Amazake is a traditional Japanese fermented rice drink. It's sweet, healthy, nutrient-rich, and boosts your energy level. How to make it is so simple and easy. Are you curious? Let's learn how!
Amazake is a Japanese drink made by fermenting rice.
If you are not familiar with fermenting food, a fermented drink sounds strange to you?! But don't worry, it's nothing weird! Amazake is a nice sweet drink.
It's not only great for a drink, but it's also great for dessert and cooking as a sweetener.
This post will go through how to make it at home with great details and include basic knowledge of Amazake. It's an amazake beginner's guide.
- This recipe is for you if:
- You want to know about amazake.
- You want to make amazake at home.
- You want to know how to use amazake instead of just drinking.
Hope you can learn something new. Let's get started!
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About This Recipe
- How to make Amazake from rice koji
- Use yogurt maker for fermentation
- Other amazake recipes are included
What is Amazake?
Amazake, which means “sweet alcohol” (Ama: sweet, zake: alcohol) in Japanese, is a Japanese traditional beverage that has been popular since ancient times. (Amazake Wiki)
We drink it as it is or use it for cooking as a sugar, like adding to desserts, dressing, marinade, etc.
Here in Japan, it is a popular drink and available all through the year at convenience stores and grocery stores.
What does Amazake taste like?
Amazake is sweet.
If it is made from rice koji, then it has a natural sweetness from rice. If it is made from sake lees, then the sweetness is added by sugar.
I will talk about the 2 types of Amazake in the following paragraph.
2 types of Amazake, Rice Koji and Sake Lees
Do you know there are two types of Amazake?
- Amazake made from sake lees.
- Amazake made from rice koji.
When I was a child, my mother often made it for New Year's season, and I always refused it because I was not a big fan of that unique smell.
As I grew up, I found out that Amazake I refused to drink was made from sake lees, and there is another one made from rice koji.
I tried the one with rice koji then I have loved it since then. How to make, the taste, and alcohol content, they are totally different drinks.
In the next section, let me talk about the difference between the two.
Amazake made from Sake lees
What is sake lees (Sakekasu in Japanese)?
Sake lees is a pulp created during making Japanese sake and includes 8% of alcohol.
Ingredients of sake lees are rice, rice koji, and alcohol. It has a soft texture like play-dough.
Making Amazake from sake lees is super easy, and simply just mixing and warming ingredients (sake lees, sugar, and water) in a pot.
It has a very high nutritional value. However, sake lees contain alcohol which is not good for children or adults who cannot handle Japanese sake.
It's sweet as sugar is added and contains the smell of sake.
If you look at a store-bought amazake label, it says it includes alcohol less than 0.5 %, so it is so low.
But if you make it at home, they say the alcohol percentage would be about 5 % even though the alcohol evaporates by boiling.
Amazake made from Rice koji
What is rice koji (kome koji in Japanese)?
Rice koji is made by fermenting rice using a fungus called koji mold. It has a dry texture and easy to take apart.
Ingredients of rice koji are rice and koji mold. It has a dry texture and easy to take apart.
Rice koji is an important Japanese ingredient used in traditional seasoning like miso, mirin, and sake.
Amazake made from rice koji contains no alcohol.
There is a natural gentle sweetness of the rice, which many people enjoy, including children and pregnant women.
Ingredients are just simple, water and rice koji, but it takes time to ferment for 6 hours.
What is the difference between the two?
Here is the comparison table between sake lees amazake and rice koji amazake.
Both Amazake has healthy benefits.
Amazake made from rice koji doesn't include alcohol, even though it means sweet alcohol in Japanese, so it is safe to drink for anybody. My kids love it too.
Amazake made from sake lees is quick and easy to make, but I don’t recommend somebody like me who is not good at the unique smell of sake.
In this post, I only focus on how to make Amazake made from rice koji.
What are the benefits?
Ok, let’s talk about the benefits of Amazake.
Nutrition
Many years ago, it was common to drink it during the summer heat to stay active.
It is also said that people utilized it for baby food and medicine.
It contains:
- Glucose
- Vitamin B group
- Dietary fiber
- Enzymes
- All essential amino acids.
These nutritional elements are almost equal to what you would receive from an IV drip, so that’s why it is sometimes referred to as a drink of IV drip.
Health Benefits
Since it contains a high nutritional value, it has various health benefits.
- Vitamin B group is good for maintaining healthy skin
- Glucose is ideal for relieving fatigue
- Dietary fiber improves your digestive system
It is recommended to have this highly nutritional drink every day ( I like to drink it in the morning) as it gives you great energy.
However, drinking too much may cause a sharp rise in blood sugar levels. An appropriate amount is said, 100 ml per day, so please keep in mind.
Homemade "Nama Amazake" is the best!
Here in Japan, we can easily find Amazake at convenience stores and grocery stores.
However, store-bought one is usually sterilized by heating to keep it for a long time and kill all the goodness in Amazake like the enzymes, vitamins, etc.
Since the enzyme stops activity when the temperature exceeds 60C (140F), it is best to buy the one without heat treatment, but it's hard to find it.
Don't worry. If you make it at home, there is no need for sterilization so that you can take all the great benefits.
By the way, amazake without sterilization is called “Nama Aamazake” (Nama means raw) to separate from the one with sterilization.
And you will learn how to make it in the following section.
How to Make Amazake at home
There are several ways to make it.
First of all, we will need a tool to keep temperature and time, 60C/140F, for 6 hours to ferment rice koji.
So you could use either one of them as an Amazake maker:
- Rice Cooker
- Thermos
- Yogurt Maker
Enzyme dies if the temperature is over 60C/140F, so it is super important to control it.
The best temperature to make a tasty Amazake with natural sweetness is 55C-60C/131F-140F.
If it is too low (50C/122F), the taste will not be sweet or too high (70C/158F), the taste will be sour.
I recommend a Yogurt maker
So I recommend using a yogurt maker as an Amazake maker.
You can use a rice cooker and thermos, but it is hard to control the temperature since there is no setting.
If you want the same result every time you make it, a yogurt maker is the best choice.
I know, some people don’t want to get it only for making amazake, but you can make:
- Yogurt
- Bread dough
- Instant miso
- Shio koji (Japanese seasoning made from salt and rice koji)
and more other ways to use.
Somebody like me makes it all the time and makes soy milk yogurt every week, and a yogurt maker is a must-have kitchen tool.
It's easy to control the temperature and time. Once you set it and you can forget about it.
I will show you how to make Amazake with a yogurt maker in this post.
Yogurt Maker
Let me tell you a bit about a Yogurt maker in case if you consider buying it.
This is my favorite Yogurt Maker: TANICA Yogurutia. The range of temperature and time is wide, and easy to set it.
- Temperature from 25C to 65C/77F to 149F
- Timer from 1 to 48 hours
If you can find a tool something like this at your local store, then perfect for making an Amazake.
Tools
Excuse me for giving you so much information before actually making it. So now, finally, I will talk about how to make it step by step. Let's get started!
We will need these 3 tools:
- Yogurt Maker: TANICA Yogurutia for fermentation
- Thermometer: TANITA Digital Thermometer for check the temperature
- Small pot for boiling water
📋 Ingredients
Here are the ingredients (amounts are in the recipe card below).
*These are affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission, at no cost to you, if you purchase items using these links.
- Rice koji : Iseso Miyako Koji
- Water
If you live in Japan, you can easily find this Miyako koji in grocery stores or online stores like Amazon and Rakuten.
If you live outside of Japan, it might be hard to find it at local grocery stores.
So, if you live in the US, you can find it here, and if you live in Canada, you can find it here.
If you have trouble finding rice koji or deciding which one to choose, please let me know. I would love to help you.
🔪Instructions
Let me walk you through the steps. Also, you can watch it in this video.
First of all, Clean the inner container of the yogurt maker thoroughly. Add water until the bottom is covered (1 to 2 mm), then heat in a microwave for about 1 minute. After removing it from the microwave, pour out the water.
- Separate rice koji: Massage it to separate rice grains before opening the package and put them in the container.
- Boil water: Pour some water into a small pot, heat it to 63C-65C (145F-149F) by using a thermometer. To keep the best temperature, 55C-60C (131F-140F) inside the container, water should be slightly higher than 60C (140F) because water temperature drops when mixing with rice koji.
- Mix water and rice koji: Pour water into the container and mix well with rice koji.
- Start fermentation: Set your yogurt maker at 60C (140F) for 6 hours, put the container in it, and start fermentation.
- Check the taste: After 6 hours, check the taste. If it tastes sweet, then your amazake is done.
- Storage: Transfer in a bottle and keep it in the fridge.
How to store
I like to keep it in a glass jar like the photo above. You can store any container you have and keep it in the fridge.
Fermentation will continue even in the fridge, and if you leave it for a while, it will get sour, so I recommend drinking it within 7 days to 10 days.
Also, if you don’t use it right away, you can freeze it too. It will last up to one month or more in the freezer.
When you freeze, an ice cube tray is handy. Once they are frozen, please transfer them to a freezer bag, and warm them up when you drink. So easy.
How to enjoy
You can drink as it is, but here are some quick recipes/ideas that you can enjoy more with homemade amazake.
Amazake Milk
This is my favorite, blend Amazake in a blender and mix with soy milk (or your favorite milk).
It will sweeten evenly, and it's smooth and creamy and so tasty. It's good, both cold and hot.
Amazake Smoothie
Another idea is blending with your favorite fruits and green leaf.
It's a super healthy drink that gives you so much energy! I have the recipe here: 6 Amazake smoothie recipes.
Amazake Miso
Mix amazake and miso (3 tablespoon of amazake and 3 tablespoon of miso).
This flavorful paste would be good for a vegetable dip, salad dressing, and marinated tofu.
You get some idea how you can enjoy amazake more than drink? I hope you try these ideas, and please let me know what you think!
FAQ
Amazake (rice koji): No, Amazake (sake lees): Yes, less than 1% alcohol.
Amazake is sweet. Amazake(rice koji): Natural mild sweetness from rice, Amazake(sake lees): sweetness from added sugar.
Amazake(rice koji) is good for maintaining healthy skin, relieving fatigue, your digestive system, etc.
Amazake(rice koji) lasts 7 to 10 days in the fridge, 1 month in the freezer.
Yes, add it instead of any sweetener. Yes, add it instead of any sweetener. Yes, add it instead of any sweetener.
Yes, it is good for a green smoothie or any other drinks. It is one of my favorite ways to enjoy it.
Yes, it's vegan. Ingredients are only rice koji and water.
Thanks for stopping by
It's a lot of information related to making Amazake, but making it is so simple and easy.
I hope you are excited to make it at home and enjoy this healthy but tasty, nutrient-rich drink.
Thank you for taking the time to read my blog♡ If you’ve tried this recipe(or any other recipe on the blog), please give it a star rating below!
Also, feel free to leave comments if you have any questions. I love hearing from you!
Chef JA Cooks is a Japanese food blog that shares simple and healthy Japanese home cooking recipes include vegan and vegetarian. From traditional Japanese recipes to modern recipes with step-by-step instructions.
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Watch How To Make It
📖 Recipe
How To Make Amazake (Fermented Rice Drink)
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 360
- Total Time: 6 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 500ml 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Fermentation
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Amazake is a traditional Japanese fermented drink. It's sweet, healthy, nutrient-rich, and boosts your energy level.
Ingredients
- 200g Rice Koji
- 400ml Water
Instructions
- Separate rice koji: Massage it to separate rice grains before opening the package and put them in a yogurt maker container.
- Boil water: Pour some water into a small pot, heat it to 63C-65C (145F-149F) by using a thermometer.
- Mix water and rice koji: Pour water into the container and mix well with rice koji.
- Start fermentation: Set your yogurt maker at 60C(140F) for 6 hours, put the container in it, and start fermentation.
- Storage: Transfer in a bottle and keep it in the fridge.
Notes
- Equipment: TANICA Yogurutia for fermentation, TANITA Digital Thermometer for checking the temperature, and a glass jar.
- Storage: It will last for 7 to 10 days in the fridge and one month in the freezer. Fermentation continues in the fridge, so please drink it before it becomes sour.
- 1 serving is 100ml.
Keywords: amazake, amazake recipes, how to make amazake
Vanessa Cheong
Hi may I know why some recipes call for additional rife but this doesn’t? Thank you!
Vanessa
*rice
JURI
Hi Vanessa, Thanks for asking. Adding rice increases the sweetness of the amazake. I don't include it because I think it's sweet enough without rice. But feel free to add some cooked rice if you want more sweetness. Also, since koji is more expensive than rice, substituting part of your koji with cooked rice may help keep costs down. I hope this helps!