Recipe #1: Goguma Makkoli (고구마 마걸리)

Ingredients

2.5 cups uncooked rice

4 medium sweet potatoes

1 sq inch (approx) of Nuruk

1/2 teaspoon of yeast (optional)

Step 1: Cooking - Mixing

Cook the rice in a standard rice cooker, but only use enough water for 2 cups of rice.  This way the rice is a little firmer and closer to steamed rice.

Cook the sweet potatoes until they are cooked and ready to eat.

Let the potatoes and rice cool to just above room temperature, it shouldn’t take long and you can add a little water to the rice and rinse the potatoes in cold water to speed it up.  Don’t wash the rice in cold water.

Peel, smash, and mix the potatoes with the cooked rice.  Break up and soak the Nuruk in the mash.

Step 2: Fermentation

Clean two 2 liter bottles, or other 4 liter container.  I just used some old water bottles I had in my house.  Pour the mash equally into the containers, then fill them up to nearly full with water, tap water is fine.  Cover the inlet hole with a bubbler or just use very clean cloth.

Set the container(s) in a warm place in the room (60-75 degree range).  Sunlight doesn’t matter and moisture isn’t good, but it isn’t a major concern.  The only concern is temperature and cleanliness.

Fermentation should begin within 20 hours.  If it has not begun within 40 hours add some fresh Nuruk and yeast to the container.  If it is another 20 hours with no change it may have been infected.

Fermentation may be slow or fast, but in a clear container you will see pockets of gas in the rice and that gas should break free and rise to the top periodically.  My batch started a good ferment within 8 hours.

The next part is up to you.  The longer the Makkoli ferments the higher alcohol percentage you will achieve.  If ferments well with a good amount of sugar it is possible to get up into the 13-17% range of sake.  Most companies will stop the process early and maybe even add water to the finished product to keep the 6-8% seen in commercial Makkoli.

According to recipes and experience the drink is ready after fermentation has gone for 1 day.  There are many drinks made from the weak Makkoli mash in Korea, China and Japan.  However I’m not doing this for a weak drink.
-We tried this after 2 days and it tasted exactly like a traditional breakfast porridge in China, kinda neat.

I’m going to leave one bottle to ferment through and will put the other in the fridge after filtering it 4 days after fermentation began. The temperature and strain of yeast or Nuruk you use will change the results in alcohol, but a rough guide is:

2 days – 4-5%

3 days – 5-8%

4 days – 8-10%

5 days – 10+%

Step 3: Filtering – Enjoying

Although not necessary to filter, Makkoli is a very chunky drink if unfiltered and many may be put off by that. What I recommend is to pour the fermented Makkoli through a standard wire colander then serve the liquid you catch.  Its ready to drink at any time, but I prefer to chill it in the fridge before I drink.

You can then smash the leftover rice and add it back to the drink for a chunky texture, or save it for the next batch as it will make a great starter for fast fermentation.  Just remember the more old starter you put in, the less Makkoli you get out.

If you like a very fine drink you can wait for the Makkoli solids to separate, or pour it through a cheesecloth filter after getting the solids out, but that is more like Sake than Makkoli.

After about 4 minuets the liquid had drained and it looked like cheese.

You can also add water to it to cut down the thickness and alcohol.

Note: Pressure

After you filter the Makkoli into the final container make sure that you do not seal it tight.  Put the cap on, but don't wrench it tight. I like to put my brews into a container built to withstand pressure, or drink it within a day or two.
So a good tip is to use old pop and beer bottles (plastic is OK).

Most commercial Makkoli is still alive and producing CO2 also.  That is one reason why some of it is all leaky and most caps, even with the tamper ring is good will drip if held sideways.  If the cheap plastic bottles were 100% sealed they could explode from the pressure the yeast makes.  You will notice a big difference in the quality of caps for carbonated and non carbonated Makkoli.

In fact that is why beer was traditionally bottled in a Champagne bottle.  The beer was flat when put in then the carbonation occurred naturally.  If you talk to an avid homebrewer I’m sure they can all share an exploding bottle story with you.

Have fun, sit back and enjoy the new brew made by you.