Vankoji Foods

09/04/2026

🥒 We’re heading to Picklefest Vancouver! 🥒

We’re excited to share that Vankoji will be a vendor at Picklefest Vancouver this year! 💚🇯🇵

Come join us for a fun day celebrating all things pickled — creative bites, local vendors, drinks, shopping, and plenty of dill-icious surprises. And of course, make sure to stop by the Vankoji booth and say hi! 👋

📅 Saturday, September 12, 2026
⏰ 11 AM – 7 PM
📍 City Centre Artist Lodge
2111 Main Street, Vancouver

🎟️ Get 10% off your Picklefest Vancouver ticket with code VENDORFRIENDSVAN

Plus, your ticket includes a pickle-themed gift bag valued at approximately $30 filled with goodies to take home!

Come hungry, come curious, and come find us at Picklefest! 🥒✨

09/03/2026

A little look ahead to our October market schedule! 🍂
Mark your calendars and come visit us for your Vankoji favourites & onigiri 🍙

📍 West End — Oct 3 West End Farmers Market
📍 Trout Lake — Oct 10 Trout Lake Community Centre
📍 Kitsilano — Oct 11 Kitsilano.ca

See you in October! 👋

09/03/2026

Find us at the farmers markets this September! 🌱

📍 West End — Sep 5
📍 Ladner — Sep 6 & 20
📍 Pickles Festival — Sep 12
📍 Kitsilano — Sep 13
📍 Trout Lake — Sep 19

Come by, say hi, and stock up on your favourite Vankoji goodies! 🍙✨
Which market will we see you at?

08/15/2026

🍗✨ Honey Garlic Butter Karaage 🧄🍯

A crispy, juicy Japanese-style karaage made with our Shoyu Koji! 🇯🇵✨

Marinating the chicken in shoyu koji makes it incredibly tender and flavorful with minimal effort. Coated in rice flour, it gets that perfect crispy finish while staying completely gluten-free. And the honey garlic butter sauce? The perfect finishing touch 🤌✨

Ingredients:

・300g chicken thighs
・2 cloves garlic, minced
・2 cloves ginger, minced
・4 tbsp shoyu koji
・Rice flour, for coating

For the Honey Garlic Butter Sauce:
・2 tbsp butter
・1 tsp honey
・1 tbsp garlic, minced

How to make it:

1. Marinate the chicken thighs with the garlic, ginger, and shoyu koji overnight.
2. Coat the marinated chicken evenly with rice flour. (You can substitute it with regular flour, too.)
3. Deep-fry the chicken in oil at 170–180°C (340–350°F) until golden brown and cooked through.
4. Microwave the butter for about 20 seconds, or until melted. Mix it with honey and minced garlic to make the sauce.
5. Drizzle the honey garlic butter sauce over the crispy karaage, serve, and enjoy!! 🍗✨🍯🧄

Have you tried making karaage with koji before? Let’s dig into the umami world together!! ✨

07/28/2026

Find us at the farmers markets this September! 🌱

📍 West End — Sep 5
📍 Ladner — Sep 6 & 20
📍 Pickles Festival — Sep 12
📍 Trout Lake — Sep 19

We'll have our handcrafted Japanese koji seasonings and fresh onigiri ready for you! 🍙
Which market will we see you at?

07/28/2026

AUGUST 2026 🌾

August is packed with festivals and farmers markets!

Whether you’re looking for handcrafted Japanese seasonings, premium miso, or a quick onigiri lunch, stop by and say hello.

📍 August Market & Festival Schedule

• Aug 6 (Thu) — Powell Street Festival
• Aug 7 (Fri) — Powell Street Festival
• Aug 8 (Sat) — West End Farmers Market
• Aug 9 (Sun) — Ladner Village Market
• Aug 15 (Sat) — Richmond Garlic Festival
• Aug 16 (Sun) — Kitsilano Farmers Market
• Aug 22 (Sat) — Trout Lake Farmers Market
• Aug 23 (Sun) — Ladner Village Market

Looking forward to another amazing month with our community!

06/30/2026

🦐🥦 Garlic Koji Shrimp 🧄✨

A perfect recipe for summer with our Garlic Koji!! ☀️

Just marinate the shrimp and vegetables, then let the pan do the rest. Simple ingredients, big flavor. ✨

Garlic koji adds a deep savory umami flavor with barely any effort, making these shrimp incredibly delicious. Paired with aromatic garlic, spices, and fresh vegetables, it’s an easy one-pan meal you’ll want to make again and again.

Ingredients:
・300g shrimp, peeled and deveined
・1 medium onion, sliced
・200g broccoli florets
・2 tbsp garlic-koji (for shrimp)
・1 tbsp garlic-koji (for each vegetable)
・2 cloves garlic, minced
・1 tsp coriander powder
・1 tsp mixed spices of your choice
・1 tbsp cooking sake
・1 tbsp coconut oil

How to make it:

1. Coat the shrimp with 2 tbsp garlic koji, and the onion and broccoli with 1 tbsp garlic koji each. Marinate the shrimp for at least 1 hour and the vegetables for about 15 minutes.
2. Before turning on the heat, add the coconut oil, minced garlic, coriander powder, and mixed spices to a pan. Warm over low heat until fragrant.
3. Increase to medium-high heat and sauté the onions. Once they begin to soften, add the shrimp and cook over high heat.
4. Once the shrimp are cooked on the outside, add the cooking sake and broccoli. Cover, reduce to medium-low heat, and steam for about 15 minutes.
5. Serve and enjoy!! 🍽️

Have you cooked with koji before? Let’s dig into the umami world together!! 🧄🦐

06/13/2026

Come find us at local farmers markets every month 🍙
June & July’s schedule is below ;))

【June schedule ☀️】
- Sun 14th @ Kitsilano
- Sun 21st @ Ladner

【July schedule 🌴】
- Sat 4th @ Nikkei Garden Market
- Sun 5th @ Ladner
- Sat 11th @ West End
- Sun 12th @ Kitsilano
- Sat 18th @ Trout Lake
- Sun 19th @ Ladner

#バンクーバー生活

06/02/2026

06/01/2026

Want to stay active and athletic for the long run? It starts with quality protein and clean ingredients 💪

Today we’re sharing Naomi’s go-to chicken recipe to support strength, recovery, and resilience🍗✨

Naomi is a former Japanese national futsal team player who later built her second career drawing from years of experience in elite sports and athlete development, she now runs RealignFirst ( ), a home-based studio specializing in functional movement and sports rehabilitation.

Whether you’re training for competition, recovering from injury, or simply looking to move better, proper nutrition is a key part of the process—and this recipe is one of Naomi’s favourites 🙌
_____

🍗 Maple Garlic Chicken 🍁🧄

Ingredients (Serves 1-2):
• 200g chicken wings
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tbsp shoyu-koji
• 1 clove garlic, sliced or 1 tbsp of garlic powder
・A pinch of black pepper

How to Make It:

1. Mix all the ingredients together and marinate the chicken for at least 1h.
2. Grill them up or bake at 400°F for 15-20min until fully cooked.
3. Serve and enjoy the finger-licking good flavor!! 🍗✨

✍️Tip: Koji marinade burns sooner than other marinades so check in with it mid point and flip the chicken as needed.

Enjoy your savoury athletic life with Koji 🍚🥢