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.

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.

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.

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