Jalapeño Koji Hot Sauce

Jalapeño Koji Hot Sauce

The viral koji hot sauce - now YOU can make it!

This one is very mild in spiciness, and is more meant to highlight the complex flavor you can pull out of common ingredients using koji as a beginning fermenter.

I found that after fermenting with koji, the jalapeños had a distinct savoriness, as if I'd added tomatoes or tomatillos - this is because despite the relatively low protein content in the peppers, koji's enzymes breakdown those trace proteins into amino acids, creating a fuller, well-rounded, and savory flavor.

NOTE: All ferments, by nature, will be completely unique. And that's a beautiful thing! Ferment times are relative to ambient temperature, humidity, and freshness of ingredients - be your own food scientist and don't be afraid to experiment with times, temps, and ingredient ratios! Don't have shallots? Use red onion! If you don't have poblanos, use a green bell pepper! The world (and kitchen) is your oyster.

Prep Time: 0.5 hours
Ferment Time: 1-2 weeks

Ingredients and Estimated Measurements:

  • 250 g chopped jalapeños
  • 175 g roasted and chopped poblanos
  • 100 g long grain rice koji
  • 60 g shallots
  • 10 g garlic
  • 5 g lime peel
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Step by Step Guide

  • 1. Koji

    Long grain koji will yield a more savory finished sauce, but any koji will work for this recipe.

    GET KOJI HERE 

  • 2. Ratios

    5 parts veggies : 1 part koji
    Ex: 500g veggies: 100g koji
    Take note of the weight of all ingredients.

  • 3. Water

    Tare your scale and pour enough water to fully submerge all ingredients. Take note of the weight of the water. This amount will vary depending on the vessel you use.

  • 4. Salt

    Take the weight of your veggies, koji and water, and calculate 5% of that total weight to get the amount of salt you need. Just multiple total weight by 0.05. Non-iodized salt is ideal.
    Ex: 1000g(0.05)=50g salt

  • 5. Time and Temperature

    To develop noticeable flavor without blending the mixture, ferment your shio koji for at least a week at room temperature. If you like how it tastes, stop! If you're curious, keep going.

  • 6. Weighing and Burping

    Burping is key. Koji breaks down the carbohydrates in veggies to create more sugar, and this creates a feed frenzy for the bacteria that drive most of the fermentation (i.e. lactobacillus). Burp your jars often - the pressure does build up fast!

    Keeping things submerged is important for 2 main reasons:
    1) it mitigates contamination risk
    2) all ingredients ferment evenly
    For the weights I use, click below:

    VIEW ALL EQUIPMENT 

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Notes and Key Reminders

  1. These same ratios can be applied to any pepper and aromatic you like. Don't have Jalapenos? Habaneros, serranos, birds eye, anything that suits you best will work just as well.
  2. After fermenting, if you haven't blended your ferment already, you can strain the liquids from the solids and adjust the texture of the sauce to you exact liking. The liquids can then be used to kickstart the fermentation on another project! It's the gift that keeps giving.

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