Koji
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Mold
Everyone thinks you’re insane when you tell them you’re passionate about mold. The perception of mold being bad is common and for good reason, but when you let people try what comes from it, or even the mold itself, they start to understand the obsession.
My Obsession
I first got introduced to the power of koji during my time at Humus x Hortense in Brussels, Belgium. Chef Nicolas Decloedt utilizes koji in a multitude of ways. Due to the restaurant being vegan, koji and the ferments that come from it were a really good way to add depth of flavor, umami, and even acidity to dishes. I was first introduced through what they called koji water. This was used in many dishes and was always made available to us in the fridge. I also got to see them making miso fresh in the restaurant and got to try a multitude of different misos, ranging from a red sesame miso all the way to a carrot cake miso. This fully kickstarted my obsession with this weird tropical mold. Before leaving I had a sit-down talk with Chef Nicolas in his house, and he had the book “Koji Alchemy”. He let me look through it a little while we talked about my time there. After saying goodbye to him and the team I flew back home and ordered that book within a day.
Since that time I have read that book and a couple others on the science behind koji and other fermentations. From that book I have tried their ricotta miso recipe, which was an eye opener to the power of koji, and a citrus miso that is currently fermenting. I also have taken a lot of inspiration from the team at Noma. I have their guide to fermentation and am currently making a coffee bean shoyu from their guide.
My big focus right now is culturing koji on steaks. Due to the protein and moisture form the steak it is possible for koji to grow on the steaks under the right conditions. I have attempted this experiment once, and without a fermentation room it can be a touch difficult, but I got a slight success. I had the steaks coated too thick in a starch/spore mixture which eventually dried out and created a shell that prohibited the koji to fully bloom. Although not visible, the koji was apparent to the nose and in the flavor. It had a slightly enzymatic flavor, so although there was no full bloom on the koji, it was there and protected the steak from rot. Next time, the process will be refined, and I am excited to see what happens.