On the shelf

Shio koji is being touted as the hot new ingredient in Japanese cooking, and it's crossing over into other cuisines, too. Made of shio (salt) and koji (an edible mould used for many Japanese fermented products, including sake, miso and soy sauce), shio koji gives savoury food a rich, deep, umami flavour. It's added to marinades, soups and sauces, and used to make pickles. The Ajinbou brand is HK$32 for 160 grams.