Sikhye식혜

Nobody knows when Koreans first started making sikhye (식혜), the sweet drink with grains of rice floating on top. Some scholars read the word nak (酪) in the phrase haengdang maengnak (杏餳麥酪), found in the collected works of the Goryeo writer Yi Gyu-bo, as a sikhye-like drink. The first detailed recipe appears in Somun Saseol, a book from the reign of King Yeongjo in the 18th century. Rice mixed with nuruk (a fermentation starter) becomes liquor, but rice steeped with yeotgireum, dried sprouted barley, turns into a sweet drink with no alcohol.

Sikhye was traditionally made in autumn and winter, and around Lunar New Year families prepared plenty of it, along with sujeonggwa, for guests who came to pay their respects. The jar was set in hot water or buried under the blankets on the warm ondol floor for hours, and it took care: too cool and the drink turned sour, too hot and it did not get sweet. Andong in North Gyeongsang Province has its own red, peppery version made with radish, ginger and chili powder, believed to have appeared after the mid-18th century. Some old head families even use sikhye instead of liquor at ancestral rites.

Because it took time to make and did not keep well, sikhye was a seasonal drink until 1993, when it came out in cans and pouches and could be enjoyed any time of year. Today more and more people overseas are discovering it as a traditional Korean drink.