Rice wine: 4 recipes at home
Alcoholic beverages made from rice are traditionally made in Japan, Korea, India and other Asian countries. There are many varieties of this alcohol: in each area, cereal wine is made according to its own recipe.
The main components are rice and special fungi that cause fermentation. The strength of drinks varies between 18-25 °C.
Rice wine is believed to be incredibly healthy. It has an antiseptic effect, prevents the development of cancer, and has a beneficial effect on digestion, blood circulation, and the cardiovascular system.
More from rice make moonshine
Tips before you start
To make the simplest Japanese alcohol, you just need to stock up on rice, clean water, and yeast. If you want a more flavorful drink, you should try a recipe with spices or citrus fruits.
Any kind of rice is suitable, but it is better to choose round unpolished or glutinous Asian rice.
Yeast is used wine or Japanese "koji" yeast, otherwise it will not be wine, but brew.
Grains are thoroughly washed with running water before processing: this will eliminate the need to clarify the finished product.
All utensils should be sterilized before use.
If the wine is too strong, you can sweeten it with sugar and shake it.
Beverages based on fungi are pasteurized in a water bath without heating them above 70 °C.
It is recommended to cool rice wine before drinking.
Recipe for classic rice wine
The volume of water is indicated without taking into account the liquid for soaking and cooking.
The easiest way to buy special Japanese mushrooms is in stores for moonshine production.
Keep the unpasteurized finished drink in the refrigerator or basement for no more than 1 month. To increase the shelf life, you need to warm the wine at 60 °C for 20-30 minutes.
Ingredients
Rice - 1.5 kg
Water (35°C) - 4.5 liters
Koji yeast - 13 g
The method of preparation
Soak the washed rice in water for half a day, boil over low heat or in a double boiler.
Allow the mass to cool, transfer to the fermentation container.
Pour 4 liters of warm water over the rice.
Dissolve the koji in the remaining water (½ liter), mix well, let it brew for about a quarter of an hour, add to the rice liquid.
Stir the wort thoroughly, put a water seal on the vessel, send it to heat.
Wait until fermentation is complete (about 2-3 weeks), strain the drink from the sediment.
Leave the container with wine in the cold until the liquid becomes clear.
Carefully drain the drink, distribute it in small bottles, keep it cold and dark.
Rice wine with citrus flavor
The readiness of the wine is indicated by its complete clarification and the appearance of a light golden hue. Alcohol with lime will taste slightly bitter.
Ingredients
Rice - ½ kg
Raisins - 0.1 kg
Sugar - 1.3 kg
Lime/lemon - 2 pcs.
Water - 3 liters
Wine yeast - 1 tsp.
Method of preparation
Pour the thoroughly washed rice into the fermentation container.
Scald the raisins with boiling water, chop coarsely, add to the grains with sugar, mix.
Peel the zest from the lime, chop it, add it to the rice mixture, and squeeze the citrus juice in.
Pour warm water over the mass, mix well, add the yeast, cover the vessel with a cloth and press down the lid.
Let the wort ferment for about 10-12 days, stirring vigorously every day.
Leave the wine to mature for 2 days, pass through a cheesecloth filter.
Pour the drink into clean bottles without filling the vessels to the top, tightly cork and transfer to the cold.
Taste no earlier than in 2-3 weeks, and preferably in a few months.
Rice wine with spices
Spices and herbs can be replaced with others to your taste. Basil and thyme are used in dry crushed form, it is better to take bottled water.
Ingredients
Rice - 2 kg
Water - 8.8 liters
Sugar - 2.8 kg
Citric acid - 50 g
Raisins - 0.2-0.5 kg
Wine yeast - 1 tsp.
Yeast fertilizer - 5-7 g
Cloves - 8-10 pcs.
Vanilla sugar - 20-25 g
Allspice peas - 8-10 pcs.
Black peppercorns - 12-15 pcs.
Ground nutmeg - 1 tsp.
Ground ginger - 1 tsp.
Basil - 8 g
Thyme - 13 g
Ground cinnamon - 1 tsp.
Turmeric - 2 tsp.
Method of preparation
Boil 7.5 liters of water, dissolve one and a half kilograms of sugar and a "lemon" in it.
Let the liquid cool to room temperature.
Put the washed rice in a fermentation container, pour warm syrup.
Scald the unwashed raisins with boiling water, cut them into halves, and add them to the rice mixture.
Add the yeast, yeast supplement and spices to the mixture, mix well.
Put a closure on the neck of the vessel, leave the container warm for fermentation.
4 days after the start of the fermentation process, brew a thick syrup from the remaining water and sugar, pour into the wort.
At the end of fermentation (after 5-6 weeks), remove the drink from the sediment, pass through a gauze and cotton filter.
Pour the liquid into a clean vessel, dilute with clean water if necessary, put the shutter back on.
Leave the drink in a cool, dark place to ferment.
After 1.5 months, drain the wine from the sediment, taste, sweeten if necessary, and let it brew for a few more weeks.
Filter the drink, distribute it in small containers, keep it in the cold for six months to a year.
Rice wine "Express"
Ingredients
Rice - 1 kg
Koji yeast - 9 g
Lemon - ½ piece.
Flour - 1 tsp.
Water - for cooking
The method of preparation
Pour water over the rice and cook for about 1 hour.
Drain off excess liquid and steam the mass for 15-20 minutes.
Rinse the raw materials, squeeze lemon juice into it, mix the mass with yeast and flour.
Spread the rice mixture in the pan, shifting it to the edges and forming a hollow in the center.
Wrap the container with cling film, close the lid, wrap it in a warm blanket.
Place the pot near a hot radiator or stove, let stand for 7-10 days.
Remove the lid, gently pour the liquid formed in the recess into a glass vessel, squeeze the mass through a multi-layer gauze cloth, add the resulting drink to the first.
Store wine in the cold for no more than 1 month, sweeten if necessary.
Update: 21.01.2019
Category: Wine and Vermouth