So, this week we wanted to show you how to
make Laozao – lightly fermented sticky rice
‘wine’. Depending on the region, Laozao
is also called Jiuniang. It’s a widely used
ingredient in Chinese cooking – it has a
very delicate sweetness, and an almost undetectable
alcohol hint. You can see it in Chinese desserts,
it can also be used in savory and spicy dishes
for it’s umami and balancing effect.
But before getting started, let’s talk about
rice leaven. Rice leaven is a type of focus
that’s used to make rice wine. In the early
stages of fermentation it will facilitate
saccharification – that mean breaking starch
down into sugar, and the sweetness we taste
in Laozao comes from that process. Here in
China, the rice leaven is called tianjiuqu,
sweet rice wine koji – the fungus in it
is ‘Rhizopus’ (genmeijun). Traditionally
it comes in little balls mixed with dried
herbs, but nowadays you can get these little
packets from supermarkets… we saw it on
Amazon, and I think your local Chinese supermarket
may also carry it.
So there’s another kind of rice leaven,
which is the Japanese rice koji. The fungus
in it is called ‘Aspergillus oryzae’,
which is a different species than the Chinese
type. We got this bag from an online koji
workshop, and we’ll also show you how to
use it to make some sweetened rice wine.
So let’s get started, Laozao first. In order
to make Laozao, you’ll need sticky rice.
Here’s 500 grams of sticky rice, rinse it
til the water runs clear, and soak it for
3 to 4 hours in summer and overnight in winter.
A couple hours later, our rice is done soaking.
Now strain it, place it on a bamboo steamer
with a cloth on it, poke some holes in your
rice to let the steam come through, and now
we can steam it. We need to steam the rice
for 45 minutes. And remember to come back
every fifteen minutes to check on the water
level in your wok and add some water if needed.
Also, pour some water [~1/2 cup or so] onto
your sticky rice to make sure it steams evenly.
So after 45 minutes, our rice is done steaming.
Now take it out, uncover, and flip it occasionally.
We need to cool the rice down, and our target
temperature will be 35 degrees centigrade.
Now the rice has come down to 35 degrees,
so we can add it our rice leaven. Take two
grams of the rice leaven powder, add 150 grams
of bottled water to it, and now mix this mixture
with your sticky rice… mix well, gently
press the sticky rice down, make a little
hole in the middle of it, and this hole will
be our observation window to see if our rice
wine is done. And now cover it with seran
wrap, and let it ferment at 30 degrees Celsius
for 36 hours.
So now, let’s move on to Japanese rice koji.
This recipe will give you the Japanese amazake,
which’s sweeter, doesn’t have alcohol,
and’s a little bit different than Laozao.
But after comparing and contrasting, we think
you can still in place of Laozao in a pinch,
so in case rice koji is the only thing you
can get, we figured that we might as well
also show you how make the rice ‘wine’
using this one.
So, making amazake is much easier. All you
need is 500 grams of sticky rice, rinse it,
add 1.8 liters of water to it, cook it into
a very thick congee in your rice cooker. Then
take it out, let it cool down to 50 degrees
Celsius. Meanwhile, take 200 grams of the
rice koji, break the clumps into individual
rice grains, and once your congee is down
to 50 degrees, add the rice koji to your congee.
Mix it well and cover it. We’ll need to
ferment it at 60 degrees for 12 hours. Come
back, stir it every 3-4 hours.
So now that we talked about how to make rice
wine, let’s look at our final products.
First, laozao. You can see that your Laozao
is done once you can see liquid coming out
from this little hole in the middle. And now
that your laozao is done, you need to transfer
this into the fridge to stop the fermentation
and it’ll stay good in the fridge for about
a week.
Next, let’s look at our amazake. 12 hours
later, the really thick congee becomes something
that’s very liquid-y. Usually this will
be blended into a very creamy drink and drank
directly. But here we’re saving saving some
grains for seasoning [to use in Chinese dishes].
Again, you need to put this in the fridge,
and it’ll stay good in the fridge for about
twelve days.
Laozao has a lighter taste and a little bit
more delicate flavor, while amazake is sweeter
and richer. Both are pretty easy and straightforward,
so if you are into fermentation, I do think
you can give them a try. And, of course, buy
this at your local Asian supermarket if you
are feeling lazy. So yeah! Check out the description
box for a detailed recipe, a bit thank you
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