Barley koji

Koji d'orge (mugi-kōji)

What it is

Mugi miso is the miso of Kyushu and the poorer northern provinces, made with barley because rice left the village as tax while barley stayed in the field. Barley carries less starch sugar than polished rice, so the mould grows nuttier and the paste ferments longer and thinner.

In the kitchen

Barley koji sweetens less, so barley miso wants a full year rather than a summer - taste at six months and expect it sharp and unfinished. For a quick amazake or shio-koji, use rice koji instead; barley leaves husk grit behind.

Goes with

Soybean Salt Barley Mugi miso Eggplant Pork Cucumber Spring onion

Same species

Black koji Rice koji Shio-koji Koji spores (tane-koji)

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