Be Powerful with Amazake

In recent years, amazake has been popular for being good for health and beauty. It is said to have a long history since the Tumulus period in Japan. Now we consume amazake throughout the year, but when it became a big boom in Edo period (1603-1868), it used to be a basic remedy for summer heat fatigue. An amazake vendor carrying a balancing pole was traditional in the summer of Japan and even in haiku, amazake is a seasonal word kigo for summer.
There are two types of amazake depending on the materials, ‘kome koji amazake’ made from rice koji and ‘sake kasu amazake’ made from sake kasu. Both being rich in nutrients such as glucose and minerals, they are expected to relieve fatigue and increase immunity. The big difference is that the rice koji type is non-alcohol with a natural sweet taste while the sake kasu type contains less than 1% of alcohol without a sweet taste. Sometimes, amazake is made by mixing rice koji and sake kasu. Whether homemade or store-bought, it can be drunk as is, or chilled and mixed with vegetable juice or yogurt. As it draws out the flavor, there are many ways to use amazake, such as adding a little bit to the French dressing and tartare sauce or using for seasoning meat and fish. Try healthy and delicious amazake in various ways.