(upbeat music)
- Hello, everybody, check this out.
It's my baby!
It's earthenware crock, it's called "onggi".
Today, we are going to make exciting project!
This is makgeolli.
Makgeolli is rice liquor, it's also called rice wine,
while some people call this rice beer, alcohol.
But, in Korean, makgeolli.
You can get a bottle of makgeolli in Korean grocery store.
Easily you can pick it up, but long time ago,
there was no commercially made makgeolli.
When I was young, my grandmother made this.
And makgeolli is always celebrated.
So many people have a party with this makgeolli,
because this is alcohol, booze.
We need just three ingredients.
This is easy, really simple isn't it?
This is dry yeast, one package of dry yeast.
This is nuruk, starter culture.
This guy is like a gunpowder for makgeolli making.
It makes makgeolli start the fermentation.
Without this, you can't make makgeolli.
Where do you get this, Korean grocery store.
First, let's wash rice.
Let's concentrate on making good rice.
So I'm going to wash it and rinse,
and pour out this milky water.
And then, scrub like this.
Couple of times, I'm going to rinse and drain...
Until the water is clear.
Okay, I'm soaking my rice for two hours.
Two hours passed, my rice is well soaked.
You see? turns opaque.
Then I'm going to rinse this one more time.
Then pour out water, as much as you can.
So this is four cups water.
And then cover, for 15 minutes
We're going to cook over medium high heat.
After that, I'm going to stir this rice,
and then lower the heat to simmer for another 15 minutes.
Then fluffy rice.
So 15 minutes now, it's time for me to stir, this my rice.
Well mix, especially bottom, we should not burn rice.
And then cover again, turn down the heat
to very low, and simmer.
After making rice, I'm going to dry some,
and spread rice and dry.
I use this electric dehydrator, so this is really work well.
Oh my.
I'm going to transfer my rice here.
This is a basket, electric dehydrator
has many many baskets.
We need another basket.
Then, one more.
So this burnt rice, you can add some water and boil,
and then sooner or later, so easily you can scoop out,
so you don't have to scrape really harshly,
and then just make a kind of a soup.
Very nutty nurungji, you can make it.
Close this.
(timer ticking)
(timer dings)
Hello guys, I'm back!
Three hours passed, so I'm going to unplug this.
Rice is? It looks like this, dried outside,
inside is still like chewy, so soft rice inside.
I just washed this with hot water, and then all dry out
and wiped out with paper towels,
so all dry inside, very clean.
I'm using my onggi earthenware crock,
but some people say that they make their makgeolli
with a glass jar, so you can try out.
Half dried rice inside.
Okay, I'm going to a little break this.
Next, starter culture, it's "nuruk", nuruk-garu
It look this this, this is made with grains.
So one cup, and this is a half cup.
And then this is dry yeast, active dry yeast, one package.
Eight cups cold water.
So mix this.
This is a cotton cloth, so any cotton cloth
or any cheesecloth, and just put it here.
So Korean onggi has micro-pores,
all little, little, small, little holes everywhere.
Also from top, I want some air coming through this top.
Then just cover.
So I'm going to put my makgeolli around here.
This guy is going to be all the more and more liquefied.
It takes eight to nine days,
we are going to stir this every day, morning and dinner time
and then you are going to stir this.
But first, around several hours later, I'm going to stir.
You will see really really thick paste looking like,
and then getting thinner and thinner.
Mix well.
So now it's fermenting.
Close this.
Hi guys! one day after, I'm going to show you
how my baby's growing in here.
I already smell some alcohol smell.
Yesterday when I stirred this all, it was very very thick.
How this is liquefied, you will see.
I just before showing you, I just saw this.
Okay, come on.
Wow, you see the bubbles, bubbles pop up.
Okay, let's stir this.
Rice grains are gone, just stir well.
And then close again.
Here is, around here? a little I feel warm!
When it ferments, it produces a little heat.
From now, all you can do is just wooden spoon.
And then just stir this a few times every day.
Hello everybody, makgeolli maker!
After three or four days, and then
this makgeolli is separated
From top part is like clear liquid,
and then bottom is kind of really milky.
This morning I woke up, I never stirred this
because I wanted to show you, so let's check it out.
Mmm, my smells!
you see? there is like a little small bubbles popping up,
and the color is a little amber color.
All the rice grain is all gone, see?
And milky thick, some liquid left.
And then this already really strong makgeolli smell.
(lips smacking)
Ah!
I'm going to wait to make this guy more fermented.
So to get the more higher degree of alcohol.
This is very important, I'll give you why.
Long long time ago, when I made my makgeolli
for the first time, and there was a really big party,
I was living in America at the time,
in my house, we had a really big huge party.
I told everybody, "I'm making
Korean makgeolli, you guys come over".
I prepared a lot of good food.
And then, makgeolli, I thought it was done
because it tasted like this, and then we just drank.
All of my friends were Koreans.
Those guys told me, "How did you make homemade makgeolli?
"Oh my god, give me a recipe".
And they all gave me compliment
on my first time makgeolli making.
But, you know what? I was not satisfied
because when I drank, no alcohol!
When you drink this alcohol, if there's any alcohol, booze,
when you go through your all this to the stomach,
you should feel kind of a warming heat.
This is why people are drinking alcohol.
Nobody's really interested in drinking
some milky rice porridge looking like that, isn't it?
Over years of experimentation, I learned
that we need wait a few more days.
Wow, smells alcohol smell.
See, color is a brown dark amber color,
on top very clear liquid.
Still like bubble pops just once in a while.
So, done.
Look at this, it looks like this.
And then I'm going to strain this.
When you chose a strainer, it should be coarse first.
Otherwise this will not go through easily.
(scooping, straining, and pressing)
Put this here.
You gotta save every drop.
Again, use your wooden spoon.
(scraping) Okay.
Here.
This makgeolli is around 15%, really high alcohol content.
We need to dilute this, add eight cups of water.
Oh my god, this is really great makgeolli we made.
This is optional, I can use quarter cup sugar.
And well mix, then makgeolli's done!
I'm going to strain one more time.
So this is second time we strain.
on the bottom, kind of a little solid, let's remove.
We made this, one bottle.
This is beer bottle, BPA free.
Makgeolli is called also "farmer's liquor".
When I was young, I followed my grandma
as she made makgeolli, and then with kimchi
and a few side dishes, and then she put it this
on her head like this, and then I followed her.
But the makgeolli is like some special kind of kettle,
tin kettle, made of tin, and then my grandmother
made me carry this, so I followed her,
and then some of the people who are working
in my grandmother's rice paddy, they were so welcoming us.
But before drinking, always using their finger
and stir this, because all this nutritious stuff has sunk
and then they know, this is the way of drinking.
Stir this well.
Wow!
Cheers, everybody!
Children, this is not for you, for adult.
I'm going to taste it.
(slurp)
Ah, very good, good good good.
A little fizzy because well fermented now
and kind of sweet, absolutely you feel kind of alcohol.
When you swallow this and the alcohol is going down
kind of a little warm, make your body a little warm.
Ah!
I don't want to get drunk (laughs), in day time.
So make this makgeolli on special occasion, and enjoy.
Enjoy your life with a little bit of Korean booze.
Okay, enjoy my recipe.
See you next time, bye!
(upbeat music)