Sweet
Sikhye
Sweet Rice Drink
A sweet, cold rice drink with floating grains — a traditional dessert beverage and natural digestive.
Sikhye is a traditional sweet rice beverage made by fermenting cooked rice in malt water, which converts the starch to sugar, then sweetening and chilling it so soft grains of rice float on top. Lightly sweet and refreshing, it's served cold as a dessert or palate-cleanser, especially after heavy holiday meals, and is valued as a gentle aid to digestion. It's a fixture of Lunar New Year and Chuseok tables and, more recently, a famous staple of Korean bathhouse (jjimjilbang) culture, where an icy can after a sauna is almost ritual. The floating rice is meant to be eaten with a spoon once you've drunk the liquid. Non-alcoholic and mild, it's an easy, soothing taste of traditional Korea.
How to eat it
- Drink it well chilled, as a dessert or after a big meal.
- Spoon up the floating rice grains once you've finished the liquid.
- Try a cold can after a sauna for the full jjimjilbang experience.
Common mistakes
- Don't confuse it with an alcoholic drink — despite the malt, it's non-alcoholic.
- Don't discard the rice grains; they're part of it.
Where to try it
- Holiday tables and traditional tea houses
- Bathhouses (jjimjilbang) and convenience stores in cans
Comments