Amazaké: Fermenting Rice With a Rice Cooker

The fermentation adventures continue! It has been some time since I first fermented rice a few years ago. Since then, I have learned a few tricks of the trade. Although I have already written about fermenting rice, here I am going to share with you my latest tips and directions on how to make amazaké using a rice cooker.

Amazaké (also spelled amasake) literally means "sweet sake," although it does not contain alcohol. Amazaké is a sweet rice drink, made with rice that is fermented with koji. Koji is cultured grain inoculated with spores of Aspergillus oryzae, which is a fungus (a mold). Koji can be used to ferment other foods besides amazaké, including miso, sake, and rice vinegar. I purchased organic brown rice koji (and a few other goodies!) online from South River Miso, a local company based in Conway, MA.

Brown rice koji, miso tamari, and a miso sampler kit from South River Miso

The koji room at South River Miso, where koji is incubated. This photo was taken when I toured the company in 2012.

Besides being nutritious, amazaké is delicious, and fun and easy to make! Not sure if you like amazaké? You can find amazaké sold at Whole Foods Market if you would like to try it first.  

The Bridge Amasake sold at Whole Foods Market

Here are my latest directions on how to make amazaké using a rice cooker, inspired by South River Miso's amazaké recipe. As with all recipes, you will find different instructions for how to make amazaké if you look at other sources.

Amazaké recipe using a rice cooker

*Please note that this recipe may be scaled proportionally, to make as much or as little amazaké as you would like.

Ingredients and materials:

• 1 cup brown rice
• 1/2 cup brown rice koji
• 4 cups water, divided (or more if desired)
• Rice cooker
• Thermometer (optional)

Directions:

1. Cook the rice according to your rice cooker's instructions. I cook 1 cup brown rice with 2 cups of water. Do not add salt.
2. After the rice is cooked, mix the rice. Add 1 cup of water to the rice and mix this in as well. Check the temperature of the rice. The temperature should be under 140°F. Give the rice time to cool down with the cover removed if necessary.
3. When the rice has cooled down to under 140°F, mix in the koji.
   
   • Adding more koji to the ratio will make the amazaké sweeter.

   

   Brown rice with koji

4. Keep the rice and koji mixture warm as it ferments. 
• In the book "Wild Fermentation," Sandor Ellix Katz notes that the rice can ferment at temperatures in-between 90°F - 140°F. However, South River Miso recommends fermenting the rice in-between 115°F - 130°F. The higher the temperature, the faster the rice will ferment.
• To keep the rice warm, I found it effective to prop the rice cooker cover on top of chopsticks, and to keep the rice cooker on the "keep warm" function. The temperature of the mixture was around 137°F with this method, and this worked out well for me. 
• Ferment the rice for 5-8 hours or so.
• If you are fermenting the rice at a lower temperature, you may also ferment the rice overnight or for up to 24 hours. The rice will get sweeter the longer it ferments.
• It helps to occasionally mix the rice around every hour or so if possible. This helps to prevent the top layer from drying out.
• During the fermentation process, enzymes secreted by Aspergillus oryzae break down some of the complex carbohydrates in the rice into simple sugars, which is how amazaké becomes sweet. As the rice ferments, it will begin to taste and smell sweet, and it may develop a liquid consistency.

  

  Keeping the ferment warm with the "keep warm" function

5. When the rice tastes to your liking, add and mix in 1 cup water (or more if desired) to the fermented rice. Turn the rice cooker on the "cook" function for around 15 minutes, with the cover removed. Mix the rice constantly to prevent it from sticking to the bottom. Heating up the rice at a higher temperature with the "cook" function will stop the fermentation process, preventing the sugars from eventually turning into alcohol. 

   

   Fermented rice - amazaké

6. Enjoy amazaké hot or cold. Amazaké can be stored in the refrigerator, and should keep for at least two weeks or more. My amazaké usually turns out thick like porridge. However, you will often see amazaké served as a beverage. If your amazaké is not thin enough to serve as a drink, water or any type of vegan "milk" can be added to it, and blended to create a drink. Amazaké can also be used as a sweetener substitute.
   
   

   

   Amazaké blended with almond milk and coconut milk

Amazaké with coconut milk, almonds, candied ginger, and cinnamon

Variations:

• Try fermenting other grains with koji, such as millet.

Interested in fermentation beyond amazaké? Stay tuned to Boston Ferments if you live in the Boston area, and mark your calendars for the next Boston Fermentation Festival on September 27, 2014!

Farm to Pharmacy Intensive

Last week, I participated in the Farm to Pharmacy Intensive with David Crow and William Siff at Goldthread Herb Farm. The farm is located in the foothills of the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts, and we were very lucky to have nice weather the majority of the time! Over the week, we learned about herbs in many different ways, including plant walks outdoors, harvesting, making various products with the herbs, and lectures. The concepts were taught incorporating Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic principles.

Learning in the outdoor classroom with William Siff

The intensive went from Saturday, September 22 - Friday, September 28. With the exception of Friday and Saturday, class went from 9 am - 6 pm, with delicious vegetarian lunches catered by The Bakers Oven located in Shelburne Falls. The schedule varied each day, according to the weather.

A major focus of the program was how to apply herbalism at home. Therefore, we learned a lot about working with herbs that are relatively harmless, have a wide range of therapeutic benefits, are cost-effective, and are easy to grow in North America (if you are interested in growing your own herbs, check out The Medicinal Herb Grower by Richo Cech of Horizon Herbs). For example, applying herbalism can be as simple as using culinary herbs, which can have immense health benefits. This includes the oreganos, thymes, basils, sages, onions, garlic, and more.

Because the intensive was located at the herb farm, we were able to do some outdoor hands-on learning. At the end of September in Massachusetts, the growing season is coming to an end, so we harvested herbs and seeds, and we prepared plant beds for rest for the winter. We also garbled herbs, which is the process of separating the part of the plant that will be used from the parts that aren't wanted. For instance, removing the stems from dried peppermint leaves for storage purposes. Here is a nicely illustrated blog post describing how to easily garble herbs.

Wire mesh screen used for garbling herbs

We also learned about composting,

Vermicomposting in the greenhouse

and about many properties of the herbs that were present at the farm.

Ashwagandha, an important herb in Ayurvedic tradition and a strong restorative that strengthens the immune system

In addition, we learned about essential oils with David Crow from Floracopeia (the quality of the essential oils from Floracopeia is simply amazing).

One essential oil we learned about in particular was helichrysum. It is considered the "best essential oil for a first aid remedy. It excels at supporting the skin in healthy healing...Very few oils can boast such a broad spectrum of effective therapeutic use...Its overall cleansing effect and its ability to support a healthy inflammatory response make helichrysum a great support to the respiratory, immune, and neurological systems providing mood uplifting and stress reduction benefits to boot." Learn more about what David Crow has to say about helichrysum in this article and about "the best helichrysum essential oil in the world" in this video.

On Thursday, we distilled local hemlock to make hydrosol and essential oil with Goldthread's distillery. This process involved stripping the hemlock needles,

 

Stripping hemlock needles

and placing the needles in a chamber in the 85-gallon still. With a fire and water, steam was created underneath, allowing the hot steam to pass upwards through the plant material, carrying the essential oil with it. The steam with the essential oil then went through a cold condensing unit, where the steam and essential oil recondensed. The liquid collected in a container, and because of the different densities, the oil separated from the water. The oil produced is the hemlock essential oil. After the essential oil is decanted off, the remaining aromatic liquid, which contains trace amounts of the essential oil, is known as a hydrosol. Hydrosols have numerous applications, such as for body care and as natural air fresheners.

Hemlock Distillation 

Hemlock essential oil (on top) and hydrosol (below)

While in Conway, I also explored the area, including a visit to the Ashfield Farmers Market nearby.

Ashfield Farmers Market

On Friday, I went on a tour of South River Miso, which is located right in Conway.

Miso is a seasoning often used to make miso soup in Japanese cuisine. However, it can be used in many other food preparations as well. As a fermented product, miso is reported to have numerous health benefits, such as cancer prevention, and in promoting health as a probiotic. At South River Miso, making miso involves cooking the beans, inoculating brown rice with spores of the mold Aspergillus oryzae to make koji, treading the beans by feet for an hour (wearing clean organic cotton socks, of course!), adding the rice koji, and then fermenting the miso in the wooden vats for 3 weeks, or even up to 3 years. This process produces not only miso, but also tamari, which is the liquid that collects in the vats of miso. Tamari is similar to soy sauce, but it has a lighter and sweeter taste. Check out these videos for a tour of South River Miso and to see how they make their products.

South River Miso's Fermentation Building. Tamari fermenting in the carboys (left) and miso fermenting in the vats (right).

South River Miso makes many varieties of miso, including traditional misos made with brown rice, and untraditional flavors, such as chickpea miso. I purchased some chickpea miso tamari and brown rice koji as a starter to make amazaké again. All of South River Miso's products can be ordered online from their website, and their miso can also be found at many Whole Foods markets.

It was a wonderful week away, and I learned a lot. Having already taken some herbalism and aromatherapy classes, I enjoyed learning from new teachers with different backgrounds, and also learning from a great group of peers. One major difference in this program compared to some of my previous classes was the emphasis on Ayurvedic principles and Traditional Chinese Medicine. If you are interested in other events offered by David Crow and William Siff, visit Floracopeia's website and Goldthread Herb Farm and Apothecary!

 Goldthread Herb Farm

Fermenting Rice: Amazaké

Ever since I first tried the fermented rice drink, amazaké, from Whole Foods, I've been intrigued at how to make it. It was hard to believe that such a sweet beverage could be made only with rice and a fermentation starter, without any added sweetener! Although amazaké literally means "sweet sake," it contains almost no alcohol because the fermentation process is stopped with the addition of heat. (Or if the fermentation process isn't stopped, then making amazaké can be the first step to making sake, the Japanese rice wine). Amazaké can be made with grains and koji, or it can be made with sake lees, which are byproducts from the sake making process. Like many other fermented foods, amazaké is thought to be very nutritious. For example, it is said to contain B vitamins. And because I love fermentation, I thought that making amazaké would be a great culinary endeavor!

Here, I am providing a brief recap of the recipe to make amazaké (a combination of the recipe listed in Sandor Katz's book, Wild Fermentation (1), and South River Miso's Amazaké recipe). For a more detailed set of directions, check out South River Miso's Amazaké recipe.

Ingredients:

-Water

-2 cups grain (I used brown rice, but other grains may be substituted, such as millet)

-2 cups koji (I ordered my koji locally from South River Miso. The koji is the fermentation starter, and here it's brown rice inoculated with the spores of the mold Aspergillus oryzae)

Brown rice koji from South River Miso

Directions

1. Cook the grain in 6 cups of water. Please note: do not add salt when cooking the grain.

2. When the grain is finished cooking, remove from heat, uncover the pot, and allow the grain to cool down to about 110-130° F. Don't let the grain get too cool- koji can tolerate temperatures as high as 140° F.

3. Add the koji to the cooked grain and stir well.

Brown rice with koji mixed in

4. Keep the container in a warm place for about 5-8 hours or overnight (at least 90° F or above). The amount of time you ferment the mixture will depend on the desired level of sweetness and the temperature. The higher the temperature, the quicker the fermentation process will take place. Do not let the grain get above 140° F, which can kill the koji. Suggestions for incubation: a rice cooker on keep warm, with a towel on top instead of the hard cover. Or incubate in the oven with a pilot light, in a hot water bath, etc.).

Amazaké after about 5 hours

5. When the amazaké is at your desired level of sweetness, gently boil it with some additional water or heat it up to stop the fermentation process (which will prevent the amazaké from turning into alcohol). Be careful not to burn the amazaké.

6. Amazaké can be stored for several weeks in the refrigerator. Serve the amazaké as is as a pudding, or add water to it and put it in a blender to made a sweet rice drink. You can also seasonings to it, such as honey or spices. Amazaké can also be used as a sweet base for various preparations, such as breads and baked goods. Read more suggestions for what to do with amazaké here.

My amazaké didn't turn out as watery as I thought it would be, so I ended up making sweet rice balls with my amazaké:

Amazaké rice balls, covered with black and white sesame seeds, coconut flakes, and sea salt, with a peanut in the center.

Two comments from my experience:

-I tried freezing some of the rice balls, but they did not taste very good after being kept in the freezer.

-I used a slow cooker to incubate and ferment the amazaké. However, from a quick google search, it seems that slow cooker temperatures, even on low, can reach temperatures to above 140° F. This meant that I was constantly monitoring the amazaké to try and ensure that it didn't get above 140° F (I didn't have a food thermometer, so I was estimating). So, ferment amazaké in a slow cooker at your own risk...

Amazaké is a fun and different way to enjoy your grains. In addition, amazaké is a great way to have a sweet snack that is also healthy, without any additional sugar added.

If you are interested in trying amazaké before you attempt to make it, I have found amazaké at various Whole Foods Markets and at the Harvest Co-Op. At the Harvest Co-Op, I've also found amazaké in various delicious flavors, such as Almond Shake and Go Hazelnuts. You may also find amazaké in your local Asian grocery store. If you have any stories about your experience with amazaké, please share!

Source:

1. Katz, Sandor Ellix. Wild Fermentation. White River Junction, Vermont: Chelsea Green Publishing Company, 2003, p. 118-119.