What is Koji?

Koji is a breeding of noble mold Kôji (Aspergillus oryzae) in cereals such as rice, wheat, soybeans. Common koji is rice koji, koji mold produces and releases various enzymes that decompose starch and protein, etc. The noble mold koji (Aspergillus oryzae) cultivated on the steamed rice. The mold grows while producing glucose and amino acids. Sake, miso, vinegar, soy sauce are made from the action of various depleting enzymes from koji.

Kona Küche produces koji from Italien organic rice to make miso and shio-koji (salt koji).
We use it for vegetarian products such as vege and soy damplings to add delicious flavor.
The motto of Kona Küche is “to deliver safe products from local ingredients”
Italian organic rice, German organic soy, Mediterranean salt
You are welcome to order our Koji, Miso and Shio-Koji from us.

Shio-koji is fermented and matured by mixing koji, salt and water.
If they taste a little bit, then a slightly sweet taste remains in the mouth.

The website of “Nihon Miso Co., Ltd.” is very well described. I’m referring to it.

There are two important ways to use Shio Koji as a usage method.
One way is to use the sweetness and salty umami flavor of Shio Koji. The other way is to decompose the ingredients by Shio Koji’s enzyme to get  sweetness and umami flavor from the material.
The first way uses Shio Koji as a spice. Shio Koji contains 13.5% salt. However, it also contains sweetness, creating a mild, complex taste. Japanese spices such as miso and soy sauce are also made from koji, so Shio Koji should not be new in your kitchen.

In order to use the function of the Shio Koji enzymes on the second way, the ingredients have to be marinated for some time with Shio Koji. During this time, the ingredients are made tender by the enzymes of Shio Koji and get the sweet and salty umami taste. However, if the time for marinating is too long, the ingredients become too salty due to the high salt content and are over-decomposed by enzymes. If you want to soak it overnight, dilute Shio Koji twice with water. In this case, please keep it in the fridge.

my recipes with Shio Koji

Everything is super easy, delicious!

	Curry The picture is shrimp curry, but you can replace it with only vegetables. It is also delicious. Ingredients: Shio Koji, favorite ingredients, cream or coconut milk, curry powder, your favorite spices (garlic, ginger etc.) Preparation: fry favorite ingredients, add spices, pour cream or coconut milk and cook. When all ingredients have boiled, add Shio Koji. When the sauce gets a little thicker, it’s done!
	fry mushroomsEvery time I fry mushrooms, water came out and I was never satisfied with the result. The problem is solved by Shio Koji. Preparation: Cut mushrooms, mix with a few teaspoons of Shio Koji, fry in the pan with oil. Finished! Be careful not to mix mushrooms too often in the pan to produce delicious brown color. Although it appears that moisture comes out the first time, it does not come out. Note: Please use this method only for mushrooms. It can not be applied to other vegetables. For fry vegetables, please give Shio Koji first in the pan.
	Marinate Marinate fish fillets and meat with Shio Koji, leave to stand for 2-3 hours in the refrigerator and bake in the oven or in the pan. Marinated salmon is coated with olive oil, baked in the oven grill / convection function at 200 degrees for 8 minutes. Marinated chicken with Shio Koji in a plastic bag and baked in oven with convection function at 200 degrees for 20 minutes. For vegetarian you can prepare with tofu slices as well with Shio Koji.