FD-5.Free Doburoku Workshop – how to make Doburoku

Hi There! It’s Shiori again.

Tomorrow is the day we’re going to prepare Doburoku!!

The original recipe that I have is more than about 5 years ago.
Since then, Doburoku is always in my fridge, even though I can’t drink at all, because I found how much Doburoku changes the taste of all dishes to umami-rich, savours food.

To tell you the truth, I don’t usually make this simple version of Doburoku since I started making Bodaimoto, the advanced way of making Doburoku.

Once I get an original batch of Doburoku, I can add rice and koji on top of it to increase the amount of Doburoku. Just like kombucha, you can make Doburoku forever…!

This is also how old Japanese people enjoy their original Doburoku at home.

How to make Doburoku

Usually at my online workshop, there are around 10 people and I communicate with everyone to see how they’re doing. But this time, I can’t communicate with everyone here.

Some people may be good at cooking, but some may not so much. Some may hate cooking…!?
So, let me give you 3 choices. 

There is going to be three versions: Version A, version B, and Version C. 

 They are all the same. The difference is just thatthere are more processes to take when you move from A to B or B to C.

Here you go,

Version A. The simplest version.

1.  Soak rice in water for more than 30 mins, and cook rice using a rice cooker. Please make sure to add  2 cups of water.(even though you cook 3 cups of rice)

2. After you cool down the cooked rice, place it in a container with rice koji, water, lactic bacteria, and yeast. Mix well and you’re all set!


Easy, isn’t it?

It’s OK to make it this way, but would you like to try the next version?
Little bit more process, little bit more to care. Nothing difficult though!

 Here is version B.

1.soak the rice in water for more than 30min
(If you plan to steam the rice, I recommend you to soak at least overnight)
When you cook rice using a rice cooker, make sure to add 2 cups of water (even though you cook 3 cups of rice)

(If you plan to steam rice, steam until you feel that it’s soft enough and it tastes good.. How long will it take? It depends on what tool you use. Ask me if you need help)

Once you cook rice, everything is going to be in the container, but this time I want you to be aware of the temperature.
You need to be careful when you add your hot cooked rice.
I want you to make Doburoku while it’s still nice and warm.

If it’s too hot, it’ll cause the enzymes to die, but if it’s too cold, it’ll cause the fermentation to start too slow, causeing the invasion of unwanted microbes.


Easy, right?

Just about temperature, but it matters. Still, you can make Doburoku without controlling the temperature, but I would like to introduce how much the little care can create huge difference.

Still an easy process for you? 

This is the one if you are a challenger!
Here’s Version C!

Let’s clear all of your brains first.

1. Soak rice in water for more than 30 mins, and cook rice using a rice cooker. Please make sure to add 2 cups of water (even though you cook 3 cups of rice)

2. Pour water into the container and add rice koji and lactic bacteria to make “koji water”. Mix well. Leave it for about an hour.

3. Calculate the time so that both koji water and the cool down of cooked rice reaches 40℃ at the same time. 

– make sure to not to  add hot cooked rice into the koji water as it will kill the enzymes in the water. 
– If rice is too cold to start, the fermentation will be slow.
– Don’t forget that you need an hour to wait for the koji water to be ready.

4. Add yeast and mix well…..and you’re done!

You don’t have a thermometer?
Just stick your finger into the rice and feel it.
If you can’t keep your finger in, it must be over 50 or more. 

Similar to having a bath, a comfortable temperature for humans are about 40 ℃. Most of the Japanese people will agree with this explanation because they most likely take a bath every day. These days, most families have automatic hot bath makers at their homes.  

The machine automatically pours a certain amount of hot water with a controlled temperature to keep it warm. They even have a timer so that you can schedule when to have a bath and when to turn off!

When you go to a public bath or hot springs, usually it shows the temperature of the bath. 43℃ is very hot, and 38℃ is lukewarm for a bath. Japanese people can easily imagine how the 40℃ of bath feels like.
Also I can tell you, this is example of how you can train your sense. When you do same thing over and over, your body will easily remember the sense. I want you to feel the temperature, the texture, the smell, the sound.
Let’s use your sense.

Anyways, let’s get back on track.

It’s up to you to decide which versionyou would like to try.

A is still good enough to try!
Even C is still easy for you?
Whatever it is, it will work…so, try it!

As always, I would like to hear from you.
I want you to check how your Doburoku is going at a certain time.

Taste it, take pictures, and please post it on the Facebook group page! If you post it on your account, please tag me!

Lastly, this is a secret recipe that I strongly recommend you to try

Touch the Doburoku and send your positive energy.
In other words, send your love and hope to Doburoku.  
Doburoku is alive, so you can communicate with it 😉

Here is the review of the recipe:

Rice – 3Cups
If you don’t soak it in water long enough, it won’t cook enough. If you don’t have time, you can try adding 1 shot glass of sake into rice to cook.

Rice Koji – 250g
The quality of rice koji will change the taste of Doburoku.

Usually, the people who gets into Doburoku ends up starting to make their own Koji, so naturally.

Water – about 800ml to 1L
Small amount of water makes Doburoku sweeter, and more water makes it drier. 

Lactic bacteria – about 1tbs
May be less than 1tbs,  you don’t need that much. If you add more, the sake may tastesourer.

Yeast – dry yeast for baking About 3-4g
My recipe requiresa small amount of yeast compared to other recipies but this is still  strong because I still use “active yeast”. If you have a chance to take Bodaimoto (advanced Doburoku) class, you will see that there’s no need to add lactic bacteria and yeast. Now, you can see how powerful it is even if it’s just a small amount. It will ferment 100%.

 When you have done the preparation, place the Doburoku where you can easily see. It will get activate a little by little.


Here is the timing I want you to report:

-right after the preparation
-after one hour
-after 6 hours 
-after 12 hours
-after 24 hours

After 6 to 12 hours from preparation, please start stiring the Doburoku.
Please check the sound, looking, smell, and taste.
It’s gonna be fun looking at the activation happening in the jar and you will feel life in there.

When you start to feel the alcohol and taste turns to your favourite, it’s time to squeeze. It will be sweet amazake (drink) at the beginning, but you will start to feel alcohol within the sweetness, and it will end up turning into a strong dry taste.
I recommend you not to wait for so long to get the strong dry tasteecause it’s dries very quickly due to its strong activation.
For example, if you it’s tasty in the morning, it may turn quite dry at night.So, be careful!

Once you squeeze out the Doburoku, the rest is Sakekasu(sake lees).
You can enjoy sakekasu for cooking. I will let you know how to use it tomorrow.

For the liquid part, keep it in a glass or plastic bottle (esp for pop) and place it in a fridge.
YOU HAVE TO BE CAREFUL WHEN YOU OPEN UP THE BOTTLE NEXT TIME…. It may explode..!


I guess this is enough to explain!
I’m apologize again to post this so late..!

Let me know if you have any questions.
Hopefully you will enjoy making Doburoku tomorrow night!

Shiori