Making Chinese Rice Wine. Easy how to make it cheap!

Think about this one....when and if the shit hits the fan one of the most sought after items is going to be alcohol. So let's enjoy ourselves & practice a little...okay, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. I actually really do like this stuff. No, it's not going to be clear like Sake or any wine but I can promise that if you follow my directions while adding a little fruit juice of your choice, you will have a very satisfying homemade drink in just about 3 weeks time (or shorter if you like). I add Pom Pomegranate juice which makes it taste just like a dry red wine. With cherries in season right now I am going to be making cherry juice this week which I think will be another lovely addition.

Okay, let's get started. This is what I use:

I live out in the boonies so I have to drive 40 miles to the nearest Asian market to pick up my 20 pounds of Jasmine Rice for about $20.00. Don't have Jasmine rice, use what you have, it will be just fine. I mean, it's rice so taste might be a tiny bit different.

Another item I use is a one gallon jar which is by Mainstays by Walmart at a cost of $5.00. This jar holds the entire 8 cups of rice which will make half a gallon of wine (not bad at all!!). I have other jars that I use also for smaller amounts. As long as it has a lid, you are good to go.

The main ingredient which you might have to mail order is Chinese Yeast Balls. I use 3 balls (not 3 packets) to make my half gallon of wine. You can probably find them in Asian markets but if not I have ordered them from Importfoods.com under dried yeast balls. I spent a little over $15.00 to get 20 yeast balls. Shipping was fast too. I plan to see what else they have interesting on my next order.

They look like this:

In addition to the 3 yeast balls you will need 2 tablespoons of sugar. I guess I should say that the sugar is optional but I think that using it give the rice wine a higher yield. You will also need some cheese cloth or a clean cut up pillow case.

Let's begin, here is the list:

1. 4 cups Jasmine or other rice
2. 8 cups of fresh water
3. a one gallon jar with lid, note: the wider the mouth the better!
4. 3 Chinese yeast balls
5. 2 tablespoons of sugar
6. 1 length of cheese cloth or pillow case
7. 21 to 30 days in a dark area (or until you can't take it anymore or run out of beer)

The most import thing is to make sure that everything you use is going to be very clean. I don't boil my items but I make sure that everything has been washed in soapy hot water immediately prior to beginning rice wine making. I even give my cheese cloth a good 10 minute spin the dryer just to be sure. 

Step 1:

Rinse your rice for a few minutes in a mesh sieve or a colander lined with cheese cloth. Some people soak their rice but I found it didn't make much of a difference. I also forgot to rinse my rise once which didn't seem to hurt anything either.

Step 2: 

Cook your rice as you normally do. I use the old fashioned method of cooking the rice & water until it starts to boil, then simmer covered until you can no longer see any water on top of the rice. Keep covered, remove from heat & let steam for about 20 minutes. I find a sticky rice gives the best yield.

Step 3:

Cooling the rice. There are alot of ways to do this. I have read some people just let it sit on the stove overnight. As you can see in the below photo I use a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. This makes it a little less messy for me...and I do mean, you are going to make a mess, there will be rice stuck to everything!! I move my rice around a little bit to help it cool faster...did I mention it sticks to EVERYTHING??? LOL 

I don't wait for my rice to be totally room temperature cool. I wait until it feels still a little warm. You don't want to kill the yeast (make sure there is no steam coming out of the rice when you move it around!) but I think the rice being a little warmer then room temperature helps the yeast active faster!

Step 4:

Take your 3 yeast balls & 2 tablespoons of sugar (if you like) and crush them into a powder. There are many different ways to do it, many people put them in a plastic bag & bang them good. It doesn't take much as they are already very crumbly. I use a small food processor that I purchased wayyyy back when I was watching the wheel be invented...cause I'm old like that.  Again, make sure EVERYTHING you use is really really clean including your hands!

Step 5:

If you have your rice in a tray such as mine, sprinkle the yeast evenly over the top. If you are using a bowl you will have to mix it in slowly without making the rice into mush.

Step 6:

Pack your rice into jars. You can also mix the yeast around a little if you are using the tray method. I find that forming it into a good size ball (not squeezed together) makes it easier to place in the jar. You don't have to pack it down, lose is just fine. I use 4 layers of cheese cloth then cover with the lid firmly in place. It should look like this:

Step 7: Now this is the HARDEST PART!! IMPORTANT!! HIGH PRIORITY!! Place your jar of rice and yeast in a dark spot. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT open the jar for at least SEVEN days. No sniffing no stirring it around. Just leave it alone. I think this is where most people fail, they just have to touch it which lets bacteria or other yeast in the air in before the little wine making yeasties have a chance to take over. Take your jar out & admire your handy work. Usually by the next day you will be able to see some wine at the bottom...just do.not.open.the.jar. You want to place your jar in a dark closet or other dark area..did I mention DARK? Light makes mold, go dark for about 20 to 30 days or until you can't take it anymore & just need to try it!!

I will update when my jar makes progress. Until then...Cheers! Kimberly

This is my rice wine after one week. The top forms a slightly yellow soft crust. You don't want to see black in there (at least I don't). You can drink this stuff at any stage. One recipe I read calls for fermenting for just 3 days. But if you want to enjoy a nice half gallon bottle then by all means wait the entire 3 weeks. It's fun, tastes good, sort of like a dry red wine. This isn't going to be a clear product, it will be cloudy but if you add some fruit juice to it, no one will even notice. 

I decided to decant my rice wine early so after about 2 weeks or so.  It was looking good and I need to start another batch for a friend...nah, myself. I need to use up my rice before I get another bag..that's my story. teehee Here is what it looks like before decanting.

This is what the top looks like. I made a hole in the middle this time to see if it would make any difference. It didn't. You can see that the top looks rather dry, but it's not a dry hard. 

I use the same cheese cloth that I used to line the lid of the jar to strain it. I use a colander inside of a large bowl due to the simple fact that the pile of rice mush is very heavy. It just makes it easier to strain that way. There is no science to this, you can do it however you like but you are going to be squeezing the cheese cloth to get all the wine goodness out....and you don't want to miss a drop!!

Now carefully dump the liquid into your lined bowl. Allow the clump of spent rice to gently slide out into the cheesecloth. Pull your corners together & squeeze until no more liquid comes out of your rice ball. You will be left with a little bit more then a cup of rice. Some people eat it, it tastes good. I tried my chickens but they weren't having any of it.

Decant your rice wine into the vessel of your choice. I just use mason jars because they are handy and I'm too lazy to find the funnel to put them into wine bottles. You should have made about 2 quarts. Mine looks a little low because I spilled almost a ladle full ....what can I say, that's the way I roll. As I type this I smell like an old drunk who rolled in chicken poo. 

Your end result will be cloudy but it will settle out in the refrigerator. I like to shake mine up. While the white at the bottom might not look real good it makes the wine more tasty..at least to me it does. There has been varied experiments to clear it up, but I haven't found any to be successful that didn't include the loss of not only taste but also of product. If you find a way, please let me know. I don't know if the alcohol content has been measured but I find that 20% is probably a good bet. I think that it lessens in time so drink it now!! It lasts about a good month in the fridge. It will start to turn colors but it's still a nice dry wine. I don't add my fruit juices until I drink them, I think that it would make the wine go bad faster...I'm likely wrong on that.

Now it's cherry season so I made some cherry syrup to add to my wine. I just love cherries!! They are like little smiling faces that cheer me up...hmm, maybe that's why they are called cherries!! I make mine real simply. It's just a simple syrup, 1 cup of sugar to 1 cup of water, bring to a boil, add 3 handfuls of cherries (before pitting) then let is simmer away for about 25 minutes. Strain then cool. If you don't want it that sweet then of course cut the sugar. I think I only added 3/4 of a cup this time, next time I will probably do 1/2 a cup. It looks like this.

When you add it to your rice one it reminds me of a dry red. Of course you can drink your rice wine all on it's own, it really does have a good flavor. I was thinking of investing in one of the carbonation thingys. I think it would be fun to have it with some bubbles. Plus it makes such a pretty color! Shhh..I know, I don't have any actual wine glasses, I break things with long stems! Really!! I think I need to buy one of those huge wine glasses ass seen on Cougar Town (a show I didn't really want to like but once I started watching I loved it!!). Anyway, that's about for this page on rice wine. Here is the pretty color it becomes with cherry syrup. Cheers! Kimberly