White koji starter | koji rice, amazake, sake, white miso, shio-koji and vegetable charcuterie

This white koji starter is best for making koji rice, amazake (sweet sake), sake, white miso, shio-koji and other light-colored foods and beverages. Also known as light rice koji.

What is 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 amazing texture and flavor to the fungus Aspergillus oryzae. This all-rounder can also be used, for example, to perform cool experiments with the fermentation of meat or even dairy.

The instructions for making koji-kin yourself (the moldy rice that forms the basis for most of the above-mentioned foods) can be found below.

About white Koji starter – for koji rice, white miso, amazake and shio koji

We import this koji-kin variety spores directly from Japan and is produced by “Hishiroku” with 300 years of experience in koji making. This koji starter is of the Chouhaku-chin variety and has long fungal threads and a low browning reaction. Because this variety does not change much in color and will retain its white color strongly.

Because this variety of koji starter is hard to discolor/change in color and maintain its white color firmly, it is best for making koji rice, amazake (sweet sake), sake, white miso, shio-koji and other light-colored foods and beverages. It can also be used for miso and shoyu, for example. It is also known as ‘light rice koji’.

Content white koji starter

• Available in 2 sizes: 15 grams for 5 kg (of (dry) rice / grain / soybeans) or 100 grams for 100 kgs.
• Ingredient: rice flour*, Aspergillus oryzae mold (koji-kin)
• Storage instructions: shelf life of these spores is at least 6 months in the refrigerator, more than one year in the freezer.
• Origin: Japan
• Allergens: none

(*) 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.

How to make koji-kin

Ingredients

• 300 g white rice, preferably not pre-cooked
• 0,5-1 g (about ½ tsp) koji-kin starter culture (check your packaging, different types of koji spores have different strengths)

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. 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.
5. During this period, mix a few times with a clean fork. The fungus needs oxygen.
6. The rice will be completely covered in a white mold after fermentation. Though keep in mind that different koji variants have different colors.
7. Stop as soon as you start to see green or yellow dots. These means the fungus changes into the spore-forming phase.

Buying white koji starter?

Order your white koji starter at startercultures.eu, the European webshop for all your fermentation needs. By Meneer Wateetons, renowned Dutch fermentation expert and author. Order on weekdays before  3 pm and we’ll ship the same day.  Questions on the usage? Ask them in our chat, we’re here to help!

Online course ‘making vegetable charcuterie’

In this online course “making vegetable charcuterie,” we are not going to make meat substitutes, vegetable burgers or pulled jackfruit. Nor are we going to fake meat. We don’t fake, we create a completely new product. Using the same classic techniques by which meats are made so delicious – salting, drying, aging, fermenting and smoking – we create that same deep, complex and satisfying taste sensation in vegetables. How? That’s