11/19/2025
Pumpkin Amazake
A little about this special. So we wanted to create something using pumpkin but without the addition of the traditional warming spices that typically accompany it. The flavor of pumpkin in itself it’s soft and subtle. Too many times when you add the spices they overwhelm the pumpkin. So we take sugar pumpkins, juice them, bring to a quick boil, then cool down to below 140°F before adding to the Koji. We then add in cooked Japanese Sushi Rice as well as Glutinous Rice to act as a thickener for the Amazake as well as fuel/food source for the Koji . It is then cooked at 140°F for 8 hours. As the hours go by the amazake gets sweeter and sweeter. Without the addition of sugar. The koji are ravenous at this temperature and quickly consume the complex carbs in the cooked rice and convert them to simple carbs….making it sweet without adding sugar. Truly amazing.
As for the flavorful additions we made a Maple Syrup Kombucha then reduces it slowly on the stove over the course of 6 hours till it was brought back to a syrup like consistency. We then made our own creme fraiche and offered it along side gold Kerry Gold butter for richness and acidity. For texture we added toasted chestnuts and roasted koji oil confit Honeynut Squash. And for garnish some citrus lace, licorice lace, and bachelor button flowers.
This dish to me is a fusion of ideas, techniques, and flavors of both Nordic and Japanese cuisine. In the second picture is how I would serve it when the restaurant is up and running!!
