I’ve written before of my love for Korean food, and I’ve mentioned one of its secrets — the pairing of certain alcohols with certain flavors. And one of those was the rice “wine” Makgeolli with jeon — just about any kind of fried flour flat cake.
So of course, this CNN article caught my eye. Makgeolli has long been a favorite of mine, and I’m kind of glad it’s hitting the big time. But I have my misgivings about that too. I hate the gentrification of most things, and Makgeolli should be no exception. I’ve tried various kinds, but still fall back on the old standard, Changsu, and I’m almost afraid of the new stuff. I mean, even Changsu has its modern flavor, but I’m seeing some pretty expensive stuff even in the neighborhood grocery — five bucks a bottle (Changsu runs for a buck and a quarter). I’ve seen some running up over fifteen at Costco and E-Mart Traders. It might be worth a try, but hey, if you can get what you like for a buck and a quarter…
One of these days, I’m going to brew a batch and see how things come out. Knowing my wife is a scientist about stuff like this (she’s fermented all kinds of stuff over the years), I bet she’d like to give it a try too. Maybe it’s time to start finding some good nuruk and setting aside some time, space and equipment to see what we can do…