Horaiya Honten Oshinko Sagohachi Pickling Bed (宝来屋本店 お新香三五八)

The story behind it

Sagohachi is a fermented pickling bed from Fukushima, mixed in a ratio of three parts salt, five parts rice koji (the fermentation culture Aspergillus oryzae) and eight parts rice. The name is simply the ratio: sa-go-hachi, three-five-eight.

It comes from Horaiya Honten, a maker in Koriyama that has kept working with koji, miso and amazake. Bury vegetables, fish or meat in it and the koji does the rest, drawing in a natural sweetness and savory depth while softening the texture.

There is no complicated procedure. Keep one tub in the refrigerator and everyday side dishes turn into something fermented and good.