Jiuniang is a sweet, soup- or pudding-like dish in Chinese cuisine. It is also known as sweet wine or sweet rice wine.[1] It consists of a mixture of partially digested rice grains floating in a sweet saccharified liquid, with small amounts of alcohol (1.5–2%) and lactic acid (0.5%). It is made by fermenting glutinous rice with a starter called jiuqu containing Rhizopus oryzae or Aspergillus oryzae and often yeast and bacteria.

Jiuniang
A bowl of guihua jiuniang
TypeRice pudding
Place of originChina
Region or stateEast Asia
Main ingredientsGlutinous rice, fermentation starter (yeast and Aspergillus oryzae)
Jiuniang
Traditional Chinese酒釀
Simplified Chinese酒酿
Literal meaningwine brew
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinjiǔniàng
Wu
Romanizationciu nyang
Yue: Cantonese
Jyutpingzau2 yeung6
Alternative Chinese name
Chinese醪糟
Literal meaningalcohol with dregs
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinláozāo
Glutinous rice wine
Chinese江米酒
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyinjiāngmǐjiǔ
Name in Yunnan
Chinese甜白酒
Literal meaningsweet white wine
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyintiánbáijiǔ

Ingredients and preparation

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It was first developed as a by-product of mijiu production and generally speaking is partially digested rice from a young rice wine (or vinegar) ferment. If eaten quickly or held at 10 degrees or less, which halts the fermentation, the product can be consumed as jiuniang. If the temperatures are raised and fermentation continues, jiuniang will eventually produce rice wine or rice vinegar. Jiuniang is most commonly made and consumed in the winter, where fermentation can be halted easily.[2]

Jiuniang is often made with sweet osmanthus flowers in a dish is called guihua jiuniang (simplified Chinese: 桂花酒酿; traditional Chinese: 桂花酒釀). It is also often served together with small unfilled tangyuan during the Dongzhi Festival, a Chinese winter holiday dedicated to the ancestors. All forms of jiuniang are typically eaten with a spoon.

Similar dishes

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An almost identical food product is made in Southeast Asia. In the Philippines it is called binubudan, in Thailand it is called khao mak, and in Malaysia and Indonesia it is called tapai. In Indonesia it most popularly made with purple/black glutinous rice and called tapai ketan.

It is also similar to the southern Vietnamese dish cơm rượu, which usually contains balls of rice. It is also similar to Korean sikhye and Japanese amazake, although these are thin in texture and considered drinks rather than soups or puddings.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ lauren_mccarthy (2010-10-31). "Baiju and Huangjiu and Mijiu, Oh My!". www.thebeijinger.com. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  2. ^ Li, Jian-rong, and Yun-Hwa P. Hsieh. "Traditional Chinese food technology and cuisine." Asia Pacific journal of clinical nutrition 13.2 (2004).

Further reading

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  • History of the later Han * Volume 32: 《后汉书。樊传》:“又野王岁献甘醪膏饧。”李贤注:“醪,醇酒汁滓相将也。”引伸为浊酒。
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