Polly Yim

Our paocai cooking workshops with chinese food writer and recipe developer @chill_crisp this spring 🌶️🫚🫶 I’m so happy we were able to delve deep into this staple pickle that graces the kitchens of many Sichuanese homes. Together we started our paocai jars to take home, a perpetual lactofermented brine flavored with Sichuan peppercorn, garlic, and ginger that is maintained and continuously renewed with fresh veggies as fast as you can eat them. Once you get your brine going you’ll have an endless source of pickles which can lactoferment veggies in as fast as a day. Xueci gave us a primer on the many kinds of pickles you might find across various regions in China, and guided us through a cooking session making fish-fragrant eggplant, a well-loved staple of Sichuanese cooking. Thanks to everyone who joined us for the two sessions @satellitberlin —we had so much fun we’re thinking about doing it again 👀. Let us know what kind of Chinese pickle you might be interested in learning about or ideas for a future workshop! #paocai #sichuancuisine #berlinfoodstories #berlinworkshops #fermentation

An attempt to Hold Spring. For two evenings, Kissabō becomes a space for a slower kind of attention — where tea, fermentation, and seasonality meet. Guided by Joyce Kwok Ying von Beuningen and Polly Yim, each session unfolds through careful brewing, quiet focus, and ingredients shaped by time. Limited to 5 guests. 10 & 17 May 14:00 / 17:30 Reserve your place via link in bio ✿

Have you ever tried Taiwanese soy sauce? Let me know in the comments below if you’ve ever tried black soybean soy sauce and how you like to use soy sauce at home! Thank you @ozzie7721 @yds_amberiver @futurediningtable for your generosity and sharing your knowledge. #taiwanesesoysauce #fermentation #qufermentationstudio

spring lookboook 26 🌸 1. grape hyacinth for syrup 2. kanzan cherry for salted cherry blossom 3. magnolia treasure hunting @kwokying_tea_daily 4. sakura mochi test 5. flowering currant for syrup. by far one of the most pleasant flowers to work with…fruity and currant-scented with a hit of resinous herb. 6. elm samaras by the fistful 7. wunderlauch carpet in Planterwald 8. a florist’s offering for the woods 9. St. Lucie/ Mahleb cherry for infusing in honey 10. @sym.biont braiding allium grass 💚 11. crème de violette #qufermentationstudio #foraging #fermentation #berlineats #berlinworkshops

✿ spring in flavour Polly Yim, head of the fermentation lab at QU Fermentation Studio, brings the season into taste. through foraging, fermentation, and carefully developed pairings, spring is translated into aroma, texture, and memory. more soon ✿

miso workshop (invasives spring edition! 🌿) @satellitberlin Join us for an in-depth introduction to miso through guided tasting and hands-on making. This workshop explores the basics of miso fermentation, beginning with koji—the cultured starter at the heart of miso, soy sauce, and many other fermented foods. Participants will taste and compare several styles of miso, learning how to distinguish different varieties and how to use them in the kitchen. Together, we’ll be making a chickpea miso to take home, and you’ll learn how to care for it as it ferments and matures. Students will also have the option of adding the invasive and delicious few-flowered leek to their miso to make a non-traditional spring miso. The class also focuses on practical and creative ways to use miso in everyday cooking, helping participants incorporate this versatile seasoning into meals at home. Students will end the course with a light shared meal together and go home with creative recipes and a jar of their handmade miso. Location: Satellit, Weinstraße 11, 10249 Berlin Date: April 26th Course Time: 15-18hr 65 EUR Signup link in bio 👆 #fermentation #qufermentationstudio #berlin #berlinfoodstories #berlineats

spring flings 🌿🌼 1. first round of blue cheese with almond, hemp & pumpkinseed 2. rhubarb preserved with multiple stages of sugaring, drying & salting to pull out moisture slowly without destroying the integrity of the fruit. I started doing this after looking at how various kinds of Chinese preserved plums are made. It takes a few days but all of the work is passive through simple osmosis and creates a very moreish chewy-moist texture without being overly sweet in contrast to the French method for fruit confit 3. few flowered leek is upon us 👹 4. first go round of koji white chocolate flavored with black currant wood from @sflorahof 5. pickle plate for our sake event @oukandining 6. this year I got frosting on all the hoshigaki I made 🥹 I feel like massaging once a week when aging them in the fridge helps sugar crystals to form through agitation & fluctuating the environmental temperature & humidity 7. I pressed the red rice wine finally after a year of aging on lees, this was roughly based on Fuzhou red rice wine 福州红酒 which is usually brewed for a much shorter period and has a bright, tart and fruity flavor. I’ll age this longer and see what comes out of it but I’m also excited to use the bright red lees, maybe for aging pickles or to age cheese in. 8. paocai adventures to come with @chill_crisp

Making koji in the koji muro @reigenfermentation . I had the joy of tagging along @fratod at his sake brewery the past weeks. Deep respect for what they are in process of doing: defining a style of European sake that doesn’t try to simply imitate or repeat that of Japan. Playing with funk, aging, spontaneous fermentation, and natural winemaking techniques to experiment and depart from industry standards. Centering Italian table rice coming from Francesco’s own family farm. One can easily wax poetic about what they do, but the fact is this kind of operation is an expression of the deeply personal, and with projects like this it takes a certain amount of grit and hope that you will be rewarded for the risks. It was a pleasure to witness their craftsmanship and little moments of beauty in what is often an unending and solitary line of work 🫶🍶

I’m so excited to offer our next fermentation workshop in collaboration with Chinese culinary writer and recipe developer Xueci Cheng! (@chill_crisp ) 😍 I’ve been a huge fan of her work for so long and it’s a such an honor to work with someone so knowledgeable about food and can speak first-hand about local paocai culture as a Sichuan native. Join us for a hands-on workshop exploring the culture, history, and everyday magic of Sichuanese paocai pickles. In this three-hour class, participants will dive deep into the fundamentals of Sichuanese pickles, learning how to start and maintain their own fermented “infinity” pickle jar—an endlessly renewable staple of Sichuan home kitchens. They’ll also cook a classic dish, fish-fragrant eggplant (鱼香茄子), and discover how paocai brings depth, balance, and brightness to everyday meals. The class concludes with a shared meal. Leave with a deeper understanding of Sichuan flavors, practical cooking skills, and your own jar of fermented vegetables to take home. Note: Accommodations can be made for vegan / vegetarians. Please inform us of dietary restrictions upon registration. March 29th 16-19 @satellitberlin , Weinstr. 11 65 EUR, pickles, jar, & light meal included signup link in bio #berlinfoodstories #berlinworkshops #qufermentationstudio #paocai #fermentation

A year of fermentation in its quiet resilience. Seasoned abundance, scarcity, salty and sweet 🤲

This weekend I had the pleasure of giving a small talk on some research I’ve been doing as part of an exhibition on koji organized by @elad_liam and @datagrazing @backhaus_projects . It was so interesting to see the visual ways in which koji manifests in each of our lives. For @datagrazing its all of her koji chutneys and beautiful data-imbued fermentation pots, for @elad_liam it was telescopic photos seamed together and koji landscapes painted by the microscopic lens. For me, I talked (among other things) about the ways in which rites and belief played a role in ancient Chinese fermentation practices, looking at ways in which these rituals, complete with incantations and food offerings, played a practical role in the microbial success of these ferments. Thank you to everyone who came. #kojibuildscommunity #fermentation #qufermentationstudio

We’re hosting an exhibition about koji ! Join us for an intimate session of taste, craft, and conversation. Main exhibition: •⁠ ⁠Elad Liam showcases photographs of koji — the Japanese ingredient behind sake, miso, and countless fermented preparations. •⁠ ⁠Max Graze presents handmade clay jars traditionally used for fermenting miso and other foods. •⁠ ⁠Polly Yim will talk about her research work as head of fermentation at the vegan restaurant Oukan, where she uses koji to make soy sauce, miso, and experimental ferments. Workshop: Miso tasting coupled with learning and conversation on Japanese fermentation. Together, we’ll explore what miso and koji really are — tasting different varieties, discussing how they’re made, and uncovering how these living cultures shape flavor and tradition. Presented by Elad Liam —  @elad_liam , photographer and researcher of Japanese fermentation culture Max Graze — @datagrazing , ceramic artist exploring the material and encoded forms of fermentation Polly Yim — @qu.fermentationstudio , head of fermentation at the Berlin restaurant Oukan. Time: Sunday 23 November 2025 10:00 - 11:00 Miso tasting workshop - 20€ (Tickets required) 11:00-16:00 Main exhibition 16:00 Qu Fermentation talk by Polly Yim 17:00 - 18:00 Miso tasting workshop - 20€ (Tickets required) Place: Backhaus Projects 168 Weserstr. Berlin, 12045 Germany Can’t afford the tasting but want to join? We have a few spots for reduced prices so DM to inquire! Tickets: Link in Bio or through the @backhaus_projects website 10-11 miso tasting: /xmi2kisb 17-16 miso tasting: /3hbwm3tw