We want to incorporate healthy foods into our daily lives as much as possible. How wonderful it would be if we could celebrate special occasions with delicious, healthy foods.
Chami, who runs a cooking class on fermentation and dim sum at her home, will teach us various seasonal recipes with the theme of "fermentation x celebration". This time, she taught us a recipe for sweet sake, perfect for Hinamatsuri. It is made with raw koji, so even small children can enjoy it.

Break up the clumps of raw koji with clean hands. What's interesting is that the bacteria on your hands will stick to the koji, so the taste will vary from person to person. The power of the koji will make the area you touch smooth .

Add water to the warm rice and mix. Mix while incorporating air, then cool to about 60 degrees.
[Caution] If the temperature is too high, the power of the koji will weaken or be lost, so make sure the temperature does not exceed 60 degrees.

Once the temperature has dropped, add the raw koji and mix.

Put it in a yogurt maker and heat it at 55 degrees for more than 12 hours. (Chami's yogurt maker is a little low temperature, so she sets it to 57 degrees.)
Stir the whole mixture every 1-2 hours. It may be difficult to mix at first, so you can put it in a clean large bowl and stir it there. It will become easier to mix as time goes on. Stirring is done to keep the temperature of the amazake even in the container.

Keep the lid on at first to keep it warm. After 4 to 6 hours, remove the lid and cover with a clean cloth to keep it warm. This is to remove the moisture and concentrate the sweetness. After that, if possible, mix the whole thing every 1-2 hours. You can leave it as it is, but the surface will become too dry, so mix it a few times until it is done. After 12 hours, taste it and if it is delicious, it is done.

When you eat it fresh, you can taste the subtle sweetness of the rice, which is a very gentle sweetness.
The sweetness of koji amazake comes from the fact that the koji contains an enzyme (amylase) that breaks down starch, which breaks down the starch in rice.
You can drink it as is, mix it with yogurt, or use it in place of sugar in your cooking. The grainy rice texture is fun, but if you want to make it smoother, you can make it into a paste in a blender. It looks like both adults and children can celebrate Hinamatsuri in a delicious and healthy way.

◆ Arrangement recipe ◆

You can easily make a refreshing dessert using amazake made from rice.
If you have frozen fruit, you can turn it into a smoothie just by mixing it. If you freeze it, you can also make gelato. With just fruit and amazake, you can easily make a dessert with a gentle sweetness that you wouldn't believe is made without sugar.

This is made by mixing equal parts frozen mango and amazake (sweet sake) made from rice. Blend it in a blender and freeze it to make gelato.

When mixed with strawberries, it turns a light pink color, making it perfect for Hinamatsuri. Even without using particularly sweet strawberries, the sweetness of the amazake makes it a healthy dessert.

◆ Amazake is like a drinkable IV drip! ◆

Amazake contains a wealth of nutrients, similar to those found in IV drips, such as vitamin B1, vitamin B2, oligosaccharides, dietary fiber, amino acids, and glucose. It can improve your intestinal environment, and is expected to have beauty benefits and relieve fatigue. This time, we are making amazake with raw koji, so it can be safely incorporated into the diet of pregnant women and small children.

Chami, who taught me the recipe, says that after eating a spoonful of amazake every morning, her constipation was cured and her stiff heels became soft within a few weeks. In addition, her husband's dermatitis, which had not been cured even with steroids, was completely cured.

The power of koji is amazing! Being able to celebrate a special day with my family while incorporating something that is good for my body makes me feel very rich.

Next time, I will introduce you to a simple marinade recipe using amazake made from rice. Look forward to it!