How to make Koji Rice

This video goes onto detail strep by step on how to make Rice Koji.

I used 5 pounds of sushi rice for this project and really liked the results.
Weigh out your rice
Rinse very well
Place in a bowl full of water to soak for 12 hours
take out of water and allow to drain in a sieve for 2 hours
Steam rice for 50 minutes
cool down to 105F
Add your 1/4 cup of rice flower (that's been heated on a stove top and cooled) and .1 grams of koji spores for every pound of rice you use. In my case I used .5 grams of spores to 5 pounds of rice.
Mix well and cover with cheesecloth
Cover with plastic wrap loosely and place in fermentation chamber

Your ferment chamber needs to be between 80-90F with humidity at 90%. Monitor the temp of your koji rice to make sure it's core temp doesn't get higher than 107. If id starts to rice you can gently mix it with clean hands. Your koji rice should be ready around the 48 hour mark. If you let it go to the 72 hour mark it may want to bloom and in this case you will make more starter seed for more koji rice....

Dry at 85f for a few days and store in the freezer in an air tight bag.

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My Absolute favorite thermometers:

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Eric

[romaindesavis]

Dude ! First, really cool video, and second, I really like your casual way to explain and also smile/laugh. Super nice ! Keep going and thanks !

[najizein]

Thank you for this amazing content! I’m going through your videos non-stop because they’re very well done with a lot of passion and expertise... there should be a million subscribers here!

[Batoul]

Hello I made koji rice (I used koji-kin that I bought from Amazon, I used 2 grams for half kilo of rice) and I controled temperature (I adjusted it at 32 % for the external temp. and I prevented the interior temp frome exceeding 40 %) and controled humidity( about 92%)
The rice turned white, sweet, but didn't coherent like a one piece

I am confused because I looked carefully at the details of your video and tried very hard to stick to it professionally, though the result was not as satisfactory as I had hoped
Do you have an explanation for the reason for the failure?

[zacharyswain]

what kind of metal tray/cooling rack do you use [dimensions etc]?

[rudolfwester]

I tried getting the koji starter by fermenting black soy bean. When they started blooming, fluffy white fungi, I mixed it into the prepared rice. Since I live on a humid, hot island, I just had to cover the tray with a belgium kitchen towel. After leaving it on our kitchen cabinet for 3 days, I got it all green. I hope I got it right. Thanks for your teachings.

[smallfootprint]

Very good video. Lots of great instructions. Easy to understand.

[heidifromoz]

Regarding the rice flour to mix with the spores - is the 1/4 cup for the amount you used, i.e., 5 lbs? Thus, if I do, say 300 gr I would use less flour, correct?

[zacharyswain]

so does it still contain probiotics after its done and ready to use? how do you keep the probiotics alive? does it need to be kept in the fridge? also, how do people usually eat it?

[twitwicki]

Many thanks for producing this very informative video. Have you tried making Koji with brown rice? I'm steaming it now and I'm seeing that the cooking time is well over the 50 minutes you mention. How can you tell when the rice is done? Should the rice be steamed until its at the chewy stage? Thanks again.

[tasteofwish]

Hello can you make it without spores or any substitute?? In our country this type of spores are not available!

[gaiaviriglio]

if i wanted to try with a koji rice instead of the spores the process is the same? i just mix it?

[hey-its-me-bobby-D]

can you use nuts or seeds instead of rice, or do I need to use a grain to start off with?

[ricardo]

God Eric, you truly are the best... all you do and had done is so interesting! I was having a hard time trying to find a way to reproduce koji spores because I want to make Gochujang from scratch and I really need this, but he information out there is not that reliable, and I tried to find info on youtube an BAM, there you go making great content as always... thank you for everything yo have done, you have no idea how much your videos have helped me over the years. Im looking at the other video of koji kin, when I powder the koji rice green spored and vacuum seal it, can i store it in the freezer? and how much time? or is it better to seal it and keep it in the fridge? also, i was thinking maybe a good way to innoculate with this is to put the koji kin powder in spray bottle with distilled water and salt and sugar and maybe it can last a long time in the fridge like mold 600? just a crazy thought there.

[nicolesiew]

Hi ! i love ur videos, they’re so informative but i wanna ask is the cloth ure using a muslin cloth ? or can i use any thin cloth ?

[bramvanlaere]

Can i use a proffesional oven like a rational? To set the temperature as wel it thats oke do i set it on hot air with steam or on full steam? With 80% steam

[AxelleClostermannProjets]

Hi,
Please forgive me my bad english.
I bought Koji rice. Recipe indicates that I can make 1, 5kg of miso. I wonder if it's better to buy Koji spores directly or Koji rice. I love to do things by myself. But I also wondering about the cost.
Thank for your advice(s).
I have a tiny refrigerator that I want to transformed into a fermentation box, with temperature programming and hygrometer also. I search how to keep enough air flow without loose of degrees.

[anneliesemodeker]

I thought about alternativ technic-equipment: yogurter, steamer with aquarium-heater, ore therarium-mat, egg-cocker, rice-cocker ore even baby-bottle-heater.

[franzmiranda]

Can you make a video doing the spores? Thanks from Mexico.

[melenaquitapena]

Thanks for this wonderful video!! And many others you do!! Congrats!! Great work! I have a rice cooker-like device that has a program yo brew chinese rice wine. Since the temperature range of this program is similar to koji one, I was wondering if I should give a try wirh it. What do you think? Thanks a lot! Big hug from Switzerland!

[teresaolofson]

do the rice at 90 degrees for 2 days and then leave it there with the door cracked to allow for 85 degrees for as long as it takes to dry? thatts only 5 degrees difference would one just leave it there at 90 period until its totally dry?