Who drinks it and Why?
When I was a child, I remembered we can only drink this kind of beverage at the Spring Festival when we visit our relatives and friends. First, because it’s very cold at Spring Festival, it can make our body warm; what’s more, Chinese people like to drink wine in festivals and this kind of drink is suitable for people of all ages, and the sweet rice drink also means you will have a good and sweet beginning of the year.
But nowadays people can drink this beverage anytime, you can make it by yourself or buy it from markets. It’s one of the best drinks for old people and moms with babies.
What is the Sweet Rice Drink?
We also called this kind of drink as Mijiu or Jiuniang, is made from the fermentation of rice starch that has been converted to sugars. Microbes are the source of the enzymes that convert the starches to sugar and it tastes sweet.
How to make the sweet rice drink? (my mom’s recipe)
Materials:
2.2 lb sweet rice; One and a half balls of dried yeast; 1100ml water
Steps:
1.Soak the rice in water in a pot more than 4 hours at room temperature. Make sure that the water level above the rice (Picture A)
- Cook the rice by steaming until it is cooked through and still has a slightly chewy texture. The rice should be translucent and soft but not mushy. Cool the rice to room temperature(Picture B)
- Ground the dried yeast into a very fine powder and put them in the water;(Picture C & D)
- Rub the rice with cool water and the yeast water by hand. Ensure all of the rice is free-flowing, not sticky together.(Picture E)
- Transfer the rice to a large container and poke a hole down the middle of the container through to the bottom.
- Cover the container with two layers of food wrapper, put it in a warm place (77F to 95F) for two days and two nights. Discover the food wrapper and it smells with little alcohol.(Picture F )
- Store the sweet rice drink in the refrigerator and it can keep for 2 months.
How to cook it?
The simplest way: Cook the sweet rice drinks with water, and you can also add sugar, fruits, nuts or egg drops and whatever you like.
My favorite cooking: cook it with water and eggs.
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