A. luchuensis / A. awamori black koji

Koji is the mold that can do anything: miso, soy sauce, shoyu, shio koji, amazake, black bean sauce, sake, doungjun, they all owe their taste to the fungus Aspergillus oryzae. Aspergillus luchuensis or Aspergillus awamori is a special type of koj.

About A. luchuensis / A. awamori

Aspergillus luchuensis or Aspergillus awamori is a special type of koji. It is one of the ‘black kojis’ traditionally used to make Shochu, a distilled beverage with a strong and rich taste. This black koji is of the black variant, however it does have a similarly high citric acid production to it’s lighter brother. This is a powerful black koji starter that is able to produce a large amount of citric acid, which is strong against various microorganisms.

What is the difference between A. luchuensis and A. awamori

There is none, it’s a different name for the same mold variant. Other names are A. kawachii, or A. acidus. The variant is also very similar to A. niger and A. tubingensis. Morphologically, they are all identical.

This koji is easily overgrown by it’s cousin A. oryzae (ordinary koji), so make sure that you prevent cross-contamination by working cleanly.

Content luchuensis

• Available in 2 sizes: 5 grams for 5 kilograms or 200 grams for 200 kg.
• Enough for around 5kg or 200 kg of rice / grain / soybeans
• Grows best on barley
• Ingredients: rice, Aspergillus Luchuensis fungus (koji)
• Origin: Japan
• Storage instructions: shelf life of these spores is at least 6 months in the refrigerator, more than a year in the freezer.
• Soy-free

The small standard packages contain pure spores mixed with rice flour. The spores are so light that they’re very difficult to dose accurately in small amounts of rice. The quantity is small, they tend to stick to the bag, and the slightest breeze can send them flying across your kitchen.

The bulk-use bags contain pure spores only — they are not mixed with rice flour, so the spore concentration is much higher. With just 40 grams, you can make, for example, 200 kg of product or 360 liters of shoyu, depending on the type of koji.

Please note the following

• This koi variant needs to be ground up before you use it
• For easier dispersion you could mix it with riceflour
• This koji prefers a slightly lower temperatures than normal koji
• This black koji is of the black variant, however it does have a similarly high citric acid production to it’s lighter brother mentioned in The Noma guide to fermentation.

How to make koji-kin

Ingredients

• 300 g white rice, preferably not pre-cooked
• 0,25 g (about 1/4 tsp) koji-kin starter culture (check your packaging, different types of koji have different strenghts)

Preparation

1. Rinse the rice until the rinse water remains clear. Let it drain for 15 minutes.
2. Steam the rice for about 45 minutes. That works better than cooking it. Cooked rice quickly becomes wet and mushy when moldy, which prevents the fungus from doing its job properly. The rice should look glassy and feel soft and a little rubbery when you bite it.
3. Let cool to room temperature.
4. Grind up the black koji grains for better dispertion of the mold
5. Mix the koji kin with the rice and let it ferment for 48 hours in a warm humid place 25 to 35 ˚C. Check regularly. Make sure to avoid condensation dripping onto the rice.
6. During this period, mix a few times with a clean fork. The fungus needs oxigen.
7. The rice will be completely covered in a greyish mold after fermentation. Though keep in mind that different koji variants have different colors.

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