Koji
Koji is on the tip of every cook’s tongue these days, for good reason. But what is it? It’s a beneficial mold. Yep, a mold. The scientific name is Aspergillus spp. and the secret to it’s magic is it’s enzymatic action. Molds are fungi, and fungi work by secreting enzymes into whatever they are growing on to break their host down. This means that koji, in the culinary sense, grows on food and secretes enzymes to change that food drastically- either softening its texture, or enhancing its flavor by breaking big flavor molecules down into littler flavor molecules that pack more aroma and umami, or both. If this sounds weird and other worldly to you, get ready for a new normal, because while koji has been used for centuries in Asian cuisine, it is now finding its way into kitchens big and small on every continent. So, how can you get some?
There are two main ways to start working with koji:
1) Grow your own koji (see below)
2) Buy koji that has already been grown on grain, such as rice or barley
Either way is fine and dandy, and mostly depends on how geeky you want to get, right out of the gate. I encourage you to grow your own (because I’m in full geek mode, and the more the merrier), but if you want to start your koji journey by experiencing the flavor and texture enhancements that it promises, feel free to support my favorite sources for ready-to-use koji:
If you want to get started by funkifying some food with the magical and addictively awesome koji, I have several online courses that might work for you:
How to Make Garum teaches you how to grow koji and harness its amazingness to make garums like fish sauce
Koji Charcuterie teaches you how to grow koji and use it for all manner of meat curing projects, from whole muscle curing to salami making
How to Make Meatso teaches you how to grow koji, how to use it to make miso, and how to use it to make “meatso” which is like a probiotic pâté.
To get all of the above and more, How Fermentation and Curing Works gives you a course in ALL the ways to use culinary fermentation in your kitchen, from how to make sauerkraut to how to make kombucha and wild sodas, to how to grow koji and make koji charcuterie.