Hozon (保存) and bonji are trademarked developed by David Chang[Hui, Ann. " Challenging your palate: Would you try these rotten, mouldy mixtures?." The Globe and Mail. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 4 September 2013.] The name "Hozon" comes from the Japanese word meaning "to preserve".[Sutton, Ryan " Is Momofuku's Meatless Ramen NYC's Best Ramen?" Eater. 26 Jun 2014. Retrieved 08 September 2015.]
Production
Hozon is made by fermenting koji fungus and
salt on a substrate such as
,
, or
.
[Hui, Ann. " Challenging your palate: Would you try these rotten, mouldy mixtures?."] Koji acts as the catalyst for fermentation and is added to the other ingredients in a controlled environment to age. During this time,
Microorganism and
Enzyme processes occur causing flavors to develop.
[Twilley, Nicola. " The Misofication of Manhattan." edible geography. 21 September 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.] Following fermentation, the liquids are separated and used to make bonji, a savory liquid seasoning with a flavor similar to a low-salt soy sauce.
[Hui, Ann. " Challenging your palate: Would you try these rotten, mouldy mixtures?."] This process is derived from the
Japanese cuisine technique for making
miso and tamari, replacing
soy with nontraditional ingredients.
Usage
When fermentation is complete, the resulting mixture can be used as is, or pureed to a smoother consistency. Hozon can be used as a butter substitute, curry, or soup base.
[Kramer. Jane. " The Umami Project."] Hozon originated and has been produced in the Momofuku Culinary Lab, and since 2012,
[Roman, Alison. " 5 Easy Umami Boosters, from Momofuku Culinary Lab." bon appetit.17 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.] it has been used by Chef Corey Lee at
Benu in
San Francisco[Lee, Corey. " sample tasting menu ." benu. Retrieved 20 September 2013.] and by Jamie Bissonnette of Toro.
[Bissonnette, Jamie (@Jamiebiss). "Tuna crudo with pickles and rye bonji. Thanks ___ davidchang for the tasty gift! instagram.com/p/e_qlYNQjpZ/ ." 2 October 2013, 11:15 PM. Tweet.]
