Super delicious for health and beauty! Azuki bean amazake (video and transcript)
Hello!
This is Kokoro Kyoko!
This time, I would like to talk about a delicious 'azuki bean amazake' that I am currently really hooked on, make frequently for my health, and eat every day.
A long time ago, I watched a video saying that you could make a mildly sweet 'azuki bean paste' using only azuki beans and rice koji without adding any sugar, and at first, I thought I would make that 'azuki bean paste'.
With that 'azuki bean paste,' I would end up making manju or other sweets using the paste, and the ingredients I bought from the co-op were one 300g bag of azuki beans and one 500g bag of rice koji. Since you use equal amounts to make the paste, I thought it would be a waste to have nearly half the rice koji left over... so, considering my health as well, I decided to make 'azuki bean amazake' to use up one bag of each.
If possible, I wanted to film the actual process and upload it as a video, but my kitchen is in an old apartment complex, and the cooking utensils I use are all old too. I see videos every day of other people filming stylishly in beautiful kitchens using the latest cooking utensils, so I was too embarrassed to film a video. Please forgive me for just using audio this time!
First, for the ingredients, since I am particular about additive-free products, I use:
300g of co-op direct-from-farm organic azuki beans
500g of co-op dried rice koji
1500cc of boiling water + 60-degree hot water
You can easily make it with just these three things.
Next is how to make it:
1. First, boil water and let it cool until it reaches 60 degrees.
2. Next, lightly wash the azuki beans and boil and drain them about three times to remove the harshness.
*Boiling and draining means putting enough water to cover the beans, bringing it to a boil, and then draining them in a colander; repeat this process about three times.
3. Then, add water again, bring to a boil, and simmer for about an hour. Check the firmness, and once they are soft, drain them in a colander, separate the cooking liquid from the beans, and let them cool until they reach 60 degrees.
4. Once it reaches 60 degrees, put the boiled azuki beans, dried rice koji, and the cooking liquid plus the water cooled to 60 degrees (totaling 1500cc) into a rice cooker, mix them, leave the lid open, cover with a cloth, and turn on the keep-warm switch.
5. Occasionally stir and check the temperature to keep it between 55 and 60 degrees.
In winter, the temperature stays constant just by stirring occasionally, but when making it in summer, the room temperature is high, so I adjust by turning the keep-warm function on and off. The instructions on the rice koji bag say it will be 'ready in about 6 hours,' but in reality, when I taste it, it isn't sweet at 6 hours, so I ferment it for about 10 hours until it becomes mildly sweet.
6. Once the sweetness is just right, turn off the keep-warm function, let it cool, and once cooled, transfer it to another container and store it in the refrigerator.
With the latest rice cookers, you might be able to keep the temperature constant, so keeping it on the keep-warm setting might be fine, but my rice cooker is old, and in the summer, the temperature gets too high, so I frequently measure the temperature and turn the keep-warm function on and off.
In winter, you can just leave it on keep-warm and stir occasionally.
When I made it for the first time, it seemed like the time spent at a low temperature was too long, so it didn't get sweet easily, and in the end, I fermented it for over 12 hours.
If the temperature is over 60 degrees, it seems the koji mold gets damaged and it won't get sweet,
and conversely, if you ferment it for a long time at 55 degrees or below, it seems it will turn sour.
When I was a child, I drank my mother's homemade regular amazake a few times at my parents' house, but it was so unpalatable that I ended up hating amazake and didn't drink it for a long time.
Back then, they didn't use rice cookers; I don't remember the details, but it seems they would put it in a large container, wrap it in a blanket, and in the winter, put it in a kotatsu to make it over a long period, so maybe the temperature was too low and it turned sour.
It was a long time ago, so I don't remember the taste, but it had such an off-putting flavor that I hated it and didn't drink it at all until a few years ago.
However, while looking at health information online, I learned that as it has long been called 'amazake is a drinkable IV drip,' it contains a well-balanced mix of nutrients that have a positive effect on health and beauty, such as essential amino acids, indigestible proteins, dietary fiber, B vitamins, and various minerals, so now it is also called a 'drinkable beauty serum,' 'Japanese yogurt,' and a 'superfood.'
After learning that, I bought bottled amazake from the co-op to drink for my health.
And then, to my surprise, it was delicious!
It was completely different from what I drank at my parents' house and was truly tasty, so for a while, I bought and drank various kinds from the co-op.
I thought I would try making it myself, so I occasionally made regular amazake, and that's when I came up with the idea for azuki amazake.
Even though it's called 'amazake,' it contains no alcohol, so children can drink it too. It's something the whole family can enjoy and get healthy with, so I highly recommend it!
I love beans and soy products, and especially plain boiled beans. I have frequently boiled soybeans, azuki beans, and pinto beans to eat without seasoning, and since I also occasionally made my own amazake, it's like I combined the two.
Although it's 'amazake,' because it contains azuki beans, it feels more like something you 'eat' rather than 'drink.'
I have uploaded images of when I made it to Instagram.
I will post a link to my Instagram in the description box below the video, so please take a look!
The first image is of it when I portion it out to eat, and the second is an overall image of it inside the rice cooker when it's finished.
I love both azuki beans and amazake, so it's super delicious!
I eat it every day and it runs out in a week, so I make it frequently.
It's so delicious that I never get tired of it!
If you haven't made amazake yet, please try making it!
Thank you so much for watching again this time!
See you next time! This was Kokoro Kyoko!
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[Instagram image of the azuki bean amazake I made]
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Thank you so much for reading until the end!
I love you more than anything in the universe! Thank you so much!
I would be super happy if you checked out my other notes and videos too!
See you later!