Hong Zao Rice Wine (红糟米酒)

This recipe is given to me by a confinement lady (maid that help in the family to cook, look after mommy and baby after arrival of baby for month).   I have not made this myself yet.

Ingredients

1. 1 Kg glutinous rice
2. 2 sweet yeast cakes  (甜酒饼)
3. 2 strong yeast cakes (烈酒饼)
4. 3 tablespoon of red yeast rice (红曲)
5. 1 small bottle good quality rice wine.
6. water

Method

1. For the red yeast rice, you can get it from Chinese Medicine shops.
2. For the yeast cakes, in Singapore, some provision shops sell them.  Ask around the shops above Waterloo Street market, you will find them.
3. Wash the glutinous rice and lay them on a big flat baking tray. Fill with water until the water just over the rice.
4. Steam with high heat, and every 15 mins, open up and stir and loosen it, and sprinkle water on it.  Repeat this 4 times (almost 1.5 hour).  Apparently this step will cook the rice evenly and very loose instead of caking together.
5. Allow it to cool down completely, very important.
6. Using the side of a glass bottle, or anything that can grind the yeast into powder form.
7. Lay the cooked rice flat on a clean and dry big tray.  Spread it out and flatten into something like a big pancake.  Sprinkle the powdered yeast evenly on the surface, flip around and do the same on the other side.
8. Sprinkle the red yeast rice the same way.
9. Sprinkle 1 bowl of room temperature boiled water on the rice
10. Put all the content (you can tear it up into chucks or fold it up) into a big clean and dry air tight glass container and tighten the lid.  Make sure the content is not up to rim, as it will expand during fermentation and spill out.
11. 3 days later, open and add 1 small bottle of good quality rice wine (this will induce more wine to be produce).  Do not stir! Very important.  Cover the lid and let it continue the fermentation for 2 months.
12. 2 months later, strain out the wine and keep in air tight bottles for cooking, and the vinasse (the remains of the fermented glutinous rice and red yeast rice) can be kept in fridge for other cooking such as Hong Zao Chicken (红糟鸡).  The wine when strained out is very cloudy with suspension of the rice.   Keep them in tall bottles for a week or more until the suspension settled at the bottom leaving very clear wine on top, Slowly transfer to another bottle without shaking.  May need to repeat this process 2 or more times to get very clear wine.