Re making amasake.... if it's the drink (I don't think of it as a
sweetener though) ... how my mom used to make it is to get
some "sake kasu" and thin with water, heat, add sugar to taste.
Now, how do you get "sake kasu"? You have to find someone that
makes rice wine. After they ferment the rice, it is pressed out
to get the wine out. What remains behind is the kasu which is
rolled into sheets and sold in stores, at least in Japan.
Now, there might be a way to simulate this but I don't know how myself.
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