What is Shio Koji?

You cannot talk about Japanese cuisine without koji because koji is the core of Japanese cuisine. It can transform soybeans into miso and soy sauce, and rice into sake and mirin, all of which are often used in Japanese cooking. Now, the situation of koji is going beyond traditional usages. More and more people across the globe have started getting into koji and using koji for non-traditional ingredients, such as meat, bread, cheese, and so on. In this blog, let’s learn about shio koji and its applications so that you can have a deep understanding of its importance.

What is Shio Koji?

In recent years, shio koji has captured many chefs worldwide for its wide range of applications in cooking. It is a koji made from salt, water, and rice koji. This kind of koji is a great seasoning to tenderize ingredients and enhance the level of umami. You can marinate pretty much any ingredient. Because of the white granules from rice grain, koji does not look particularly good with marinated ingredients, but it works perfectly taste-wise.

What are the Usages?

This umami booster can help your dishes taste even better in several ways. For example, it is definitely a great addition to flavor ingredients. You can simply use it instead of salt, and it gives more umami flavor than just salt.

Also, you can marinate meat or fish with shio koji. It makes the ingredients even more juicy, tender, and tastier. After marinating, you can grill, pan-fry, deep-fry, or cook them in any other way to give the dishes extra umami flavor.

How to Make Shio Koji?

As explained earlier, shio koji is made from salt, water, and rice koji. Below, you can find a simple recipe to make shio koji. 

Ingredients (if using fresh koji):

• Fresh Koji: 200 g
• Salt: 60g (about 13% of total ingredients)
• Water: 200ml

Ingredients (if using dried koji):

• Dried Koji: 70g
• Salt: 60g
• Water: 230ml

Steps:

1. Put koji and salt in a bowl and mix well. Break up any lumps of koji and mix them evenly until there are no lumps.
2. Add water and mix. It is ready if the salt is no longer grainy. Mineral water is better than tap water because it will affect the flavor.
3. Place it in a storage container and cover. The lid should be slightly loose, not completely closed, as gas may be produced during the aging process. 
4. Keep it out of direct sunlight and allow it to mature at room temperature (about one week in summer, 10 days to two weeks in winter). Stir once a day. If the water level is low, add water to keep the koji submerged in water.

It takes about one to two weeks to make shio koji, so you might find it a bit time-consuming. If you want to make it from scratch, you will have to prepare yourself to wait. 

Then, you start thinking, “Are there any other ways to shorten the making time? Any shio koji products instead of making one on your own?” Well, the answer is yes. This is when a magical golden product comes in – Liquid Shio Koji.

What is Liquid Shio Koji?

A Japanese miso manufacturer, Hanamaruki, made a revolutionary product called Liquid Shio Koji. It is a liquid extracted from shio koji without any additives, meaning that it is 100% natural. The enzyme inside is still active because it is not heated in a manufacturing process. So, you can apply this golden liquid to cooking just like a traditional shio koji. It is just looking better and easier to handle.

Another notable aspect of the liquid shio koji is that you can use it in any cuisine, including Japanese, Chinese, Mediterranean, Western, and more. So, master chefs from our academy and many top chefs of Western cuisine have found it a game-changer.

It has many usages to make dishes tastier. You can cook a wide range of menus using this product, such as grilled chicken and tempura, of which we will show you the recipes below. 

How to Cook with Liquid Shio Koji

Now you understand the greatness of shio koji, it is time to put it into practice. Here, you can find two easy recipes using liquid shio koji. You will be surprised how quickly and easily you can make good-quality dishes at home. 

Grilled Salmon 

Ingredients (2 servings):

• Salmon (or another fatty type of fish like flounder, sea bass, etc.): 200g
• Liquid shio koji: 20g (10% of the weight of the fish)
• Optional: Pickled daikon radish or pickled ginger for garnish

Steps:

1. Slice the fish diagonally.
2. Put the fish slices into a plastic cooking bag and add liquid shio koji at 10% of the weight of the fish. Remove as much air as possible to create a vacuum seal. Rub the plastic bag well to make sure all fish pieces are evenly coated with the marinade. 
3. Keep the fish in the refrigerator for at least two hours for marination.
4. Wipe off any excess liquid. After wiping off the marinade, place the fish slices skin-side up on a tray. 
5. Put them in the preheated oven at 180°C or 360°F for approximately 8 min.
6. Serve the grilled fish on a plate. Our recommendation is to serve it with pickled daikon radish or pickled ginger.

Tori-ten Chicken Tempura

Ingredients (For 2 people):

• Chicken breast (or chicken thigh): 200-250g
• Liquid Shio Koji (10% of the weight of the meat)
• Tempura flour: 75g
• Water: 50g (or follow the instruction from the package of the tempura flour)
• Aonori (green seaweed flakes), ichimi (Japanese red chili pepper), or chili flakes: 1 1/2 teaspoons

Steps:

1. Cut the chicken into bite-size pieces.
2. Put the chicken and liquid shio koji into a plastic bag. Rub the combined ingredients.
3. Close the bag and marinate the chicken for at least one hour.
4. Put water into a bowl. Then, add sifted tempura flour little by little. As you add flour, beat it to break up any lumps. Make sure not to overmix it. 
5. Add the aonori flakes or chili flakes.
6. Take the chicken out of the plastic bag and remove the excess moisture with paper towels.
7. Put on tempura flour and tap off the excess. Coat the chicken with batter.
8. Deep-fry the chicken for the first time. Heat the oil to 170°C or 340°F. Cook till the chicken gets cooked 70-80% and let it rest for a while.
9. Deep-fry the chicken in the oil of 180°C or 360°F. This two-time frying method minimizes the loss of juiciness of the meat.
10. Serve the tempura with a piece of paper underneath on a plate. 

Master the Art of Cooking with Shio Koji

The recipes introduced above are just two of many recipes available in our Liquid Shio Koji course in our membership plans. There is so much more you can do with liquid shio koji. In our online class, you can learn how to make grilled fish, cured tofu, Japanese-style hamburger steak, and sushi with marinated fish, all cooked with liquid shio koji. 

Membership plans start from $11.07 a month, and you have access to more than 30 courses with video and written instructions. Let’s dive into a world of Japanese cuisine that you have never known.