This is one of my favorite Japanese snacks, and now my little one’s as well. It is very easy to make, as long as you don’t obsess about it being perfect:). This one in the picture was the nicest one that came out. The others were lopsided or had leaks and generally were not professional-looking. However, we had fun and look forward to trying it again. The day we made this all I had in the pantry was some mochiko and pre-packaged sweetened red bean paste. Next time I’ll have to try other flavors, …read more

I’ve got some sweet brown rice I need to use up. I’ve used it in sushi, and I’ve been thinking of making homemade mochi, and I’m tempted to try amazake.
I found the homemade Amazake recipe in Michio Kushi’s book

Here’s a detailed recipe, though a bit more intimidating.
Bunnyfoot has detailed her process here.
There are kits available to make homemade koji, but I don’t think I want to go that far. Not yet anyway. Hopefully I’ll be able to find some koji at the local Japanese food market.
Whole Foods has a whole section on cooking grains, but …read more