Most famously, amazake is the lightly alcoholic sake lees leftovers often served warm at fall festivals. The term is also used to refer to the nonalcoholic rice slurry to which brewers add yeast to begin winemaking.

Nothing against warm amazake, but the onset of balmy weather means we’ll be dealing with the latter today.

Amazake is believed to alleviate natsubate (summer heat fatigue), so it seems the perfect addition to a chilled smoothie. Its sweetness means there’s no need for refined sugars, and naturally occurring digestive enzymes, probiotics, amino acids and more lead some to call this beverage the “drinkable IV drip.”

What follows is my take on the humble green smoothie. As with aojiru vegetable juice, drinking your leafy greens is a fantastic method to fortify your diet. For a vegan twist, swap the yogurt for tofu or protein powder. For a less sweet version, trade the banana for frozen cauliflower. Get creative with this amazake smoothie — you won’t be disappointed.

As with most smoothie recipes, feel free to add in your favorite fruits and veggies for personalized flavors. | SIMON DALY
As with most smoothie recipes, feel free to add in your favorite fruits and veggies for personalized flavors. | SIMON DALY

Serves 2 large smoothies

Prep time: 10 mins. (12 hrs. resting)

Cook time: 10 mins.

Amazake

1 cup raw rice

200 grams dry rice with kōji mold

400 milliliters cold water

1. Cook the rice in your rice cooker and, when it’s finished, add the cold water directly to the rice cooker bowl. Add the rice with kōji and mix well.

2. Place the bowl back in the rice cooker. Then, set it to either the dedicated amazake or “keep warm” mode for 10 to 12 hours. Alternatively, transfer the mix to a yogurt maker and set it to 60 degrees Celsius for the same length.

3. Place the finished mix in the fridge for use within a week.

Green smoothie

150 milliliters amazake (chilled)

2 small bananas (frozen)

1 kiwifruit (frozen)

150 milligrams yogurt

200 milliliters milk, water or cold matcha

50 grams baby spinach (washed)

2 grams matcha powder (optional)

½ avocado (optional)

• Cucumber garnish (optional)

1. Peel and chop the bananas and kiwifruit, then freeze ahead of time, (fresh is also fine for a less chilled smoothie).

2. Add all the ingredients to a benchtop blender or into a bowl to mix with an immersion blender. Pulse at first, then once it is moving freely, blend continuously for 20 seconds. Serve and enjoy.