Starters and koji

Also called 고리, 古里, 高里, gori.

Goori is a starter for vinegar recorded in early Joseon household books. The Suun japbang of about 1540 has one recipe for making goori and another for making goori vinegar (고리초).

1. Make goori (method in the Sangayorok and Suun japbang)
2. Brew goori vinegar (고리초, 古里酢)

• Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (한국민족문화대백과사전), Academy of Korean Studies, article 수운잡방 (Suun japbang), read 2026-10
• Lim E.-J., Cha G.-H. 2010, Study on manufacturing of vinegar through literatures of the Joseon dynasty (고문헌을 통해 본 조선시대 식초제조에 관한 연구), Journal of the Korean Society of Food Culture 25(6):680–707 (abstract)

Also called 酵子, 老面, 老酵, 干酵子, jiaozi, laomian.

Jiaozi is a Chinese traditional starter for steamed buns (mantou). A grain base such as wheat flour, rice, corn flour or bran is mixed with water, fermented naturally again and again, and air-dried into crumbs or powder that keep between bakes. It carries a mixed culture led by Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Lactiplantibacillus plantarum.

1. Mix the grain base with water and old dough
2. Let it ferment naturally, repeatedly
3. Air-dry into crumbs or powder
4. Revive in water and flour

Safety: One study notes that these mixed starters may even contain pathogenic bacteria along with yeasts, lactic bacteria, Bacillus and Acetobacter. The finished buns are steamed.

• Yang H.Y., Zhang G.H., He G.Q. 2013, Biodiversity of microorganisms in Chinese traditional starter cultures ecosystem (传统面食发酵剂中菌群多样性的研究), Modern Food Science and Technology 29(9):2115–2119
• Liu T.J., Li Y., Wu S.R., Jin L.T., Zhang G.H., Yang H.Y., He G.Q. 2014, Isolation and identification of bacteria and yeast from Chinese traditional sourdough (传统酸面团中细菌与酵母菌的 分离与鉴定), Modern Food Science and Technology 30(9):114–120, doi:10.13982/j.mfst.1673-9078.2014.09.020
• Liu Y., Zhang C., Gao L.L., Zhang K.Y., Yan M.H., Zhang G.Z. 2022, Influence of bacterial flora and flavor substances in the process of dough fermentation (老面对面团发酵过程中菌群结构及风味物质的影响), Journal of Henan University of Technology (Natural Science) 43(3):65–73

Mana and manapu are named in reviews as amylolytic starters of Nepal, alongside marcha. A 1996 study calls mana a Nepalese rice koji. No source checked this round describes how either is made, so this entry has no steps of its own.

Safety: Aspergillus flavus, a mould that can make aflatoxin, has been reported in mana, according to a 2020 paper citing a 1996 study. No source we read gives a toxin measurement for mana.

• Tamang J.P., Watanabe K., Holzapfel W.H. 2016, Review, Diversity of microorganisms in global fermented foods and beverages, Frontiers in Microbiology 7:377 (names mana and manapu of Nepal)
• Anupma A., Tamang J.P. 2020, Diversity of filamentous fungi isolated from some amylase and alcohol-producing starters of India, Frontiers in Microbiology 11:905 (cites Nikkuni S., Karki T.B., Terao T., Suzuki C. 1996, Microflora of mana, a Nepalese rice koji, Journal of Fermentation and Bioengineering 81:168–170)

Village rice-wine starters in Myanmar's hill states are small cakes of ground rice. In a Kayah account the rice is ground, sun-dried, rolled into balls coated with rice husk, then threaded on bamboo and hung above the kitchen fire for about a week. A Chin household method seeds new cakes with part of an old one.

1. Grind rice and sun-dry
2. Shape balls and coat with rice husk
3. Dry, pierce and thread on bamboo strips, and hang above the stove7 days

• Kite Tales (Myanmar), "Rice wine: from crop to cup"
• Cornell M. 2022, Traditional brewing in Myanmar: an amazing heritage (review of Corbin 2022, Heritage Drinks of Myanmar), Zythophile