, a Japanese culinary staple. Miso is high in protein and rich in vitamins and minerals, and it played an important nutritional role in feudal Japan. Miso is still widely used in both traditional and modern cooking in Japan and has been gaining worldwide interest.
Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. Some garum-related fish sauces have been used in the West since the Roman times.
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Nattō is a traditional Japanese food made from whole soybeans that have been fermented with Bacillus subtilis var. natto. It is often served as a breakfast food with rice. It is served with karashi mustard, soy or tare sauce, and sometimes Japanese bunching onion. Within Japan, nattō is most popular in the eastern regions, including Kantō, Tōhoku, and Hokkaido.
Stinky tofu is a Chinese form of fermented tofu that has a strong odor. It is usually sold at night markets or roadside stands as a snack, or in lunch bars as a side dish, rather than in restaurants. Traditionally the dish is fermented in a brine with vegetables and meat, sometimes for months. Modern factory-produced stinky tofu is marinated in brine for one or two days to add odor.
Douchi or tochi is a type of fermented and salted black soybean most popular in the cuisine of China, where they are most widely used for making black bean sauce dishes.
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Doenjang or soybean paste is a type of fermented bean paste made entirely of soybean and brine used in Korean cuisine. It is also a byproduct of soup soy sauce production. It is sometimes used as a relish.
Fermented tofu is a Chinese condiment consisting of a form of processed, preserved tofu used in East Asian cuisine. The ingredients typically are soybeans, salt, rice wine and sesame oil or vinegar. In mainland China the product is often freshly distributed. In overseas Chinese communities living in Southeast Asia, commercially packaged versions are often sold in jars containing blocks 2- to 4-cm square by 1 to 2 cm thick soaked in brine with select flavorings.
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Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers.
Naga cuisine is the traditional foods of the Naga people in the northeastern region of India and northwestern region of Myanmar. Each ethnic group of the Nagas prepares its own unique style of cuisines. It most notably features rice, meats and leaf vegetables. Meat prepared by the Nagas are often smoked, dried or fermented.
Doenjang-jjigae (Korean: 된장찌개), referred to in English as soybean paste stew, is a Korean traditional jjigae, made from the primary ingredient of doenjang, and additional optional ingredients vegetables, seafood, and meat. It is one of the most iconic and popular traditional dishes in Korean cuisine, and is often eaten regularly regardless of occasion or time of day. Doenjang-jjigae was initially made with home-made doenjang; however, due to extensive industrialisation of soybean paste, households and restaurants nowadays use factory-made doenjang instead as their ingredient. From traditional to modern Korean cuisine, doenjang has become one of the most frequently used jang (sauce/paste). It is claimed as a national dish.
The Sümis are a major Naga ethnic group native to the northeast Indian state of Nagaland.
Tofu is a food prepared by coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: silken, soft, firm, extra firm. Tofu is also known as bean curd in English. It is a traditional component of East Asian and Southeast Asian cuisines that has also been consumed in China for over 2,000 years. In modern Western cooking, it is most often treated as a meat substitute.
Nasi bogana or nasi begana, pronounced as nah-see boh-gâna, is an Indonesian-style rice dish, originally from Tegal, Central Java. It is usually wrapped in banana leaves and served with side dishes.
Kinema is a fermented soybean food, prepared by the Kirati communities of the Eastern Himalayas region: Eastern Nepal, and Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Sikkim regions of India. Kinema also known as Kinama, which is a traditional food of the Limbu people.