Sweet fermented rice as an ultimate indulgence

Shi Zifen, from central Yunnan’s Yuxi city, is well-known for the sweet fermented rice that she makes. For the past few years, she has been mastering this pudding-like snack which is particularly characterized by its crystal-clear sweet soup, distinctive texture and high nutritional value.

To Yunnan people, a bowl of ice-cold sweet fermented rice originated from Yuxi city is, undoubtedly, an ultimate indulgence. With a unique smell of Chinese rice wine, this sweet and refreshing snack comforts everyone’s throat and stomach in a way that no other food can possibly do.

 

Sweet fermented rice is made from sticky rice. As a popular snack, it is primarily featured by the sweet and refreshing soup. In Yuxi’s Jiangchuan District, the first place that pops into people’s heads when referring to tasty sweet fermented rice must be Shi Zifen’s little restaurant.

Preparing sweet fermented rice seems to be a simple work, but the steps have to be strictly followed. A good bowl of sweet fermented rice always starts with soaking the sticky rice. Having been soaked overnight, the rice is ready to be steamed with the traditional way of using firewood before leaving it aside to cool down. “I can always remember the sweet fermented rice my mother made, and I have been seeking that authentic taste for long,” says Shi.

   

As the sticky rice has cooled down completely, it is the time to add in a distiller’s yeast called jiu qu and start mixing them together. “A right amount of jiu qu is the key in the making of sweet fermented rice,” she stresses while pouring well-mixed rice into one large bowl, covering it with a cling film, and adjusting the air conditioner to an optimum room temperature for fermentation before leaving. But what is the best temperature? And how many days should the fermentation last? Shi says she had no idea about this at all until hundreds of experimentations had been done. “Now, many customers tell me that this is the taste they love and they have been looking around, so they come back to buy my sweet fermented rice again and again.”  

  

Over the past 10 years or so, Shi Zifen has always been together with her little restaurant, regardless of numerous changes and difficulties that she had to go through. She hopes that her sweet fermented rice will be tried and loved by more people.

Writing by Xu Hualin, trans-editing by Wang Jingzhong