Let us introduce you to your new favorite fermented beverage: amazake

Amazake is a traditionally sweet beverage made from fermented rice. HANAH Hero Taro Tamai, who was introduced to amazake through his Japanese roots, was sitting at a bar one day and decided to combine two of his favorite treats to fuel him through his backcountry days, amazake and HANAH ONE.  

Amazake has been brewed for hundreds of years. It is often considered a hangover cure in Japan, as it contains nourishing vitamins B1, B2, B6, folic acid, dietary fiber, oligosaccharide, cysteine, arginine and glutamine. 

To be clear, there are two types of amazake, one made with alcohol and one made without. Taro’s recipe is made with rice, water, and rice koji and is non-alcoholic, which can be enjoyed by everyone. Amazake can be used as a dessert, snack, natural sweetening agent, baby food, or in a smoothie. We’re pretty excited to share this innovative recipe with you, crossing ancient cultural boundaries. 

Taro’s HANAH amazake

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked & rinsed Japanese short grain rice 
• 1 cup water (for cooling the porridge, you may need more or less)
• 1 cup rice Koji 
• 1 1/2 tablespoons HANAH ONE

Directions

1. Add the rinsed rice to a rice cooker bowl and add water until the “1 cup porridge” water line or the regular “white rice 4 cup line.” Cook the porridge according to your rice cooker’s instructions (or press “Porridge”).
2. Once the porridge is cooked (temperature of 175 ºF) take the rice cooker bowl out from the rice cooker.
3. Gradually add water 1/8 cup at a time. Stir thoroughly and measure the temperature of the porridge. The temperature has to cool down to 140 ºF.
4. Once the porridge has reached 140 ºF, add the crumbled rice koji. Stir thoroughly to incorporate. Make sure there is enough water to cover the rice and rice koji so they are sufficiently soaked. If not, add warm water so it maintains 140 ºF.
5. Put the rice cooker bowl back into the rice cooker. Turn the rice cooker on to “keep warm” setting and cover with a cloth towel. Leave the rice cooker lid fully open so it does not get too hot. Allow the rice to cook for 8-10 hours, stirring occasionally and checking the temperature of the mixture every hour for the first 2-3 hours. Make sure it stays between 125 and 140 ºF at ALL TIMES.
6. Towards the end of 8 hours, the mixture starts to release the sweet fragrance. Once it’s done cooking, the mixture should smell sweet. Turn off the rice cooker and transfer the rice cooker bowl into ice water to let cool and stop cooking. When it’s cooled, transfer the amazake into a large sterilized container.
7. Last, but not least, add your HANAH ONE as your last ingredient to keep from heating the herbs in the rice cooker. Enjoy!

About HANAH Hero Taro Tamai

Renowned snowboard designer, surfer, and photographer, Taro Tamai splits his time between the ocean and the snow. He founded GENTEMSTICK, a unique all-mountain snowboard design that pioneered the snowsurfing movement and the short board revolution. From his home base in Niseko, Japan, Taro continues to be a catalyst in both snow and surf while traveling the world seeking steep mountains and secret breaks. Learn more about all our Heroes here.