(Rice Koji is a colony of Aspergillus oryzae, an useful microbe, on rice. We use it to brew Miso soybean paste, Sake, and to make many other Japanese dishes. It is one of the culinary and cultural treasures of Japan.)
お味噌の大切な材料である米糀を今年も作ります。米糀は、お味噌や日本酒造り、お漬物、塩糀などいろいろなものに使われる、便利で体に良い日本発酵文化の宝物ですね。知り合いの立教生Yちゃんと一緒に、お米を蒸して糀菌を振りかけるところから。作業開始から約60時間かかります。この写真は、発酵している最中。記事の途中でもう一度出てきます。
Kojo can also be called a treasure in Japanese tradition of fermentation culture. The process starts in steaming rice and sprinkling it with seed microbe powder, and the whole process will take about 60 hours. The photo is from the moment rice is actively fermenting. You will see it again in the article. A friend from Rikkyo University came to help me.
水に漬けておいたお米を蒸し器に入れて
Rice, which has been soaked in water, is placed in a steamer
薪でお湯を沸かしている鉄釜に載せ、待つこと約1時間。
The steamer is put on an iron pot with boiling water. We use local fire woods.
これを寿司桶に敷いた布に取って少し冷まし、糀菌を振りかけてよく混ぜます。
After about an hour, we take the steamer off the pot, bring it inside the house, place the rice on cloth, wait until the temperature of the rice goes down, sprinkle it with Aspergillus oryzae powder, and mix well.
今回は、これまでで一番たくさん10キロの米糀を仕込みました。一度に蒸し器に入らなかったので、2度に分けて・・・。
This year we are making 10 kilos of rice koji, the biggest quantity in my experiences. They didn’t fit all in the steamer, so we steamed in two rounds.
1回目の分は、米袋に入れて育てます。
The first batch went into 3-layered paper bag.
2回目の分は、寿司桶で育てます。
The second batch went into a cotton cloth placed in a wooden tub.
発酵が始まると温度が上がって水分が蒸気として出てくるので、水分の保持と空気の通りを両方考えて、こんなふうにザルなどとビニールの袋をかけてから
Once the fermentation started, we need to control moisture. We put vinyl bag and basket on rice to keep the necessary moisture and at the same time to provide ventilation when necessary.
布団を掛け、さらに1晩はホットカーペットで温めます。Yちゃん、帰ります!(朝一番からのお仕事。ご苦労様&来てくれてありがとう!)ここまで、一昨日3/14(火)。
We put futon to cover, and for the first night, place electric heating rug below the containers. My friend goes home here. (Thanks for coming from very early in the morning.)
普通だと(これまでの経験でも)1晩寝ているうちに発酵・発熱し出し、20時間くらいで温度が40度らいまでになるのですが、今回はちょっと出足が遅くて心配しました。
Second day: Usually, the temperature of rice goes up to about 40C after about 20 hours from the time seed (microbes) beings sown. This time, process seemed rather slow and I was a bit worried.
それでももう少し待つと発熱し出し、その後はとても元気!
Nevertheless, after a bit more of time, the fermentation started and the temperature went up. And kept being very alive!
3日目の今日は、何時間かおきにかき混ぜて発酵を均一にしつつ、温度の上がり過ぎを防ぎ、余計な水分を飛ばします。
On the third day; we need to be checking every couple of hours, mixing for even fermentation, controlling the process (so that it doesn’t go to hot nor too humid).
今日は発酵を進ませる間に畑へも^^ ニンジンの収穫や
While waiting in between checking times, we worked a bit in veggie field, harvesting carrots,,,,
長ネギの移植(こうして株を分けて場所を移してやると1本から分かれて5本くらいになります^^)
transplanting welsh onion (they multiply about 1 to 5)
そして、長ネギの跡を耕耘(ジャガイモ植えます!)をしました。
tilling the part where welsh onion grew before transplanting (this place is going to be for potatoes!).
夕方(ここまでで糀菌振りかけから約48時間)にはYちゃんはお土産を持って帰りました。米糀作りに付き合ってくれてありがとう!楽しくできて良かったー^^v
in early evening (at around 48 hours after the seeding), my friend went home with some koji. Thanks Y. for accompanying me in koji making. It was much more enjoyable doing it with you.
その後、自分のお味噌仕込み用はもう数時間発酵を続け夜中に発酵を止めました。途中では49度までなった!(40度らいに保ちたいところ)
The process kept going and it was stopped in the midnight. The temperature went at one time to 49C! (We need to keep it at around 40C.)
これで、お味噌作り用の米糀が完成(これにお味噌で必要な塩を混ぜ(塩切り)て、仕込み本番まで数日待ちます)。
Now we have rice koji for miso brewing! We will mix it with salt for miso and for stopping the process. Miso making (preparing) will be done in a couple of days.