Sikhye is a traditional Korean rice drink, sweet, gently nutty and served very cold, with soft grains of rice drifting in each glass. It is made by steeping cooked rice in water infused with malted barley, which contains natural enzymes that slowly turn the starch in the rice into sugar. There is no yeast and no alcohol; the sweetness comes from the grain itself, helped along by a little sugar at the end. Its relatives elsewhere in Asia include Japanese amazake and Chinese jiuniang.

Korean families make big batches for the Lunar New Year and Chuseok, the autumn harvest festival, restaurants pour a small cup after a meal, and it is the drink of choice in the jjimjilbang, the country's public bathhouses, where it is sipped between spells in the sauna. Home made sikhye needs patience more than skill: a warm rice cooker does the work over an afternoon. The only real challenge is waiting for the grains to float, which is roughly how it feels to watch a long final stint.

The malt water

Ingredients

• 1 cup (170 g) malted barley powder (yeotgireum)
• 10 cups (2.4 liters) lukewarm water

Method

1. Tie the malt powder loosely in the cheesecloth to make a bag, or put it in a nut milk bag, and set it in the large bowl with the lukewarm water. Leave it to soak for 1 hour.
2. Squeeze and knead the bag in the water with your hands for 3 to 4 minutes, as if washing a cloth, then lift it out and wring it hard over the bowl. Discard the spent malt.
3. Leave the bowl undisturbed on the counter for 1 hour so the fine starch sinks to the bottom.

Steeping the rice

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (about 250 g) cooked short grain white rice
• all of it settled malt water

Method

1. Put the cooked rice in the bowl of the rice cooker and break up any clumps with a spoon. Ladle or pour the clear malt water gently over it, stopping as soon as you reach the white sediment. Discard the sediment; it makes the drink cloudy and bitter.
2. Close the lid and switch the rice cooker to keep warm, not cook. After 30 minutes, check the temperature; it should sit between 140 and 150°F (60 and 65°C). If yours runs hotter, prop the lid slightly open. Leave for 4 to 6 hours.
3. From the fourth hour, open the lid every 30 minutes and look at the surface. As soon as 10 to 15 grains have floated to the top, the steeping is done. Do not leave it much longer, as it can begin to sour.

Finishing the punch

Ingredients

• 1/2 to 3/4 cup (100 to 150 g) granulated sugar
• 3 thin slices of fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts

Method

1. Lift out the rice grains with the slotted spoon or pour everything through the sieve set over the saucepan. Rinse the grains in cold water, drain them and keep them in a covered container in the fridge. Rinsed grains stay white and float when served.
2. Bring the liquid to a boil over high heat, add the sugar and the ginger, if using, and boil for 5 minutes, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Boiling stops the enzymes so the drink keeps its flavor. Skim off any foam with the slotted spoon. Taste, and add a little more sugar if you like.
3. Remove the ginger, let the punch cool to room temperature, then pour it into the jug or bottles and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, until very cold.
4. Pour into small bowls or glasses, spoon a few of the reserved rice grains into each, and float 3 or 4 pine nuts on top.

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