This quick and refreshing leafy green side dish is a type of Japanese aemono, where vegetables are simply dressed to highlight their natural flavors. Here, shio koji does the heavy lifting—its natural amylases gently break down the vegetables’ starches into sugars, creating a subtle sweetness and deep umami without any extra effort.
It’s a light, flavorful way to enjoy your greens and a great introduction to the magic of shio koji.
Japanese Leafy Green With Shio Koji (Aemono)
This light and flavorful aemono dish features leafy greens dressed with shio koji, whose natural amylases break down starches into sugars, adding subtle sweetness and umami.
Ingredients
- 200 g (1.1 cups) leaf vegetable (Use any green vegetable you like.)
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) shio koji
directions
- First, we are going to cook the leaf vegetable. I will show you how to do it easily using a microwave oven. First, lay one or two sheets of plastic wrap on the table. Then wash the leaf vegetable of your choice and then place it on the plastic wrap. I'm using komatsuna today.
- Then cover it with another layer of plastic wrap and wrap the vegetable completely. Pop this in the microwave oven and cook it at 600W for three minutes or until the vegetable is cooked.
- Then take it out of the microwave oven and let the wrapped vegetable rest in cold water until it is cooled.
- Once the vegetable is cooled, squeeze it and drain water out of it as much as you can.
- Then remove the wrap and chop the vegetable to bite size pieces.
- And add them to a bowl. Then add a little bit of shio koji and mix well. Have a taste, and add more shio koji according to your taste.
- Then go ahead and plate this and sprinkle some sesame seeds. You can use bonito flakes instead, too. And we are done! Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- Feel free to adjust the ingredient amounts to your taste.
- What Is Shio Koji? (The Complete Guide)
- How to Make Shio Koji (Recipe)
- Shio koji products: – If You Are Outside of Japan Shio koji by marukome 200g (7.05 ounce): https://geni.us/8vWX0vj Shio koji by marukome 500g (17.6 ounce): https://geni.us/tIoxH2b – If You Are in Japan Shio koji by marukome 500g (17.6 ounce) x 2: https://geni.us/Kbbw0C
- As an Amazon Associate, I earn a percentage of what you pay on qualifying purchases.
Nutrition
Serving: 1servingCalories: 27.8kcalCarbohydrates: 4.7gProtein: 2.9gFat: 0.4gSaturated Fat: 0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.2gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.01gSodium: 169.9mgPotassium: 558mgFiber: 2.2gSugar: 0.4gVitamin A: 9377IUVitamin C: 28.1mgCalcium: 99mgIron: 2.7mg
Tokyo-based Japanese home cook and food writer, sharing easy, low-carb recipes featuring Japanese staples like shio koji. I also explore the city’s dining scene through honest restaurant reviews and food adventures. Learn more at sakurayubi.com/about.
