Cooking with Yoshiko

🌿 The Easiest Fermented Food You've Probably Never Heard Of 🌿⁠
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Meet **shio koji**.⁠
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Made from rice koji, salt, and water, shio koji is a fermented Japanese seasoning that has become incredibly popular in Japan over the last decade.⁠
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Not only does it add natural umami and depth of flavour, but it's also made through a traditional fermentation process and contains naturally occurring enzymes. Many people appreciate it as a simple way to bring more fermented foods into their everyday cooking.⁠
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I love it because it's nourishing, versatile, and makes healthy meals taste delicious.⁠
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Use it in:⁠
✨ Dressings⁠
✨ Soups⁠
✨ Marinades⁠
✨ Stir-fries⁠
✨ Vegetables⁠
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It's one of those ingredients that can make healthy cooking easier, more flavourful, and more enjoyable.⁠
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The best part?⁠
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You only need a few ingredients to make it yourself at home.⁠
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In my upcoming **Healthy Gut with Japanese Superfoods Cooking Class**, participants will learn how to make shio koji from scratch and discover practical ways to use it in everyday meals.⁠
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📅 Sunday 21 June⁠
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✨ Class details:⁠
https://classbento.com.au/healthy-gut-with-japanese-superfoods-class?utm_source=cookingwithyoshiko.com⁠
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Have you ever tried shio koji? 🌿

✨ A Gut-Friendly Japanese-Inspired Lunch ✨

One of the things I love about Japanese home cooking is that it can be both nourishing and incredibly satisfying without feeling heavy.

Today's lunch features:
🥢 Gluten-free noodles and shirataki (konnyaku) noodles
🌱 Fresh vegetables
🧂 Fermented seasonings including miso and vinegar koji
✨ Tofu for plant-based protein

I especially enjoy using shirataki noodles ( white konnyaku noodle ) They add a lovely texture to meals and contain both soluble and insoluble fibre, making them an easy way to incorporate more fibre into everyday eating.

For me, supporting gut health isn't about following complicated rules. It's about regularly including a variety of vegetables, fermented foods, fibre-rich ingredients, and simple home-cooked meals.

Small habits, enjoyed consistently, can make a big difference over time 💚

Many of the ingredients I use here, including konnyaku and fermented seasonings, are also featured in my Healthy Gut with Japanese Superfoods Cooking Class.

Do you have a favourite gut-friendly meal? 🌿

🌿 Nourishing Washoku for Gut Health 🌿

One of my favourite ingredients to cook with is **shio koji**.

Made from rice koji, salt, and water, shio koji is a fermented Japanese seasoning that adds natural umami, depth of flavour, and nourishment to everyday meals. It's one of those ingredients that makes simple food taste delicious while helping you create meals centred around whole, minimally processed ingredients.

Although shio koji has become increasingly popular in Japan in recent years, many people outside Japan have never heard of it.

Today, I used homemade shio koji to create a nourishing plant-based Japanese meal filled with vegetables, sea vegetables, fermented foods, and simple ingredients that work beautifully together.

🍽 Today's spread includes:
▫️ Tofu with negi shio-koji sauce
▫️ Roasted capsicum ohitashi
▫️ Mozuku vinegar salad
▫️ Cabbage & arame seaweed salad
▫️ Takuan
▫️ Rice with quinoa
▫️ Leek & aburaage miso soup

What I love most about shio koji is that it's surprisingly easy to make and can completely transform everyday cooking.

In my upcoming **Healthy Gut with Japanese Superfoods Cooking Class**, participants will learn how to make shio koji from scratch and discover practical ways to use it in delicious home-style meals

📅 Next Healthy Gut with Japanese Superfoods Class:
21 June 2026

✨ Class details:
https://classbento.com.au/healthy-gut-with-japanese-superfoods-class?utm_source=cookingwithyoshiko.com

Have you ever cooked with shio koji? 🌿

Vegan Nikujyaga — have you tried it before? 🍲✨

Nikujyaga is a classic Japanese home-style dish traditionally made with meat, potatoes, carrot and onions simmered in a slightly sweet soy-based broth. It’s one of those comforting, nostalgic meals often found in Japanese home cooking.

This version is a vegan take, using kuruma fu (wheat gluten) to replace the meat. It absorbs the flavours of the broth beautifully, creating a hearty and satisfying texture while keeping it plant-based.

On the table alongside it:
• Broccolini goma miso ae
• Cucumber, tomato & wakame sunomono
• Homemade tsukemono (carrot & swede)
• Rice with furikake
• Eggplant, aburaage & shallot miso soup

A full washoku-style meal takes time, but it’s always worth it—nourishing, balanced, and full of flavour 💚

🍜 Have you tried Handa Men before? 🤍
I hadn't—until my mum introduced me to it!

Handa men is a traditional Japanese wheat noodle from Tokushima. It's slightly thicker than somen, with a wonderfully firm and chewy texture that makes it especially delicious served cold.

Today I enjoyed it "neba neba" style ✨
"Neba neba" is a Japanese expression used to describe foods with a naturally sticky texture, such as natto and okra. These ingredients are popular in Japan and are often enjoyed as part of everyday home cooking.
For extra flavour, I topped the noodles with pan-fried enoki mushrooms and served with homemade MSG-free Mentsuyu!

Many people are surprised by how simple homemade mentsuyu is to make. Unlike many store-bought versions, it doesn't rely on MSG, added sugar, or unnecessary additives. Instead, it gets its rich umami flavour from traditional Japanese ingredients.

It's one of the Japanese pantry staples I teach in my Japanese Beginner Cooking Class because it can be used in so many different ways.
Simple ingredients, authentic flavours, and a comforting bowl of Japanese home cooking 💚
Have you tried Handa men before?

🍛 Comfort food with a healthy Japanese twist 🌿

This vegan curry features red and black lentils, crunchy cabbage, and warming spices such as ginger, garlic, and turmeric.

I also mixed white konnyaku (konjac) through the rice—a traditional Japanese ingredient that is naturally rich in fibre and one of my favourite everyday superfoods.

Many people are surprised by how versatile konnyaku can be. It's an ingredient I often use in my cooking classes because it's an easy way to add texture and variety to meals while keeping them light and nourishing.

Simple, flavourful food that leaves you feeling satisfied from the inside out 💛