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Korean rice drink served in glass bowls with jujube flower garnish.

Easy Sikhye (Sweet Korean Rice Drink)

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Sikhye is a sweet, non-alcoholic Korean rice drink made with malted barley and rice. With this simple recipe, you can make it at home using an Instant Pot or rice cooker.
Course Drinks
Cuisine Korean
Keyword barley malt, hetbahn, instant pot, malt, rice cooker, rice punch, shikhye
Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Servings 16 people
Author Holly Ford

Equipment

  • instant pot or rice cooker
  • linen or cotton pouch See note #1 below

Ingredients

  • 3 cup barley malt
  • 12 cup warm water
  • 2 cup cooked rice short grain white rice
  • 3-4 slices ginger (1/4-inch thick) optional
  • 1 1/2 - 2 cup sugar
  • a few dried jujube flowers to garnish, optional
  • a few pine nuts to garnish, optional

Instructions

Prepare malt barley water

  • If using a clean fabric pouch, either cotton or linen, put malt barley in a pouch and tie up with a string and secure very tightly. Put the pouch in a bowl of warm water. See note #1 if you don't use a fabric pouch.
  • While the pouch is in the water, manually press and squeeze the pouch multiple times to squeeze out the malt powder from the barley so it can mix with the water. Do this for about 1-2 minutes. Squeeze out the pouch tightly to get all the good juices out. Discard the malt barley left inside the pouch.
  • Let the malt barley water sit for at least 30 minutes. The starch will sink to the bottom. Then carefully, without shaking the bowl, pour the malt liquid into another bowl leaving the sunken starch behind. Be careful not to let the sediment fall in. (A little bit going in is okay.) Discard the starch.

Steeping rice with malt barley water

  • Put cooked rice in the instant pot (or rice cooker) bowl and break up the grain briefly with a rice spatula. You can adjust the amount of rice as you wish. Pour the strained malt water over the rice. Cover with a lid and set your instant pot on the Keep Warm setting. The fermenting time can vary from 4-8 hours depending on the heat level of your appliance. An instant pot can take about 4-5 hours; a rice cooker might take longer.
    Cook's Tip: Seeing a few rice grains floating on top means the rice punch is well fermented. If no rice floats, give it 1-2 more hours. But don't exceed 8 hours, as the rice can spoil.
  • Add a desired amount of sugar and ginger slices (if using) and bring the punch to boil and cook for 5 minutes. Use the “Saute” setting for an instant pot. If using a rice cooker, you will need to transfer the punch to a pot and boil it on the stove. Skim off any debris or foam from the top of punch with a skimmer.
  • Allow the punch to cool completely. Transfer the punch into plastic or glass containers, and store them in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Shikye also freezes well. Pour the punch into freezer safe bottles or containers and freeze up to 3 months.

To garnish sikhye

  • Sikhye is usually served in a small bowl, often with rice grains floating on top and sometimes garnished with pine nuts and jujube slices.
    To get the rice grains to float, rinse them in water and set them aside until serving. This step is mainly for visual appeal and is optional in the recipe.
    For a fun twist, partially freeze the sikhye and then break it into a slushy texture using a spoon or fork. Enjoy your sikhye slush!

Notes

Don't have a fabric pouch? You can soak the barley malt directly in the water, and rub it with both of your hands harshly to extract all the malt from the barley. Remove the barley with a fine strainer. Make sure you remove all the small barley pieces.