Shinsyu-Ichi Nama Koji Miso 750g is a rice-koji miso with an unusually short ingredient list: rice, soybeans and salt, and nothing else. There is no dashi in it, which makes it a base miso you season yourself rather than a ready-made soup mix — and it is what lets the rice koji come through. The maker's pack states 国産米・国産大豆・国産塩100%使用 — domestic Japanese rice, soybeans and salt throughout — and the import label carries a Product of Japan mark. The 750g tub is the large household size, which the nutrition panel puts at 42 servings.
About Shinsyu-Ichi Miso
Shinsyu-Ichi Miso has been making miso in Nagano since 1916, when its Marutaka factory began brewing soy sauce and miso. The company registered the Shinsyu-Ichi miso trademark in 1938, traded as Miyasaka Brewing Co., Ltd. from 1933 until 2017, and took its present name that year. Its head office remains in Suwa City, Nagano.
What is koji, and what makes this a "nama koji" miso?
Koji (こうじ / 麹) is the cultured mould grown on grain that drives most Japanese fermentation — soy sauce, sake, mirin and miso all depend on it. Grown on steamed rice, it becomes the sweet, enzyme-rich starter that a rice miso (米味噌) is built on; rice miso is the most common type in Japan and is generally lighter and rounder than barley or all-soybean miso. Nama (生) means the koji is fresh rather than dried.
How to use & enjoy
Miso is dissolved into hot dashi stock to make miso soup, and is stirred in at the end rather than boiled, which would drive off its aroma. It is also the seasoning base for nabe hot pot, simmered with vegetables, tofu and meat or fish. It is brushed onto vegetables such as eggplant and grilled as a sweet glaze — a preparation known as dengaku — and it is used as a marinade for fish before grilling.
Ingredients
Rice, soybean, salt.
The import label additionally declares: alcohol 5%.
Allergens
Contains: soybean.
Nutrition
Serving size 18g · 42 servings per package
- Energy: 147.8 kJ per serving · 821 kJ per 100g
- Protein: 2 g per serving · 11 g per 100g
- Fat, total: 1 g per serving · 5.6 g per 100g
- — saturated: 0.1 g per serving · 0.7 g per 100g
- Carbohydrate, total: 4.6 g per serving · 25.4 g per 100g
- — sugars: 3.9 g per serving · 21.7 g per 100g
- Sodium: 800 mg per serving · 4600 mg per 100g
Important — please check the package label
While we make every effort to keep product information accurate and up to date, manufacturers may change formulations, packaging, allergens, ingredients, or specifications without notice. The actual product packaging is always the authoritative source. If you have specific concerns about allergens, ingredients, or any product detail, please contact us before purchase, or refer to the product packaging before consuming.
Japanese rice-koji miso, made with domestic rice, soybeans and salt · 生こうじ · Shinsyu-Ichi Miso range.
