YummY Vietnam

Doan Ngo Tet is on may the 5^th in lunar calendar every year. The old conception believed that this day the harmful parasites which are located deep in the abdomen emerge right on 5^th of May in lunar calendar. Therefore on this occasion, people eat food, fruits that have sour taste, acrid and especially Vietnamese rice wine (Com ruou) can eliminate them. Thus, Vietnamese rice wine is an indispensable traditional dish of the Vietnamese people on Doan Ngo day.

Vietnamese rice wine has an attractive taste, rich nutrition, delicious and enjoyable to eat very much that are loved by many Vietnamese. The hand-made Vietnamese rice wine themselves has the delicious fragrant and sweet, pliable taste that is much more delicious than bought in the market. Vietnamese rice wine is also very easy to make, but each region will have different ways of making it with specific characteristics. So, what’s the difference in the recipe of Vietnamese rice wine from the North and the South? Let’s explore right below!

Ingredients for making Vietnamese rice wine

• 1 Kg of brown rice
• 15 grams of rice wine yeast
• Green banana leaf, kitchen basket

Note:

- When choosing brown rice: For traditional delicious Vietnamese rice wine, you should choose brown rice. This type of rice only milled rice husks without having been rubbed off the rice bran layer, so the rice is not pure white but rather ivory-yellow. This type of rice is very nutritious and good for health

- Where to buy yeast brewed rice: You can absolutely buy rice wine yeast in the market and store selling ordinary dried food.

How to make Northern Vietnamese rice wine

Step 1:

Soak brown rice in warm water for about 8 hours to soften, pick up the shell, black seeds and then slightly wash the rice through water to clean (do not wash rice thoroughly, it will lose Vitamin B1) and drain.

Step 2:

Prepare steamer and boiling water for steaming just like making sticky rice. Steam until the rice is cooked then soak in cold water. Take the rice out of the water, then put on the steamer to cook again, remember to stir when the rice nearly done cooking to make it cooked well. (Because brown rice is 2 times harder to cook well than normal sticky rice, steaming twice with total time are 1.5 hours, will make the rice softer and more delicious)

Step 3:

Cooked glutinous rice is place in a large plate or tray to plowing and spreading the rice evenly which helps all the rice cool quickly

Step 4:

Pound the rice really smoothly

Step 5:

When the sticky rice has cooled down completely, take a half of the yeast into it, mix it to make it stick to the rice.

Step 6:

The green banana leaves are washed and drained, prepare a thin basket to arrange the banana leaves. Then sprinkle a thin layer of yeast on the banana leaves.

Step 7:

Put the mixed rice into the banana leaves, remember to add the rice little by little to sprinkle a thin layer of yeast, until the rice is over and add the remaining yeast and mix well. When the rice is finished, sprinkle a thin layer of yeast on top.

Step 8:

Finally, cover up by a banana leaves and use heavy objects to secure which is a deep plate. Put the basket on a large bowl, when the rice wine is submerged, the water will drain out and flow down to the bowl.

Step 9:

To prevent ants and cockroaches, you can put this bowl in a large dish that is flooded, and then cover up by another large dish above (as shown). Incubate at room temperature for almost 2 days is edible.

Step 10:

Put the dried rice into a covered lid, the water flow down the bowl and pour it back onto the rice wine, mix well. Put in refrigerator for preservation to use gradually (vietnamese rice wine keeping the fridge for a long time will not be fermented spicy)

Step 11:

Well-done vietnamese rice wine has soft rice, sweet, fleshy with slightly fragrant. When tasting each grain we can also feel the sweet and aromatic flavor which is very typical of vietnamese rice wine in each grain.

 

Com ruou in Southern style

Step 1: Firstly, you should wash sticky rice through water several times to make it clean, next put the rice on to the basket to drain. You do not need to soak sticky rice overnight.

Step 2: Place the clean sticky rice to the rice cooker then add water and ½ tbsp of salt. Remember to pour water merely over to the surface of the rice, because the amount of water applied when cooking with an electric rice cooker to make yeast alcohol, you should not apply normal cooking rice method to sticky rice to avoid dry or flabby rice.

Step 3: Turn on the rice cooker as the usual and then stir the rice when finishing.

Step 4: Use mortal and pestle to smooth out the yeast and place the smoothed yeast to a bowl

Step 5: While waiting for the rice to cool down, mix half bowl of warm water with a quarter spoon of salt to use later.

Step 6: When the sticky rice is cool, spread the rice to a big tray

Step 7: Use hands to test the rice temperature, make sure the rice is warm because hot rice will kill the yeast. Spray a layer of yeast above the sticky rice through a flour sieve.

Step 8: Next, flip around the rice to add another layer of yeast. Then dip your hands into the bowl of warm salt water to shape a small part of the sticky rice to a small ball

Step 9: Keep on making small ball of sticky rice until the rice is over and place them to a clean glass bowl

Step 10: Cover the bowl by plastic food warp carefully, and then cover it with a thick towel, to keep it exposed to the sun and wind.

Step 11: After about 2-3 days for fermenting, you have completed the method of making Southern wine rice and the dish is ready to enjoy.