막걸리

막걸리 (makgeolli, also known as 탁주) is a traditional Korean rice wine made from steamed sweet rice and 누룩 (nuruk, which consists of yeast and amylase enzymes). Soju (소주) is distilled 막걸리.

Mom used to love watching her aunt make 막걸리, but she never formally learned the technique. In particular, she's unsure of how she made the 누룩. Only sweet rice was used; no wheat or beans.

I had 더덕 막걸리 with grilled yangmiri and fresh peppers at a street food cart the base of 설악산 when I visited Korea with Mom in early 2000. It was one of the best things I've ever eaten.

Jeonju, the capital of Jeollabuk-do, has many 막걸리 bars there. The city has been actively promoting the drink to outsiders worldwide. A brewery in Paju has been sponsoring lectures on making 막걸리.

누룩

You can buy 누룩 at Korean supermarkets. That's lame. I guarantee you my great-aunt did not buy 누룩 at the supermarket. So the question is, how can we make it from scratch?

누룩 seems to be a combination of yeast and amylase enzymes. The enzymes convert the starch in the rice into sugars. The yeast then eat the sugars, causing fermentation.

How the heck do you make amylase enzymes? More importantly, how the heck did my great-aunt make it? She most likely used barley malt, which is a source of those enzymes. (See "Mashing and Fermentation" for some general information, which led me to this conclusion. Also see "Make your own diastatic malt.")

References

• The delights of rice. Contains a recipe for both 막걸리 and 소주.
• "South Korea takes a big sip of rice wine." Los Angeles Times (December 2, 2009)
• Fermented cereals. A global perspective. Chapter 3. Lots of great information, including a recipe for 누룩.
• Does anyone have a makkoli recipe?
• How to make fermented sticky rice wine
• How to make beer/wine from rice at home
• How to Make Makgeolli: 막걸리
• Korean Rice Wine
• A Home-brewer’s Guide to Makgeolli (막걸리)