How to make sake at home: ingredients and recipe

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Traditional Japanese sake vodka is quite common all over the world. And many people know about it. According to experts, Japanese vodka can be drunk both hot and cold. In addition, it is added to cocktails, used in the preparation of various dishes.

With alcohol from the Land of the Rising Sun, they acquire a unique and refined taste. In this regard, many lovers of artisanal alcohol production are interested in how to make sake at home? Judging by the reviews, it is not difficult to cope with this task. To work, you only need a sake recipe, ingredients and patience, since the manufacturing process is quite laborious. If you follow the instructions, you will become the owner of an original, original alcoholic drink. For information on how to make sake at home, see this article.

Product Introduction

Sake is the national alcoholic drink of Japan. According to experts, it differs significantly from the usual European alcohol. The fact is that the degree of sake varies between 14-18 revolutions. Sake technologyand beer, according to experts, have a lot in common.

True, the methods of preparing starters for these drinks are somewhat different. For example, beer is made from germinated m alt. Sake is based on fermented rice. This task is performed by the yeast fungus koji. How to make sake at home? More on this later.

Where to start?

An alcoholic drink is made from two types of starter cultures. You can use store-bought counterparts, however, according to experts, there is no certainty that they were made in compliance with all the rules, so it is better to cook these starters yourself. First, the kome koji starter is made. To do this, you need to purchase round rice (800 g) and koji-kin seeds (10 g).

Sourdough preparation procedure

For those who do not know how to make the first starter, experienced masters recommend doing the following:

• First, the rice should be washed in running water. Rinse until the water is completely clear.
• The washed rice is poured into a sieve and placed on a pot or a cup - in this position, the rice will stand for at least an hour. This is necessary so that excess liquid has time to drain from it.
• Next, the rice needs to be boiled in a slow cooker or double boiler. Experts do not recommend cooking rice in the usual way, as the necessary substances will go into the water.
• The finished porridge is cooled to room temperature, then koji seeds are poured into it.
• The mixture is covered with gauze or cotton cloth well soaked in water. Porridgeshould be at least 15 hours. This is necessary in order to activate the fermentation procedure.

Sourdough is considered ready if it has acquired a pronounced smell of cheese and white color. Now you can start preparing moto sourdough.

How do they do it?

Moto starter is made from 180g steamed rice, 75g koji seeds, 270ml boiled water and 5g dried baker's yeast.

As in the previous case, the rice is first thoroughly washed and allowed to drain excess moisture - about an hour is enough. Then the cereal is boiled in a slow cooker until tender. Next, koji sourdough is added to the rice and poured with warm boiled water. At the end, the mixture is seasoned with dry baker's yeast and mixed thoroughly. The leaven will be infused in a glass vessel. After you transfer the mixture to a container, close it tightly with a lid and refrigerate. The procedure for preparing a moto will take at least 10 days. Experts recommend that the jar be thoroughly shaken daily. A sourdough starter is considered ready if it acquires a delicate creamy texture.

How to make sake at home?

Traditional Japanese alcoholic drink is made from the following ingredients:

• Steamed rice. 3 kg of product will be enough.
• 700g koji starter.
• 500ml Moto.
• 4 liters of water.

The cooking process is as follows:

Start by rinsing the rice until the water is clear. Further, the cereals are cooked exclusively oncouple. To work, you will need a separate bowl, in which you need to put ready-cooled rice (250 g), and then pour water (450 ml). After that, the rice is seasoned with two ready-made sourdoughs: koji should be taken 200 g, and moto - 500 ml. The resulting mass is transferred to a glass container and left warm for a day. Previously, the neck of the jar is covered with a cotton or gauze cloth. Judging by the reviews, rice will absorb liquid faster if it is shaken periodically. Therefore, it is recommended to shake the bottle at least three to four times during the day

• At this stage, the remaining rice, water (1.2 l) and koji starter (225 g) are added to the vessel. The contents are thoroughly stirred and put back in a warm place. Leaven should be infused for 12 hours. Periodically shake the mixture.
• After this time, the rice mixture is refilled with the remaining ingredients.

Experts recommend keeping the drink for at least 10 days. During this time, the sake will acquire a minimum strength of about 15 revolutions. If there is a desire to make Japanese vodka stronger, then it should be held for 15 days. As a result, you will get a soft drink in 20 turns.

Last step

At the very end, the sake is filtered with a cotton or gauze filter. Now a home-made drink is considered ready, it can be bottled. It is desirable to use a fully ripened drink. To do this, he must still stand for one week in the refrigerator. According to experts, sake can only be storedin a cool place and no longer than a month.

How to drink?

Despite the fact that this drink is made in a handicraft way, you need to drink it correctly. If you follow Japanese customs, then vodka should be served to guests in special jugs - tokkuri. They drink sake from small cups of choco.

Before you take a sip, you need to say "Kampai!", which means "To the bottom!". Drinking a drink at once in one sip in Japan is considered indecent. True connoisseurs empty choco slowly, in 2-3 sips.

What do experts advise?

Sake can be drunk hot, heated to 60 degrees, and chilled to 5 degrees. In Japan, there is a rule that only good vodka is consumed cold. This is due to the fact that warm vodka has a less attractive aroma and weak taste. Many fans like this drink precisely for its multifaceted flavor palette: with notes of grapes, cheese, apple, banana, fresh mushrooms and soy sauce. Sake is eaten with traditional Japanese dishes. For this purpose, rolls or sushi are well suited. Those who want to save money can be recommended to eat nuts or cheeses. If sake is hot, it is best consumed with seafood, meat, vegetables, and sandwiches. In order not to distort the taste of vodka, it is better not to drink it with spicy and spicy dishes.