Steps for preparation

  • Rice making:
  • Put the rice in a heavy large pot. Cover with cold water, then drain. Swish the wet rice around in the pot and scrub it, then rinse and drain a few more times, until the water runs clear. Drain as much water as you can by tilting the pot.
  • Add 5 cups of water and flatten the top of the rice by hand to make it even. Cover and cook over medium-high heat for 12 minutes, or until the rice is bubbling and beginning to boil over.
  • Open and stir the rice with a wooden spoon to make sure that none is sticking to the bottom of the pot. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for another 10 minutes, until the rice is fluffy and fully cooked.
  • Remove from the heat. Fluff the cooked rice with the wooden spoon. It may be a little crunchy on the bottom, but that’s fine.
  • Ferment with barley malt powder:
  • Add 8 cups of water and stir well with the wooden spoon. The temperature should be about 140° F. You can use an instant-read kitchen thermometer but it’s not necessary. Add the barley malt powder, mix well, and close the lid.
  • Let sit for 1 hour. The temperature will go down to about 120° F to 130° F. Turn on the heat to medium and occasionally stir with a wooden spoon for 2 to 3 minutes until the temperature reaches 135° to 145°, then turn off the heat right away.
  • Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Repeat this process—heating to between 135° and 145° and then letting it cool to 120° F to 130° F—every hour for 4 more hours. The mixture needs to ferment for 6 hours total, maintaining a temperature between 110° and 145° degrees. At this point, the mixture will be a lot thinner and will taste sweet. And the rice will be the consistency of wet paper because all the starch is drawn out.
  • Strain and make syrup:
  • Stir the mixture well. Line a large strainer with a large piece of hemp cloth (or double folded cheese cloth). Place the strainer over a large bowl. Pour the rice mixture into the cloth-lined strainer. Let it drain for about 10 minutes, until some liquid has seeped into the bowl and the cloth is cool enough to handle. You can stir the mixture with the wooden spoon.
  • Lift the edges of the cloth and twist together to seal in the rice so that nothing leaks out, then slowly twist and squeeze out the rest of the liquid. Squeeze out as much as you can. You will have about 3½ quarts (14 cups). Discard the solids.
  • Wash the pot and pour in the strained liquid. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for about 80 to 90 minutes, until a lot of small bubbles are floating to the surface and the amount reduces to approximately a little more than 1 quart. Stir from time to time and keep boiling for 10 to 20 minutes, until medium sized bubbles (about ½ inch) appear. Insert a thermometer and the temperature should be 200°-220° F.
  • Remove from the heat. The syrup should be stickier, sweeter, and darker. It should drizzle off a spoon in a thick, steady stream, like maple syrup. Be sure not to cook longer at this point because the hot syrup will get stickier and thicker as it cools and end up like hard candy. If this happens, thin it by adding a little bit of water, bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
  • Let the syrup to cool. Transfer to a glass or ceramic jar and refrigerate for up to 3 months.