Aspergillus oryzae
Aspergillus oryzae (Chinese: 麴菌, 麴霉菌, 曲霉菌, pinyin: qū meí jūn; Japanese: 麹, kōji, or 麹菌, kōji-kin, Korean: 누룩균, nurukgyun or 누룩곰팡이 nuruk-gompang-i) is a filamentous fungus (a mold). It is used in various East Asian cuisines to ferment soybeans. It is also used to saccharify rice, other grains, and potatoes in the making of alcoholic beverages such as huangjiu, sake, makgeolli, and shōchū. The domestication of A. oryzae occurred at least 2000 years ago.A. oryzae is also used for the production of rice vinegars.
Dr. Eiji Ichishima of Tohoku University called the kōji fungus a "national fungus" (kokkin) in the journal of the Brewing Society of Japan, because of its importance not only for making the koji for sake brewing, but also for making the koji for miso, soy sauce, and a range of other traditional Japanese foods. His proposal was approved at the society's annual meeting in 2006.
"Red kōji-kin" is a separate species, Monascus purpureus.
History of koji
300 BCE – A. oryzae is first mentioned in the Zhouli (Rites of the Zhou dynasty) in China. Its development is a milestone in Chinese food technology, for it provides the conceptual framework for three major fermented soy foods: soy sauce, jiang / miso, and douchi, not to mention grain-based wines (including Japanese sake) and li (the Chinese forerunner of Japanese amazake).
