How to Make Chinese Wine

The Chinese have used rice to make their own wine for more than 2,000 years.

Wine has been a daily part of Chinese culture for thousands of years. Depictions of wine in community festivities have been found in bone carvings dating back to before the 11th century B.C. The fermentation processing of wine is simple enough for any family to take advantage of. Modern families can enjoy traditional wine and include it as a familiar staple in today's traditions.

Things You'll Need

• 6 gallon clay vat
• Cheese cloth
• Large wok
• Plastic cover
• Cord
• Spoon
• 22 pounds of polished glutinous rice
• 6 oz of brewers yeast powder
• 9 oz of red Koji (stale rice grain fungi)

Instructions

Cooking Rice

1. Clean the vat to remove dust and allow to dry.

2. Rinse 22 pounds of rice throughly with clean water. Glutinous rice is also known as sticky rice or sweet rice and is generally sold in Asian-specific markets around the country.

3. Boil rice in wok for 20 minutes in enough water to ensure that the rice is fully submerged. When working with such a large quantity of rice it is practical to break the boiling down into parts, instead of trying to boil 22 pounds of rice at once.

4. Stir rice to loosen clumps.

5. Allow to cool to room temperature.

Using the Vat

1. Pour the first layer of rice into the vat and pat rice down lightly.

2. Cover the rice layer with a full coat of koji and yeast powder. Kogi and yeast powder are common ingredients in Asian culture and can be found at the majority of Asian-specific markets.

3. Continue adding layers of rice separated by yeast and koji until the 6 gallon vat is 4/5 full. Dispose of any rice that may be left over.

4. Seal the vat tightly using plastic cover and cord.

5. Leave vat sealed for six months.

Stilling

1. Store the container in a warm, dry place while allowing the mixture to ferment.

2. Remove cover. Separate the liquid from the remaining rice mixture using a spoon. Wrap the residual in cheese cloth and squeeze to extract the remaining rice wine.

3. Let stand for one day. Place the wine in an airtight container and refrigerate to stop the fermentation process. This will prevent the wine from turning into vinegar.

Tips & Warnings

• Rice wine contains many amino acids, vitamins and other nutrients.

• Rice wine can be aged in its airtight container for years and can attain an alcohol volume of 22 percent, the highest possible from natural fermentation. The earlier fermentation is stopped, the sweeter the wine.

• Citric acid, from fruits like lemons, coming in contact with any ingredient can cause the wine to turn into vinegar.

References

• "The Book of Chinese Cooking"; Jasper Spencer-Smith; 1991
• "Rice Wine"; Barry Came; 1988