Amazake is yet another Japanese superfood finding

Often referred to as "drinkable IV," "amazake" is a centuries-old Japanese drink that is packed full of nutritious ingredients said to promote brain function, boost energy and rehydrate your body. Oh, and it's also delicious.

Just like sugary rice-pudding only healthy. Amazake is yet another Japanese superfood finding. Made using Aspergillus oryzae or more commonly known as "koji" (the fungus used to ferment soybeans for making soy sauce, miso and sake), amazake is the Japanese ingredient worth knowing.

Dating from the Kofun period, amazake, mentioned in the "Nihon Shoki" or "The Chronicles of Japan" (the second oldest book of classical Japanese history) comes with healthy brownie points a-plenty.

In the past, it used to be applied by Japanese as a hangover remedy and/or drunk cold on scorching hot summer days to combat the unbearable heat.

High in Vitamin B1, B2, B6, amino acid, pantothenic acid, inositol, biotin, dietary fibre and oligosaccharide, outside Japan, it is usually found in natural and organic health stores in the U.S.A, Europe, Australia and New Zealand and is becoming increasingly popular amongst healthy foodies.

There isn’t one single way of consuming amazake. It is commonly used as a natural sweetener added to baking recipes (just a tablespoon or two will suffice for a nutritional boost, more is needed to really taste it); blended into fruit juice for a nutritious smoothie, or mixed into yoghurt or milk served as is or with muesli.

Because amazake (which looks like oatmeal or rice pudding) is pulpy, to get all of its good qualities it’s important that you chew and drink. However, if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of solid bits in your drink, I recommend trying a more pureed, less textured variety of amazake. Some of these come flavoured including almond, chocolate and adzuki.

In Japan, boutique supermarkets and contemporary cafes now sell ready-made amazake smoothies and puddings. For the sake of this article (seriously!) I myself may have sampled two or three.

Try this simple recipe to use instead of milk for a good start to your day.

Amazake Milk

Ingredients

1 banana 1 cup unsweetened almond milk 3 tablespoons amazake Pinch of cinnamon

Method

Place all the ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth. For a good start, serve with sugar-free granola and fresh fruit.

© Savvy Tokyo