Laozao, Fermented Rice (醪糟/酒酿)

Описание: Laozao fermented rice! (a.k.a. Jiuiang) This is a mildly sweet fermented rice product that you can find throughout the country - from Sichuan to Shanghai. It's an awesome ingredient that - while around in the West - is something that a good chunk of people seem to have trouble sourcing. So we figured that it'd be best to show you how to ferment your own, just in case.

LAOZAO, INGREDIENTS

Sticky rice (糯米), 500g
Rice leaven, Rhizopus spp (甜酒曲), 2g
Bottled water, 150g

LAOZAO, PROCESS

1. Rinse the sticky rice. You want to be a bit more paranoid rinsing it that you would for, say, white rice. Rinse it 4-5 times, or until the water runs (mostly) clear.

2. Soak the sticky rice - 3-4 hours in summer, overnight in winter (or just overnight regardless of the season if you'd rather).

3. Lay a cloth out on a bamboo steamer, then place the soaked sticky rice on top. Make some holes in the rice with your fingers to allow for better airflow. Steam for 45 minutes.

4. Every 15 minutes, come back to the rice to (1) check on the water level in your steamer (add more water if things're looking a bit dry) and (2) pour additional water over the rice - about 1/2 cup to a cup. This is to make sure things don't dry out near the top.

5. Remove the rice, flip it occasionally, let it come down to 35 degrees.

6. Mix the Rhizopus with the water, drizzle over the steamed sticky rice bit by bit. Mix well.

7. Gently press the rice down, make a little 'hole' in the middle. Cover with seran wrap.

8. Ferment at 30 degrees celcius for 36 hours.

AMAZAKE, INGREDIENTS

Sticky rice (糯米), 500g
Bottled water, 1.8L
Rice koji (米曲), 200g

AMAZAKE, PROCESS

1. Rinse the sticky rice in the same way as above.

2. Add the 1.8L water, cook in a rice cooker using the congee setting (most rice cookers will have a congee setting).

3. Once done, mix the congee around a bit and let it come down to 50C.

4. Break up the rice koji a bit with your fingers, add to the congee, and mix well.

5. Cover with seran wrap, ferment at 60C for 12 hours, stirring every 3-4 hours.

6. If you are going to make the Japanese drink, blend it up. To use as a Laozao substitute, leave unblended.

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Outro Music: คิดถึงคุณจัง by ธานินทร์ อินทรเทพ
Found via My Analog Journal (great channel):    • Live Stream: Favourite B-Side Tracks  

ABOUT US
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We're Steph and Chris - a food-obsessed couple that lives in Shunde, China. Steph is from Guangzhou and loves cooking food from throughout China - you'll usually be watching her behind the wok. Chris is a long-term expat from America that's been living in China and loving it for the last twelve years - you'll be listening to his explanations, and doing some cooking at times as well.

This channel is all about learning how to cook the same taste that you'd get here. Our goal for each video is to give you a recipe that would at least get you close to some of our favorite restaurants here. Because of that, our recipes are no-holds-barred Chinese when it comes to style and ingredients - but feel free to ask for tips about adaptations and sourcing too!