Sikhye
A traditional Korean sweet rice drink, gently sweetened by barley malt and served chilled with rice grains.
Ingredients
- 200 g coarse barley malt (yeotgireum), not malt extract
- 2 litres lukewarm water (about 40°C)
- 200 g freshly cooked short-grain rice
- 80–120 g sugar, to taste
Method
Mix barley malt with the lukewarm water. Soak 30 minutes, then rub and squeeze thoroughly with clean hands to extract the malt. Strain through a fine cloth, squeezing out liquid; discard the spent malt.
Let the liquid settle for 30 minutes. Carefully pour off the clearer liquid, leaving the chalky sediment behind. Combine with cooked rice in a clean rice cooker or temperature-controlled vessel.
Hold at 60–65°C for 4–6 hours, measuring with a thermometer rather than relying on a keep-warm label. Stir occasionally. The liquid should develop a gentle sweetness and some grains may float. This is enzymatic saccharification, not alcoholic fermentation. Do not allow it to sit lukewarm overnight.
Transfer to a pot. Add 80 g sugar, bring to a full boil and simmer 10 minutes, stirring. Taste carefully and add up to 40 g more sugar if needed. The drink should be lightly sweet, not syrupy.
Cool promptly using an ice-water bath and divide into clean shallow containers. Refrigerate within 2 hours. Chill thoroughly before serving with some rice grains; keep refrigerated at 4°C or below and use within 3 days.