Pro Tip: Before You Start, Clean Your Equipment Thoroughly Before you embark on your sake-making journey, make sure that all your equipment is clean and sterilized. When making anything that involves fermentation (yogurt, bread, booze), it's important that no other bacteria be present to interrupt the process or kill off the fermentation process. Usually putting your equipment in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes will do the trick.

Step 1: Cook Your Rice You'll need glutinous rice, also known as Thai sweet rice or sticky rice. You can find it in many Asian supermarkets or online. Cook it like you would any kind of rice, in either your rice cooker or on a stovetop. Use four cups of uncooked rice for every two-liter jar. Some recipes have called for rinsing the rice before cooking but it's really up to you. Let it cool by spreading it out on a baking sheet. Use only Thai sweet rice.

Step 2: Get Your Yeast On As mentioned before, there's a specific yeast that you'll be needing. It's a staple of most Asian supermarkets under the name yeast balls or rice cakes, or more specifically, qu (pronounced chu), jiuqu, or jiuyao (sometimes written as chiuyao). You may even have to tell whoever works there that you're making rice wine. You're looking for solid ping pong-like balls of yeast, fungi, and rice flour. Grind up one ball into a powder and now you're ready. Yeast balls powdered

Step 3: Layer Rice with Yeast Add some rice (about ¾ of an inch) and sprinkle some yeast on top. Repeat this a few times, leaving about an inch of space in-between the top of the your rice and the jar lid. Remember, you'll be creating CO2, so leave space for it to go somewhere otherwise your jar will pop! Mix it together and the yeast will do all the work. Cooked rice layered with yeast.

Step 4: Find the Right Spot for Fermentation Temperature is important in this process: too warm or too cold, and you kill off the yeast that you need for fermentation. Many home sake brewers recommend temperatures of 55-65°F, which usually means a cool-ish corner of your garage or basement. Just keep in mind that cooler temps mean that the fermentation process will take longer. Make your sake sweat! In most houses (unless your place is very warm), room temperature should suffice. You might want to take the precaution of wrapping your rice jar in a towel to make sure it doesn't cool off too precipitously, which might also stop CO2 from forming.

Step 5: Wait, Taste, & Wait Some More You should see liquid forming within a day. Give it a taste. It should be sweet. At first the carbon dioxide released from the fermentation will give a little effervescence to your sake. After a few days, you'll notice the flavor profile developing. You may detect notes of fruit or even sourness. Stop and serve when you achieve the flavor you're going for. At first the sake will be cloudy, but left to its own devices it will clear up by separating and developing a layer of sediment at the bottom. Your sake will be cloudy at first, but will clear up eventually.

Step 6: Drink or Use Wisely Now you've got a sweet wine that you can drink straight or use for cocktails. You can even play around with the flavors by steeping fruit in it. Additionally, it makes a great addition to any recipe. Try drizzling it on your sorbet or adding it to your next pasta sauce. If you find a nice bottle to store it in, you've got the perfect (inexpensive) gift for the next housewarming, dinner party, or any occasion where you want to impress your friends!

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