Koji is made by cultivating Aspergillus oryzae, a beneficial strain of mold, on steamed grains or other material. The fluffy spores of the mold bloom over the grains to make our brown rice koji. This koji is dried, which makes it easier to store and preserve than raw koji.
Koji has many uses aside from miso and shoyu production. Mix with soy sauce to make shoyu koji, or salt and water to make shio koji; both are brilliant as dips and marinades. Koji can also be used to home brew amazake, a deliciously sweet drink packed with live enzymes that is also an excellent sugar substitute.
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Packaging options
Available in 10kg carton
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How to use
With koji, you can make umami-rich dips and marinade base such as shoyu soy sauce koji, shio (salt) koji. Koji can also be used to home brew amazake, a deliciously sweet drink packed with live enzymes that is also an excellent sugar substitute.
For shio (salt) koji, mix the 100g rice koji and 30g salt in a container. Add 150ml water and mix well. Let the rice koji ferment at room temperature. Leave the container lid ajar. Stir with a clean spoon about once a day during fermentation. When the surface of the koji rises above the water as the rice koji absorbs water, add water until it is covered. After 2-3 weeks, the rice koji will be ready when it has softened all the way through to the core. Store in the refrigerator.
For Shoyu soy sauce koji, use 150ml soy sauce to the 100g rice koji and mix well. The rest is the same as shio koji.
For Amazake, prepare rice porridge first and let it cool to 50-60°C. Mix the rice koji and porridge and keep the temperature at around 50-60°C in a hot water bath. Stir occasionally and keep warm for around 10 hours until it’s ready. Bear in mind that it loses its sweetness when the temperature is too hot and, it becomes sour when the temperature is too low. Store the finished amazake in the refrigerator and consume as soon as possible.When Brown Rice Koji is used, unlike white rice koji, it has bran on the surface, so it does not absorb moisture as easily as rice. For this reason, it is easier to grind it in a blender before adding water.
