You might be surprised to hear this, but yes—you can marinate tofu in shio koji! The result is something wonderfully creamy, savory, and completely unique—kind of like cheese, but not quite. It’s simple to prepare, packed with umami, and a fun way to experience tofu in a whole new light.
I love making this as a little snack to enjoy with a drink, or even using it as a base to make a surprisingly delicious ice cream.
Shio-Koji-Marinated Tofu
Shio-koji-marinated tofu is a creamy, umami-rich snack that’s perfect with drinks or as a unique ingredient for dishes like ice cream—kind of like cheese, but one of a kind.
Ingredients
directions
- Open up the tofu packages and discard all the water inside.
- Transfer the tofu into a sealable plastic bag. Tofu is extremely soft and delicate, so do the best you can to keep its shape when you do this.
- Gently smear shio koji on one side.Flip over the bag, and do the same thing on the other side.
- Pull out air from the bag as much as you can, and seal up the bag.
- Give it a gentle massage…
- Then transfer it to the fridge.
- Let it rest in the fridge for at least two days. You can keep it in the fridge for up to a week.This one has been in the fridge for a couple of days. Do you see all that water has come out? It means shio koji has worked its magic on the tofu and it's ready to eat.
- Slice them up and plate them.They are soooo soft, and it's really easy to mess them up, but that's okay. The flavor is what matters, and trust me, the flavor is there.
- Season it with some olive oil, ground black pepper, and pink peppercorns, or however you prefer.There is already saltiness in the tofu because of shio koji, so you don't need to add any salt to this.And there you have it. Tofu marinated in shio koji. Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
- 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: 264.4kcalCarbohydrates: 6.6gProtein: 13.6gFat: 20.7gSaturated Fat: 2.7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5.5gMonounsaturated Fat: 12gSodium: 281.8mgPotassium: 0.8mgFiber: 1.2gSugar: 0.5gVitamin A: 0.3IUCalcium: 187.9mgIron: 1.9mg
Hi! I’m a Japanese woman who lives in Tokyo. My passion is cooking and eating food. Read more about me at https://sakurayubi.com/about/
Hi Sakura – do you eat this as is, no cooking? I make my own Koji rice plus Amazake and Shio koi so am interested to try this!
Hi, Heidi! Yes it’s best if you eat it as it is. You can cook it too, but then you would kill off the microbes in shio koji, so I prefer eating it without cooking. I like eating it as a snack to go with alcoholic beverages. I also like to use it to make tofu-yogurt ice cream!