Shio-koji is an all-purpose flavoring ingredient with a mild saltiness and the umami of malted rice that makes any ingredient delicious. We don't buy it - we always make it at home.You can make shio-koji easily without having to fuss over it too much. I recommend using koji with visible spore threads. Shio-koji is especially suited for marinating salmon and chicken. You can also marinate vegetables with it, make dressings, sauces, and using in stir fries. Recipe by Mimato

Koji or rice malt is indispensable for making miso or amazake. The custom of making shio-koji or salt fermented rice malt has been around since olden times in the Tohoku region apparently. When the malt is fermented with salt, the edge is taken off the salt and it becomes sweet and well rounded - a magical salty flavoring ingredient. It's a multi-purpose ingredient. Use it instead of salt. The amino acids in the shio-koji help to tenderize meat and make it delicious.As long as you have shio-koji, you just need to spread it on the meat. For thinly cut meat for yakiniku or chicken, you just need to let it marinate for 1 hour, up to half a day. The results are mildly salty and delicious! There are two types of "koji": one grows on soy beans, and the other on rice grains. Here we use the "koji" that is grown on steamed rice and then freeze-dried. You can buy this in bags at a Japanese supermarket. Recipe by kebeibiko

Koji, rice malt, is considered very healthy and boom in Japan. It helps meat tender and enrich dishes. However, it is expensive, so why don't you make by yourself?

Koji is a steamed cereal（rice / wheat / soybean） that is propagated with koji mold.Miso, soy sauce, mirin, salted rice malt (Shio-koji) , soy sauce with rice malt, amazake, etc. are made using this koji.Koji has the function of drawing out the umami of ingredients, promoting digestion and absorption, and regulating the intestines.Please try to incorporate traditional Japanese fermented seasonings into your daily food.

This tasty way to eat green peppers uses a recipe that a friend shared with me some time ago.My family members that were formerly pepper-haters actually fight over this dish.To bring out the crispness of the bell pepper, first coat the slices in sesame oil, but if you dislike that texture, you can go without the sesame oil and serve them tender. Recipe by Soraheno omoi

One of my friends on mixi taught me how to make brown rice amazake, so I decided to make brown rice amazake with miyako-koji.Basically it ended up being easier than I thought because all I had to do was mix the koji into the porridge.The enzymes will break down at 70℃ or higher, so if you want to preserve them, be sure not to bring it back up to a boil.In Step 1, I referred to miru-san'sfor how to germinate the rice.In Step 4, the real way to make it is to put it in a hot water bath, cover with a cloth and keep warm and uncovered for about 10 hours at 55°C-60°C. However that is a pain in the neck to do, so I just used some disposable chopsticks to make a gap, and left it like that. Recipe by Mikikimiki

Keeping the temperature constant is a pain. The temperature setting of the warming function is high, and I get the feeling that it is not so economical to leave the lid of the rice cooker open... My grandma used to make sweet rice sake by putting it in the bath. If you do it that way, the temperature will not be so high, so you could put it in a thermos and leave it overnight .Instead of using glutinous rice or rice porridge, you can make this with just rice malt. I usually keep it heated a little over 120F/50C. It was fine even when I was careless and let the temperature rise over 150F/65C. It tastes best when used fresh, so use it as soon as possible if you keep it in the fridge. I make sure to consume it within 7-10 days. Recipe by Aidadesu

Instructions for how to make amazake are printed on the back of the package of koji. Since the temperature needs to be controlled, I noted down the time and amounts of ingredients. Have it as a nutritious aperitif, since amazake is known as a "drinkable IV fluid". Also use it as a sweetener when cooking.You may use up to about 800 ml of hot water, but be sure to measure the temperature! If a high temperature is maintained for too long, the koji bacteria will die. Since amazake is generally served cold (with ice), it can be on the thick side. Dilute with water to taste. You can find rice malt in the "tsukemono" section of the supermarket. Recipe by kebeibiko

You can increase the sophistication of a dish just by adding a little frozen shio-koji.Shio-koji soboro is not only delicious with ground beef, but also with a mix of ground beef and pork. You don't need to use homemade shio-koji, store bought ones are also useful to have on hand. Recipe by kebeibiko

Volumetrics Marinated with ingredients mushrooms.