Sweet Rice Drink (甘酒, Amazake)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Rice cooker, yogurt maker, or insulated pot for holding steady warmth
• •Instant-read thermometer
• •Clean spoon or spatula
• •Blender, optional, for a smoother drink

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook Soft Rice

   Rinse the rice until the water runs almost clear, then cook it with 3 cups water until very soft, closer to kayu, rice porridge, than table rice. Soft grains give the kōji more open starch to work on, so sweetness comes more easily. Let it cool until it is hot but no longer scalding, about 60 C.

2. 2

   Loosen the Kōji

   Break the rice kōji apart gently with clean hands so there are no hard clumps. If it is frozen, thaw it fully first. Kōji needs contact with the warm rice, and clumps keep their sweetness to themselves, a selfish habit we don't encourage.

3. 3

   Mix and Thin

   Stir the kōji into the warm rice, then add 1 1/2 cups warm water. The mixture should be loose enough to stir, like a thick porridge. Add the remaining water only if it feels stiff. More water makes a drinkable amazake; less water makes a spoonable one.

4. 4

   Hold Warm

   Transfer the mixture to a rice cooker on the keep-warm setting with the lid slightly open, a yogurt maker, or a covered pot set in a warm water bath. Hold it between 55 and 60 C for 6 to 8 hours, stirring every hour or two. This warmth lets the kōji enzymes turn rice starch into sugar. Above about 65 C, those enzymes weaken, and the sweetness stops before it has properly begun.

   A thermometer is the tool that makes this simple. The whole dish is steady warmth, nothing more mysterious than that.
5. 5

   Taste for Sweetness

   Begin tasting after 6 hours. The amazake is ready when it tastes clearly sweet, round, and rice-fragrant, with the grains softened but still visible. If it tastes flat, keep it warm another hour. If it tastes sharply sour, it has gone too far or sat too cool for too long.

6. 6

   Finish Smooth

   For a rustic texture, leave it as it is. For a smoother drink, blend it briefly, then thin with hot or cold water to the thickness you like. Add a small pinch of salt if the sweetness tastes dull; salt doesn't make it salty, it gives the rice a clearer edge.

7. 7

   Serve Warm

   Warm the amazake gently in a small pot, but don't boil it. Boiling flattens the fragrance and can make the texture heavy. Serve in small cups with a little grated ginger if you like, especially in cold weather.

Chef Tips

• •Buy rice kōji that smells sweet and clean, like rice and chestnut. If it smells musty or sour before you begin, change the plan. Nothing good is hidden under sugar here.
• •A rice cooker makes this almost hands-off if its keep-warm setting stays near 60 C. Prop the lid open with a folded cloth if it runs hot, and check with a thermometer before trusting it.
• •Fresh kōji gives the roundest sweetness, but dried rice kōji works well if you soak it briefly in the warm water before mixing. Call it a sensible stand-in, not a lesser thing.
• •For chilled amazake, thin it after fermenting, then refrigerate it well. Serve it cold with ginger in summer, when its sweetness feels lighter than any syrup.

Advance Preparation

• •Amazake keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated in a clean covered jar. Stir before serving, as the rice solids settle.
• •For longer storage, freeze it in small portions for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator and warm gently or serve chilled.
• •Make it the day before New Year morning. The flavor settles overnight, and the work is already done when the house is still quiet.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 240g)