Jiuniang

Steamed glutinous rice is mixed with a starter and left to ferment for a few days. The starter's moulds turn the starch into sugar and the yeasts begin turning it into alcohol, but the fermentation is stopped early, so the result is sweet, fragrant and only lightly alcoholic.

Jiuniang is rarely drunk on its own as a wine. It is eaten in sweet soups, often with small glutinous rice balls (tangyuan), sometimes with an egg beaten in, and it is used in cooking, for example in some versions of sweet and sour dishes.

Many names

Jiuniang (酒酿) is the name used in eastern China; in Sichuan and the south-west it is called laozao (醪糟), and in other regions tianjiu (甜酒), 'sweet wine'. It is the same idea everywhere: glutinous rice fermented for a few days until it turns sweet and fragrant.

The first step of rice wine

Jiuniang is, in a sense, rice wine stopped at the very beginning. If the fermentation continued for weeks, with more water and a stronger starter, it would become a true huangjiu. Stopped early, it stays sweet, soft and only lightly alcoholic.

Made at home

Many Chinese families make jiuniang at home with steamed glutinous rice and a small ball of starter bought at the market. After a couple of days in a warm place, the rice becomes soft and sweet, with a little liquid at the bottom of the bowl.

How to enjoy it

Eat it chilled with a spoon, or warm it in sweet soups with small rice balls, a beaten egg or osmanthus flowers. Because it contains some alcohol, keep it away from children if it has fermented for longer.