Everybody loves a good and refreshing drink, and this Sikhye Korean rice drink is a one-stop dessert beverage recipe. This traditional Korean drink is usually served as a dessert or a hangover relief drink and is made of just two key ingredients.
Have you ever considered making a drink as a dessert instead of a creamy cheesecake or a tasty tiramisu? I know many of you enjoy a little bit of sweetness when it comes to dessert, so you should definitely add this drink to the list.
So, what is Sikhye?
Sikhye is a refreshing and sweet Korean rice drink. It is best served with shaved ice, but a cup of rice juice on the rock still does the magic if that is not available.
The rice juice is also my latest favorite daily drink (besides water). It is made by fermenting malt barley flour and brown rice for an extended period. Then, it's strained multiple times during the process to create such a clear and almost transparent drink.
Though it is fermented, it is not an alcoholic drink. So rest assured, your kids can enjoy the drink with you whenever they want.
Sikhye Korean rice drink
The key to making this dessert drink is patience. The extra work you put into the process makes the drink unique and one-of-a-kind.
Here's what you need for this fermented dessert rice drink:
- Malted barley flour - this is a key ingredient for this recipe. Choose a high quality flour so it can provide a uniform and improved fermentation.
- White rice or brown rice - used to ferment the barley flour liquid (I used cooked brown rice in this recipe).
- Pine nuts- (optional) add them to the final drink to give it a crunchy texture.
- Rice cooker - used to keep a steady temperature so the drink will not become alcoholic afterward.
How to make Sikhye
In a mixing bowl, combine malted barley flour and water and mix well. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
After that, carefully strain the clear mixture that floated on top through a fine sieve. Discard the leftover barley flour from the bottom of the mixing bowl.
Add cooked rice and sugar to your rice cooker. Carefully pour the strain mixture into the cooker. Then, set it on a warm setting and let the liquid ferment for 4-5 hours.
The drink is ready when rice is floating over the liquid. Then, strain the fermented liquid through a fine sieve.
Keep the rice separate in cold water and store it in the refrigerator. Return the strained fermented liquid to a stovetop and add 1-3 cups of water (it'll depend on the level of sweetness that you prefer your drink to be).
Bring the fermented rice juice to a boil and cook for 5 minutes to stop the fermentation process (Adjust your stovetop heat accordingly to prevent the liquid from overflowing). Constantly skim the foam that formed on top of the surface.
Let the drink cool down a little before strain it through a couple of coffee filters to achieve the most clearness of the liquid.
Other easy drink recipes
- Best Homemade Herbal Tea: The tea (Nuoc Sam) is made of Western and Eastern herbal ingredients. It is naturally sweetened, caffeine-free, refreshing, and excellent iced tea for summer.
- Best homemade soy milk: There's not one but three different types of fresh soy milk you can make from this recipe (you're very welcome).
- Super easy cranberry spritzer: This drink can be one of your best holiday drinks. It tastes incredibly refreshing and fantastic and looks so festive. You can never go wrong with this drink.
Did you make this recipe? If so please leave a rating and let me know how it went in the comment section. Also, don't forget to tag me #cookmorphosis @cookmorphosis on social media.
Sikhye Korean rice drink
Equipment
- Rice cooker
- Cooking pot
- Fine sieve
- Coffee filters
Ingredients
- 1 c malted barley flour
- 8 c water
- 1 c brown rice cooked
- ¼ c sugar
- pine nut optional
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine malted barley flour and water and mix well. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for 2 hours.
- After that, carefully strain the clear mixture that floated on top through a fine sieve. Discard the leftover barley flour from the bottom of the mixing bowl. (See notes for more useful info)
- Add cooked rice and sugar to your rice cooker. Carefully pour the strain mixture into the cooker. Then, set it on a warm setting and let the liquid ferment for 4-5 hours.
- The drink is ready when rice is floating over the liquid. Then, strain the fermented liquid through a fine sieve.
- Keep the rice separate in cold water and store it in the refrigerator. Return the strained fermented liquid to a stovetop and add 1-3 cups of water (it'll depend on the level of sweetness that you prefer your drink to be).
- Bring the fermented rice juice to a boil and cook for 5 minutes to stop the fermentation process (Adjust your stovetop heat accordingly to prevent the liquid from overflowing). Constantly skim the foam that formed on top of the surface.
- Let the drink cool down (approximately 20 minutes) before straining it through a fine sieve line with a couple of coffee filters to achieve the most clearness of the liquid.
- Serve the drink with fermented brown rice, shaved ice or ice cube, and pine nuts.
Notes
- If the barley flour and water mixture still has sediments after the first strain, let it sit for another 30 minutes. Then, strain the mixture one more time to remove any impurities.
- If you don't have a rice cooker, you can use a stovetop or an oven to finish the process. Just set it to the lowest or next-to-lowest setting. Time can vary if you're using one of these methods.
- The fermented dessert drink is ready when the rice floats on the liquid, indicating that the fermentation process is complete.
- Adjust the sweetness by adding more water to the final product rather than more sugar.
- Refrigerate Sikhye and its fermented rice at all times. The drink is good for three days.
Nutrition
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