It’s been several years since shio koji (塩麹, 塩糀) experienced a huge resurgence in popularity in Japan as a versatile seasoning, tenderizer, and pickling agent. Why not use one ingredient for multiple purposes! Let me show you how easy it is to make this amazing ingredient at home with my Shio Koji recipe.
What is Shio Koji?
Shio koji (塩麹, 塩糀) is a natural seasoning used to marinate, tenderize, and enhance the umami, or richness (one of the five basic tastes) in foods. It’s made of rice koji that’s fermented with salt. Rice koji (米こうじ, 米糀, 米麹) is steamed rice that has been treated with koji mold spores (Aspergillus oryzae, koji-kin 麹菌, or koji starter). Koji is a specific strain of mold that has been cultured over the centuries.
Koji in Japanese Foods
You may feel hesitant to eat it and wonder why we make rice moldy on purpose. But you have most likely eaten it already! Koji is the key ingredient in miso, soy sauce, sake, mirin, rice vinegar, amazake, shochu, and shio koji. A live food, koji spores are rich in enzymes that break down starches and proteins in food into sugars and amino acids. Shio koji is really versatile and you can use it in any kind of Japanese or Western cooking. Use it as a meat marinade for chicken, beef, and pork. You can also make pickles and season your vegetables with it. It also makes a good salt substitute. In a recipe that calls for salt, you can substitute 1 teaspoon of salt with 2 teaspoons of shio koji.
Benefits of Shio Koji
Because it is a fermented ingredient, shio koji is known for its many health benefits. These include:
a natural probiotic seasoning tenderizes food brings out the umami and sweetness in foods reduces the intake of salt aids for digestion clear the skin anti-aging contains minerals, fiber, and vitamins
Ingredients You’ll Need
While you can buy the bottled version at Japanese grocery stores, it’s quite simple and more cost effective to make from scratch. You’ll just need:
rice koji – find rice koji in Japanese grocery stores or online sea salt – use 10–30% of the rice koji, by weight; do not use table salt water
How to Make Shio Koji at Home
Recipes with Shio Koji
Try these recipes all prepared with multipurpose shio koji!
Yakisoba Salmon Chicken (baked and broiled) Karaage (Japanese fried chicken) Grilled Mackerel Simmered Kabocha Daikon and Cucumber Salad Pickled Daikon Creamy Mashed Potatoes Braised Herb Chicken
I hope you have fun making this magic ingredient at home and discover more ways to flavor your dishes with it. Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
