Kenji Morimoto On Why He Loves Fermenting
by Kenji Morimoto
In his debut cookbook Ferment, Kenji Morimoto takes the mystery out of preserving and pickling. Whether you’re new to fermentation or looking to try homemade miso, this book makes it easy. With clear steps, bright ideas, and flavour-packed recipes, it’s a modern guide to one of the world’s oldest kitchen skills.
This isn’t just about jars in cupboards. It’s about bringing bold flavour to your meals, every day. Kimchi bhajis. Kombucha sorbet. Pickled rhubarb in cake. Kenji shows how fermented foods can be both exciting and practical. And every recipe is grounded in real-world cooking.
As a third-culture cook, Kenji’s take is personal, global, and always accessible. His writing is generous, his ideas are smart, and his food is full of joy. You don’t need a fermentation crock or a science degree. Just curiosity, and maybe a jar.
We sat down with Kenji for an exclusive Q&A to talk kimchi, kitchen experiments, and why pickling rhubarb might just change your baking. Whether you're new to ferments or already a convert, this is a conversation worth diving into.
See Kenji’s recipes here, or browse Kenji's favourite collection of Sous Chef ingredients and equipment for fermenting
What brought you to writing this cookbook?
A passion and a niche, as well as sharing my knowledge on social media.
Where do you find your ideas?
Social media is one end of the spectrum where ideas are thrown at you at a mile a minute. Weekly morning strolls in Brixton Market, is the other, where a sensory adventure awaits. It’s somewhere in the middle, everywhere and anywhere.
TRY: Kenji’s recipe for Miso Peanut Butter Kimchi Noodles
Why have you chosen food as your story-telling medium?
It’s endlessly creative and grows and pivots through iterations on traditions, which are a snapshot of a time and place. So it evolves as a reflection of so many things in the human experience. Which is why there’s so much power to flavour: the memories they invoke, the calm it can create, and the stories that are ultimately told.
COOK: Kenji’s Miso Pesto Pasta Salad with Chilli Crisp Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes
What is it about cooking (and food) that makes you happy?
It’s an act at the intersection of giving and creativity. It brings me joy to feed others.
How do you balance tradition and innovation in your cooking?
This is a really good question, especially given the amount of fermentation and preservation I do, all of which are age-old traditions from across the globe. My belief is that innovation is inherent to food and to people - food evolves as people move or change, from migration to accessibility of certain ingredients. That said, it’s of the utmost importance that traditions are respected and celebrated. I always say to learn the origins, get good at that, and then start pushing that culinary envelope.
Explore more fermenting and preserving recipes, or shop our fermenting and preserving top picks here
About the author
Kenji Morimoto is a content creator and food writer based in London. As a fourth generation Japanese American, his cultural identity has always been grounded in food. As a child, he was in charge of making tsukemono (Japanese pickles) for family gatherings, learning from and surrounded by elders recreating flavours of home. Since then, he's cooked in kitchens in Poland, led fermentation and Japanese focused supper clubs in London, taught workshops on koji and kimchi (as well as with Ottolenghi), published in Waitrose Magazine, and spoken on panels at the British Library on themes of community, food, and immigrant narratives.
