Sweet Fermented Rice Wine (Jiu niang, 酒酿)

Sweet fermented rice, also known as “jiu niang, 酒酿” or “lao zao, 醪糟” is a popular traditional like dessert in China.

It has a low alcohol level (2.5% ~ 3.5%), a natural sweet taste, and a pudding like soft texture.

Most Chinese families have their traditional methods to easily make jiu niang at home. Elder Chinese are able to make sweet fermented rice without food scale or thermometer.

My grandma used to steam a big pot of sweet rice, blend in some yeast, and cover the pot with a blanket to let the rice ferment for 2 days. Then our whole family could enjoy the most delicious homemade jiu niang for a whole week!

Although I am not as experienced as my grandma, I can always successfully make sweet fermented rice at home with this recipe she taught me, and also, with the help of my modern kitchen appliances: kitchen scale, multifunctional steamer, Dutch oven pot …

Is sweet fermented rice healthy?

Overall, sweet fermented rice (jiu niang) is a healthy dessert.

Similar to other fermented foods such, as kimchi and pickles, sweet fermented rice contains a good amount of nutrients and beneficial bacteria that can strengthen your immune and digestive system.

According to an article based on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), eating sweet fermented rice regularly could benefit qi and nourish blood （“补气养血”）, support brain health (“活化脑神经细胞”), lower cholesterol levels (“降低胆固醇”), or even reduce swelling for pregnant women (“帮助孕妇产妇利水消肿”).

However, although sweet fermented rice has a very low alcohol level, it’s still best not to eat it if you’re pregnant. “There is no known safe amount of alcohol use during pregnancy or while trying to get pregnant.” – CDC

3 Ingredients for Making Jiu Niang

1. Sweet Rice

The main ingredient for making 酒酿 is sweet rice (糯米), also known as glutinous rice or sticky rice.

You may have this question: Can I use white rice instead sweet rice? – The answer is yes!

When sweet rice is not available, it’s very common for people to use white rice (粘米) as a substitute.

The fermented rice taste sweet because the yeast transforms the starch into glucose. Therefore, as long as the rice you use contains a great amount of starch, you will be able to make fermented sweet rice with it.

In this recipe, the author used white rice to make Tapai (very similar to jiu niang).

2. Yeast

Distiller’s yeast ( 酒曲 ，jiu qu) plays a crucial role as the “wine starter” during the fermentation process. Different kinds of distiller’s yeast require different fermentation temperatures and fermentation time. 

The most commonly used yeast for making Chinese sweet fermented rice is in ball shape:

You will need to grind a yeast ball into powder before using. Each single yeast ball can ferment about 2kg sweet rice into sweet rice wine!

For this particular distiller’s yeast, it’s ideal to maintain the fermentation temperature at 30°C (85 °F)  for 48 hours. 

• When the temperature is higher than 40 °C, the yeast will die and the fermented rice will taste sour. 
• When the temperature is lower than 20°C, the fermentation process won’t start or will be super slow, the sweet rice will still taste hard and bland after fermentation.
• If the fermentation process is to long, the sweet rice grains will turn hollow, and the wine will taste too strong instead of sweet.

3. Water

Adding water to steamed sweet rice sounds like a very easy step. However, it’s actually very important and could be tricky!

If we add too much water, the fermented rice will taste soggy and sour. While if the water is not enough, the yeast won’t be fully activated, so that they won’t produce a lot of liquid. 

To strictly control the amount of water, my suggestion is to steam the rice instead of boiling the rice with a rice cooker. In this way, the rice grains won’t absorb too much water, will stay dry, and won’t stick to each other after cooked.

Boil 750g water and let it cool to room temperature (or use bottled water). Then add the water to steamed to rice, gently mix until well combined. It will help the rice to cool down faster. 

Make sure you do not use raw water in this step. Also, make sure you boil all the utensils (tongs, Dutch oven pot, glass container…) in boiling water for at least 5 minutes to kill the germs. 

According to the Spruce Eats, you can bake your glass food containers at 275F for at least 20 minutes to kill germs.

To use this method, make sure your food containers are oven-safe.

In this way, unopened sweet fermented rice can be keep in the fridge for up to 1 year!

Strawberry Sweet Fermented Rice 🍓

Want your homemade rice wine look pink and tastes more refreshing?

You can simply steam 7 fresh strawberries with 500g glutinous rice. Check out my strawberry sweet rice wine by clicking this picture below. 

Equipment You Will Need:

• Food steamer (or a large pot with lid plus a rack)

• Dutch oven pot (3-Quart)

• Pickling jar for storage (optional)

 

Ingredients:

• 750 g water – boiled and let cool to room temperature (or bottled water. Do not use raw water!)
• 1000 g sweet rice (also known as glutinous rice)

• 4 g rice wine starter (Chinese wine yeast balls. Can be found on Amazon.)

Step by Step Instructions:

1. Wash 1000g sweet rice for 3 to 4 times, until the water becomes clear. Soak the sweet rice in cold water overnight. The next day, the soaked rice grains should be easily crushed with fingers. Drain the water.

3. Line a steamer with cheese cloth (or parchment paper), pour the soaked sweet rice over the cheese cloth. Poke some holes into the rice with your index finger, so that it can be cooked more quickly and evenly.

4. Steam the sweet rice for 45 minutes, or until all the rice grains turn slightly yellow and transparent.

5. Use a large Dutch oven pot to boil all the utensils you are going to use later for 5 minutes to kill the germs. Set aside and let cool.

6. Transfer steamed sweet rice to the Dutch oven pot. Set aside and let cool.

7. Grind a Chinese wine yeast ball into powder. Weight 4 grams of the yeast powder (about ½ of a yeast ball).

8. The steamed sweet rice has been cooled in the Dutch oven pot for about 10 minutes. It’s still warm but not too hot to be touched. Add 750g room-temperature water (boiled water or bottled water) to the sweet rice. Mix well.

9. Once the steamed rice is cooled to 30 °C – 35 °C (85 °F – 95 °F. If you do not have a food thermometer, you can touch the rice with double-washed clean hands, it should feel similar to your body temperature), add the yeast powder to the rice, mix until well combined.

10. If your steamer has “yogurt” function or can be set at 30 °C , transfer the sweet rice to a boiled glass container, use clean hands to gently press the surface of the rice until it’s even, use your index finger to dig a hole in the middle of the rice without reaching to the bottom of the container.

11. You can also leave the steamed sweet rice in the Dutch oven pot, similarly press the surface and dig a hole in the middle.

12. Sprinkle a tiny bit of yeast powder into the hole.

13. Tightly cover the glass container or the Dutch oven pot with 2 layers of plastic food wrap. Put the lid on if there is one. Place them in a warm and dark place to ferment. You can set your oven at 30 °C ( (85 °F ). If your steamer has a yogurt function, which creates a 40 °C water bath, the air temperature above the water bath is about 30 °C, and that’s ideal for the fermentation process.

15. It’s okay to just leave the sweet rice under room temperature. The fermentation process is going to take longer (3-7 days) during winter time, faster during summer time (1-2 days). But make sure the temperature is no lower than 20°C and no higher than 40°C.

16. The plastic wrap should be bloating if you have tightly sealed the container. Check the fermentation process daily. Once the hole in the middle is at least 80% filled with liquid, the sweet fermented rice is done.

17. Remove the plastic wrap, you should be able to smell the sweet wine aroma immediately.

18. Transfer the sweet fermented rice with its wine to a clean airtight container or a pickling jar. Store in the fridge. Always use a clean spoon to get the sweet fermented rice. It can last in the fridge for 2 months. (If you seal the jar and never open it, the sweet fermented rice can last in the fridge for 1 year.)

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