How to make amazake from Sake kasu (without Koji)

Do you know Sake kasu (酒粕) ? It is the lees are produced when making Sake.

It comes out as a by-product of sake, but it also contains carbohydrates and proteins, as well as amino acids and vitamins. Therefore, there are many foods and drinks using sake kasu in Japan.

This time I will introduce Amazake (甘酒) which is a traditional japanese drink. It is suitable for beginners because it makes it easier than Amazake made from Koji (麹).

Materials for making Amazake from Sake kasu

As for sweet sake of sake cake, unlike koji, you do not have to control the temperature, so it will not fail.

Unlike Koji’s Amazake, sugar is essential for amazake of sake kasu.

Sake lees of Okayama prefecture’s brewery manufacturer “Sanko Masamune (三光正宗)”

Procedure to make Amazake from Sake kasu

The products sold by Japanese brewery manufacturers may have a simple recipe of cooking written. According to it, to make one serving you can boil 50 grams of sake lees and 200 grams of water and add an appropriate amount of sugar and ginger.

Because sake kasu amazake is easy, sake kasu and water are all right with an appropriate amount.

1. The sake kasu of the above have been hardened to the white plate. So soak in water for the first time, leave it until it gets soft. (In the case of paste-like sake kasu it is not necessary to soak in water.) I put it in the water for about half a day.

2. If it seems that plate-like sake kasu are softened, I will crush sake kasu with potato masher.

By the way it is OK to crush immediately without soaking it in water, I think that it becomes easier to be unraveled if it is immersed in water, and the texture when drinking is also good.

3. After crushing and mixing with water, I will heat it so as not to burn. The point at this time is to add water and not boil.

If it was thick consistency than you are imagining, please add water to the concentration you like. And please let heat without boiling. It is because alcohol may be lost by boiling.

Drinks as amazake are made at this heated stage, but it is not tasty even if you drink without sweetness.

4. Add sugar to warm amazake and adjust it to your favorite sweetness.

Unlike Koji, sweet sake of sake kasu is not sweet. If there is no sugar, it is just hot water that melted sake lees. There is not enough sweetness to say at all.

“Ama (甘)” of amazake means sweet in Japanese. Therefore, amazake of sake lees will use a lot of sugar.

The amazake of sake lees use the sugar in large quantities.

It is hard to understand in the picture, but I used at least 10 cups of spoonful of sugar. As a guide, it is about 100 grams of sugar against 1 liter of sakekasu amazake.

I think that sweetness is monotonous only with sugar, making a little bit of Zarame (granulated sugar) and honey adjustments to the drink. Let’s adjust it there as you like. Some Japanese adults add a touch of ginger.

Finally. Amazake of sake kasu is easy to make but ……

Amazake of sake kasu can be made very easily compared with Koji. It is because you do not have to manage fine temperature and time. Also, amazake of sake kasu is popular for adults because alcohol content remains unless it boils.

However, comparing pure taste, it is delicious to make from koji. In Japan there are amazake (甘酒) of the same name made from sake kasu and from koji, but the two are completely different drinks.

I also introduced a method of making amazake from koji 『How to make Amazake from Koji at home』, so please read it and try it. It is interesting because the way of making it and the taste are quite different.