Tahini means "to grind", the same root as , "flour" in some dialects. There is also a sweet spread made from it called Halawa Taḥīniyya , which roughly translates as sweet Tahini. It is also known to be a type of Halva and sometimes has mashed or sliced pistachio pieces sprinkled inside or on top of it. Usually it is spread on bread and eaten as a quick snack. The word "tahini" appeared in English by the late 1930s. Plain, unprocessed sesame paste with no added ingredients is sometimes known as raw tahini. The oldest mention of sesame is in a
Yellow soybean paste the modern day, and potassium sorbate may be used as a preservative. Yellow soybean paste is used most notably in the noodle dish called "zhajiang mian" ("fried sauce noodles"), in which the yellow soybean paste is fried together with ground pork, then poured over the top of thick wheat flour noodles. Outside of Beijing, sweet bean sauce or hoisin sauce is often mixed with or used in place of the condiment, thus giving the dish a sweeter taste. Yellow soybean paste is widely available in China, as well as in Chinese grocery stores overseas, and comes in plastic packages, bottled