Short-grain rice is used for general koji making, although in some Western countries long-grain rice such as Jasmine or Basmati is used. Living in Europe, I often use Koshihikari rice grown in Italy, such as Yumenishiki. The grain is approximately 5 mm long, absorbs water easily and takes about an hour to steam. This year, as that rice was not readily available, I happened to have the opportunity to try a number of different varieties.
This is the last article of “How to make Koji” series. Remember that this is the most standard process of white rice koji making. If you opt for different substrates such as buckwheat, soybeans, barley etc, there is another story though the principle is the same. I hope you have some impression to start with, and put the essence from this series to practical use.
Japanese people have enjoyed amazake for more than a thousand years, and amazake is a traditional Japanese fermented beverage that has been gaining attention recently for its beauty and health benefits.
I would like to talk a little more about mentality this time. Koji making is influenced by your own condition, in other words, your health, your mind and your mood. If you make koji with a careless mind, you will make a messy product, and if you make koji with a careful mind, you will make a careful product.
The difference in speed is remarkable just in cooking, but it also reduces the time difference in building up layers when steaming rice in a style of 'nukegake', a method where the soaked rice is not put into the steamer all at once, but in several separate layers.
There are various approaches to fermented foods. "Healthy” and “Natural” are just one aspect, and I would like to see more attention from a wide range of angles, such as emotional value and cultural value.
Recently I resumed my experiment on koji making by using any kind of kitchen tool that almost everyone has. I’m not sure if everyone has this, but this time I tried a salad spinner – and totally loved it!
The entire process to make koji from tsutsumikomi to finish generally takes about 48 hours, but you should not tie to this number without thinking. Some require less, some require more.
Mycelia seek for moisture. This is a key. Since koji-kin is able to determine what kind enzyme to produce at the moment they wake up on the substrate, you need to make sure where you guide them to grow mycelia towards to.
Koji won’t let you control them before you learn from them. They have their own way to survive, and the first thing we can do is to learn that. After that, koji-kin will invite you to play around for more possibilities.