Today I’m going to show you how to make makgeolli, a traditional Korean alcoholic beverage made by combining rice, yeast, and water with a starter culture called nuruk. It’s milky-white, fizzy and refreshing. It’s also called “nongju” which means “farmer liquor” because it’s made with a lot of rice, it’s full of carbohydrates and was traditionally served to farmers as part of a midmorning snack or with lunch, giving them the strength and energy to work the rest of the day.
Korea has a long history of homebrewing, and every family used to make their own booze at home, it was much more common than buying it. These days you can buy makgeolli easily at a Korean grocery store or liquor store but when it comes to taste, it can’t be compared to homemade makgeolli. Homemade makgeolli is thicker, less sweet, and more filling than store sold makgeolli.
This recipe is also in my cookbook, Real Korean Cooking, and while developing the recipe I sent a sample of the finished product to the EMSL Analytical food lab for a full nutritional and toxic analysis to see what is really inside it. They let me know that it is totally safe to drink, 7.4% alcohol by volume, cholesterol-free, fat-free, and contains vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, and B6. It’s high in calories and has a lactobacillus count of 375,500 CFU/mL. Lactobacillus is a kind of lactic acid bacteria that’s good for your stomach and digestion and can boost your immune system. It’s also found in yogurt, but in much higher quantities.
So it’s great for giving you energy and is good for your stomach, but the real reason to drink it is it’s so refreshing and delicious! It’s also a great thing to have at a party, and especially when you make it yourself, your family and friends will love to drink it and have a great time doing it. Making good makgeolli is not very difficult, it just takes a little time and there are a few pitfalls to avoid.
I’ve been making makgeolli for special family occasions and my reader meetups for years. Some of you who came to my meetups and tasted my makgeolli have been waiting years for this recipe. Thanks for your patience!
Make some makgeolli and enjoy life! Let me know how it turns out!
Ingredients (Make 4 quarts)
Posted on Thursday, May 21st, 2015 at 10:51 am.
Last updated on May 22, 2015.
Tagged: 막걸리, 농주, homebrew, How to make makgeolli, Korean booze, Korean cooking, Korean cuisine, korean food, Korean kitchen, Korean liquor, Korean recipes, Korean rice wine, Maangchi's Korean cooking, Maangchi's recipes, makgeolli, makgoli, makkoli, nongju, rice alcohol, rice beer, rice liquor
Maangchi I hope you see this and can help me (I posted this in two different places sorry!). I am making this for the 10 time maybe and I am on day 8 and this is still looking like day 5. There is no clear clear layer, there is still a lot of bubbles/yeast activity so I am not worried that that yeast was not good (I have had that problem before and I knew it wasn’t a good batch by day or 5). And the smell is right, sweet smelling like alcohol. I will say that I went a little heavy on the rice and it was probably about half a cup more than 5 cups. So what do I do? Do let is ferment for a few more days and see if the amber layer appears? Or should a harvest it now? If it doesn’t appear should I just harvest it or throw it out?