Getting to Know Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji

Shio-Koji is a traditional Japanese fermented ingredient, said to bring out the umami, or flavor, in the other ingredients. Hanamaruki Foods has successfully liquefied shio-koji with the live enzymes intact in its Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji. We asked California's Chef Kyle Connaughton, who seeks out dishes incorporating Japanese seasoning, to speak to the international appeal of Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji.

Connaughton gave a presentation on Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji at the 2015 Culinary Institute of America (CIA) international conference.
A connoisseur of Japanese seasoning, Connaughton is keyed into the possibilities for Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji.

“My first encounter with shio-koji was 20 years ago when I was learning about Japanese food culture. Shio-koji is a mainstay in Japanese flavoring, on par with soy sauce and miso. It is made by fermenting a mixture of koji (rice malt), salt and water. I was drawn in by its mild saltiness—it doesn’t have a strong flavor like soy sauce, but rather is meant to support the flavor of the other ingredients. These past 4-5 years, I’ve been using shio-koji in dishes in place of white soy sauce, one of my favorites to that point. Recently, however, I just thought of it another ingredient, meant to add flavoring.”

“The turning point for me was in 2013, when I found Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji. Standard shio-koji is white and syrupy like okayu (rice porridge) with rice grains left in it. But as the name implies, Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji is shio-koji compressed into a fully liquid form, with almost no color. With this, I can mix it in evenly with the other ingredients without effecting their color or quality. Believing in my heart that it would without a doubt greatly expand the uses for shio-koji, I decided to re-approach Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji from a scientific perspective.

Through repeated experiments, I found advantages to using Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji one after the other. The key was the enzymes in the rice malt. Normally, enzymes are killed when heat is applied to them. Conversely, the no-heating methods used to produce Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji keeps the enzymes live, and live enzymes mean high protease activity (proteolytic enzyme activity to break down proteins) and function in a variety of ways that make it ideal for fish and meats.

Take smoked salmon, for example. Generally, the fish is sprinkled with salt or soaked in saltwater before smoking. This draws out the moisture, but also lets the protein escape and has a tendency to leave the entire fish whitened. But say we try soaking it instead in Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji. The fish retains its moisture, leaving the rich flavor of the salmon and giving it a lovely glaze. With the moist surface, it complements smoking very well.

Soaking meats also leads to some interesting discoveries. Soak hamburger patties or pre-minced beef in Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji for three hours and they will come out with a complex flavor like that of aged meat. The protease acts on the meat basically the same as aging does. It’s surprising how you can get the same effect as the timely, expensive process of aging meat so quickly and easily! Before oven roasting, just soak you whole chicken in Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji for juicy, succulent meat and a great browned color.

“Of course, Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji works with more than just fish and meat. Toss lightly onto some fresh tomato or cucumber to bring out the true flavor of the vegetables. Especially for fresh vegetables that have been raised by hand, we want to get as much of their inherent flavor as possible. Even with vegetarian dishes, sneak in some Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji and awaken the natural flavors from within your ingredients to create complex flavors with depth.”

“Given the advantage of being liquid, it is also effective when used with breads and pastries. It can be mixed uniformly into the ingredients for an even spread of flavor without any concerns for disrupting the taste. I used it once in bread in place of salt, and the bread came out soft and moist with a gloss to the surface. You can try it with caramel, or chocolate... the possibilities are endless.

In recent years, the world's top chefs have started to recognize fermented condiments used in Japan, such as soy sauce and miso. They are charmed by the characteristic flavor not found in western ingredients—some make their own original misos with fava beans or pistachios, and some even make their own soy sauce. These chefs are taking totally different approaches than those taken in Japanese cuisine to search out the potential of these ingredients. Hanamaruki Liquid Shio-Koji is destined to be recognized as another exciting ingredient with interesting uses and effects to discover with every experiment. Don't get hung up on the preconceptions, and try it out for yourself. It'll open up unlimited culinary possibilities.”