Menu: Shiokoji (salted & fermented ricemalt) salmon onigiri, Diced sweet potato with tori-soboro, Boiled egg, and Cucumber sticks 

Apple wedges for dessert

Shiokoji, salted & fermented ricemalt, has been one of the hottest ingredients in Japan in recent years. Shio = salt, koji = ricemalt, is a traditional Japanese condiment, and we mainly use it as sort of like marinade on fish or meat in order to give extra flavour and tenderness. Since it is salted & fermented, it can preserve food quite well, and is considered to be one of the many superfoods we have in this country.

For whatever reason, some media picked up on it in a cooking program on TV one day, and ever since then shiokoji has become an important must-have item in our everyday kitchen. Everyone started talking about it, even though it had been there for ages, as if it was some novel discovery. My mum and her sisters are crazy about it also, and even culture their own shiokoji at home. They consistently and a little persistently kept suggesting me to use this magical ingredient, up to a point where I had no choice but use it so that I can make them happy hence quiet. But you can never underestimate your mum’s or auntie’s wise words. Once I started incorporating it in my cooking I have become a big fan.

So there it is, marinated salmon filet in shiokoji. I grilled the filet this morning in our fish grill for our little girl’s onigiri riceballs. I added chopped boiled komatsuna for extra crunchiness and flavour.

Shiokoji made by my auntie T