Sweet Pumpkin Sikhye
…Sikhye is a traditional Korean drink, usually enjoyed as a dessert. When I was young, my mother would sometimes prepare it for us on hot summer days, with white rice grains floating on top, served with slushy ice. Back then, I didn’t know how it was made; it was just a sweet and refreshing treat, the best gift ever. Since it wasn’t something you could buy, we cherished it whenever my mother made it, and I remember my siblings and I savoring every sip.
When preparing it for guests, my mother would rinse the fermented rice grains in clean, cold water and place a spoonful on top of the sikhye before serving. The rice grains would float beautifully, like white snowflakes. I also nostalgically remember how carefully we served it, fearing the rice grains might sink. Malt is an edible enzyme made by sprouting barley with water and then drying it. The amylase in the malt breaks down starch into maltose. Malt seemed to be an essential ingredient in making our gochujang (Korean chili paste) as well.
To give the sikhye a more sophisticated sweetness, I blended the remaining sweet pumpkin from the fridge, and the pretty yellow drink enhanced the taste. Sikhye, which my second daughter Anne loves! I wonder if my grandson Siwoo will like it too? Using the electric rice cooker, I was able to make delicious sikhye very easily.
Servings: 3000 ml
Time: 1 hour and 30 minutes plus 4 hours and 30 minutes for fermenting rice and malt in an electric rice cooker
Ingredients:
- 200 g malt
- 2000 ml water + 500 ml water
- 250 g steamed rice, cooled
- 100 g sugar + 2 tbsp sugar
- 700 g sweet pumpkin, seeds removed and peeled
- 1.5 tsp sea salt
Cooking Instructions:
- Put the malt in a cloth bag, pour 2000ml of water, and knead it to extract the malt extract. Then remove the cloth bag and let it sit for about an hour to allow the starch to settle.
2. After 1 hour, put the steamed rice into the inner pot of the electric rice cooker.
3. Carefully pour the strained barley malt water over the rice, making sure not to include the settled starch (if you add the starch, the sikhye will become cloudy).
4. Add 100 g of sugar to it and mix gently.
5. Place the inner pot into the electric rice cooker.
6. Turn on the keep warm function for 4 hours and 30 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, peel the sweet pumpkin (if you microwave it for about 2 minutes, it will be easier to peel), cut it into small pieces, and put them into a glass container.
8. Pour 500 ml of water into the glass container and cook it in the microwave for 10 minutes.
9. After 10 minutes, blend the sweet pumpkin thoroughly with a hand blender. Set aside.
10. After 4 hours and 30 minutes, turn off the electric rice cooker. When you open the electric rice cooker, you can see the rice grains floating. This means the sweet rice drink (sikhye) has fermented well.
11. Separate the rice grains and rinse them in cold water, then store them in a container with a little water. When serving sikhye, float the grains of rice on top.
12. Heat a pot over medium-high heat, then pour the sikhye into the pot. Add the sea salt and 2 tablespoons of sugar, and bring it to a boil.
13. Remove any floating bubbles with a spoon.
14. Add the blended sweet pumpkin to the pot and bring it to a boil. Remove any floating bubbles with a spoon.
15. Cool it down and store it in the refrigerator. When serving cold drinks during hot summer, float the fermented rice grains on top. You can also add pine nuts or jujube as a garnish.
You can also view this recipe on Instagram.
