Onion Koji

One of the factors I feel happy about living in Japan is that there are many fermented foods. I started to make some fermented foods some years ago and I eat them every day.

Today I would like to introduce my favorite “onion koji” to you. I started to know about it last year, but it has already become one of my essential condiments now. Shio koji (salted koji) became popular some years ago, but I use onion koji more often because it has a taste of onion which is very versatile to use.

You need rice koji to make it. Rice koji is very common when you make fermented foods, such as miso, amazake and shio koji. Rice koji is made from steamed rice and contains mold for fermentation. Today I used this one :

Miyako Koji is probably the most famous rice koji brand. It is sold on Amazon.com. :

Let me quote the recipe of onion koji from one of my favorite web magazine, Haccola.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

<Quote>

Ingredients:

• Onion : 300g (grated)
• Rice koji : 100g
• Salt : 35g

Required equipments:

• A bowl
• A jar for storage

Recipe:

1. Grate onion, either with a food processor, food blender or grater.
2. Put rice koji in a bowl and loose lumps by hand. (Before doing it, wash your hands thoroughly. By using your hands, normal bacteria flora on your hands will be added on the koji. This process leads to the successful finish.)
3. Mix rice koji and salt completely by hand.
4. Put the mixed rice koji and salt in a jar and add grated onion. Mix the rice koji, salt and onion with a spoon.
5. Leave it at room temperature for 4 days (summer) or 1 week for fermentation. During this period, mix it entirely with a spoon once a day. Do not close the lid of the jar, just put it on the top because it is fermenting.
6. Keep it in the refrigerator.

Here is the source of recipe from Haccola (in Japanese): https://haccola.jp/2019_09_29_9286/

<Unquote>

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

Preparation time is less than 10 minutes, so it is very easy to make.

As written on the recipe, you have to mix rice koji and salt by hand until lumps become apart. Once I mixed them with a spoon, and the result was not good…it didn’t have enough umami. So this process is very important!

Just finished mixing rice koji, salt and onion. The color is white and smells fresh onion;

You have to mix it entirely with a spoon once a day, as the recipe says.

After around 4 days (in summer) or a week (in winter), the color becomes pinkish and the smell becomes mild. This is the reference of putting it in the fridge.

It is very versatile so you can use it in almost anything. You don’t need MSG anymore, because it has lots of umami flavor. Just adding it even in a boiled onion soup, it tastes so good!

Today I used it in my tomato sauce pasta, which picture is on the top of this blog. Onion koji does great job here, too, because the pasta became much more flavorful than my past pasta….

As you understand from the recipe, it is very easy to make. It is worth trying if you are looking for a healthy condiment for your everyday dish!