Perfect Lemon Koji Seasoning

This isn’t the first time I have talked about the benefits of incorporating Koji into your diet! It’s an easy way to add natural seasoning to your dishes, quickly adding depth of flavour to your food. It’s also an excellent replacement for salt for anyone watching their salt intake — I even have a recipe for koji salt, natural seasoning that can be used in place of regular salt.

My lemon koji recipe is perfect for busy people who want to quickly add amazing and natural umami and citrus flavour to their meals without spending hours in the kitchen.

What is Koji?

Koji is rice fermented with a mould called aspergillus oryzae, and is an important and ancient part of Japanese culture. You will find that koji is used when making five core Japanese ingredients: soy, mirin, sake, rice vinegar, miso and is often the source of that magical fifth flavour that is associated with Japanese cuisine — umami!

On top of adding a distinct flavour to your food, koji is bursting with probiotics, vitamins and minerals, and has many associated health benefits. It promotes a healthy digestive and immune system, lowers the risk of heart disease, and even improves skin texture.

Because it’s such a superfood, I want people to have more koji in their life! I have been offering miso-making classes over the past five years to help people up their fermentation game, and I am now sharing one of my favourite koji recipes: lemon koji!

This has become an essential condiment in my own kitchen. As a busy mother, it has allowed me to turn simple and quick dishes into flavoursome and healthy meals for my family. It’s genuinely the ideal recipe for anyone that only has time to make a quick meal but who doesn't want to sacrifice depth of flavour.

Its three-dimensional flavour — incorporating umami, salt, and citrus — makes it a very unique and convenient condiment to have to hand in your kitchen.

How to Use Lemon Koji

Thanks to the delicious citrus tang, there are so many ways to incorporate this dish into your life. Once you make your lemon koji, it will keep in the fridge for six to seven months so you always have an easy citrus flavour to add to your dishes even if you don’t have lemons to hand; something which happens to me a lot.

If you are a fan of yuzu then make sure to check out this slight twist on the lemon koji recipe in my Instagram reel. I will also be sharing lots more lemon koji recipes soon so make sure to follow Yukis Kitchen on Instagram.

I typically add lemon koji to any dish where I might usually add salt and lemon, such as on fish, in pasta or hummus, or as a salad dressing. One of my favourite way to use it is in guacamole!

My Mexican friend Karla shared her family recipe with me, her addition of olive oil really makes for a creamier and richer flavour that we just love. I decided to add some lemon koji to it which gives it an extra zing.

Quick Lemon Koji Guacamole Recipe

2 avocados

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 clove crushed garlic

5 plum tomatoes finely chopped

½ tbs Olive oil

1tbs Lemon koji

One handful of chopped fresh coriander

Method

Destone the avocados and scoop them into a pestle & mortar or medium-size bowl. Mush them with the pestle or fork until smooth. Add crushed garlic, lemon koji, and olive oil and mix. Then add the chopped onion, tomato, coriander and crushed garlic. Combine together and serve!

Where can I buy koji?

It used to be difficult to find Koji in The UK but it has become so easy in recent years with many people even making their own. KANPAI London, the sake company based just up the road from me in Peckham, make and sell their own koji. You can also buy it from Sushi Sushi, The Japan Centre, and Amazon.

If you want to learn more

If you are fascinated by the subject of koji and fermentation and want to learn more then I highly recommend Koji Alchemy: Rediscovering the Magic of Mold-Based Fermentation by Jeremy Umansky and Rich Shih which I am credited in. It’s the first book devoted to the processes involved with making koji and also includes exciting koji recipes.

On to the recipe

Lemon koji is simple to make, is highly versatile and keeps for a long time. Add it to salads, dips, or anything that requires a zesty zing! This recipe makes a 500g jar.