Apparently slushy drinks "sell like hot cakes" these days. It's no surprise - damp, hot air feels heavy and, at this point, quite annoying for overstaying its welcome. When I feel down (or up, or side-ways, really whatever I feel for that matter), I look to cooking for solution - something I can make with flavors, textures and colors that will brighten up my mood. But, did I mention, it's really hot AND muggy...
So here is a happy boozy drink that's bright and light. And simple. No heat required. With makgeolli/makkoli, a slightly fizzy rice brew of Korea, you can blend away frozen fruit of your choice and make an instant drink that can range from chilled makgeolli with fruity flavor (more makgelli, less frozen fruit), slushy, icy fruity makgeolli drink to spoonable makgeolli-fruit sorbet (frozen fruits with only enough makgeolli to get the blender going). My favorite is the combination of frozen pineapple and makgeolli with a right amount sweetness from pineapple and a light tang from the fermented rice drink.
Of course you can use other non-alcoholic juice variety for the base. But when a responsible drinker (right here, me) and a rice drink with a 6% alcohol content* meet, a glass of makgeolli slushy means a celebration of a lazy summer afternoon regardless of the weather.
INGREDIENTS:
Makgeolli, chilled
Frozen fruit of your choice
Optional) syrup to make it sweeter
DIRECTIONS:
Blend together makgeolli and frozen fruits (1:2 ratio in volume) at a low speed until smooth. You may have to stop and stir a couple of times to break up the frozen fruits. When done, this should be closer to a sorbet consistency (picture above although it started to melt). If you want more makgeolli flavor and make it more drinkable right away, add more makgeolli and blend for another 30 seconds.
* There has been a renaissance of makgeolli in Korea in recent years with hundreds of specialty types with varying degrees of alcohol content. Although the trend seems to have subsided somewhat, it's still about hundreds of more retail choices than I can readily find around me. If you have big Asian or Korean grocery stores or a liquor store with a good sake/soju selection in your neighborhood, you might find a selection of makgeolli there. In Manhattan, I found a couple of different kinds of Kooksoondang brand (the most well-known, mass-marketed brand in Korea) in Woorijip and Wolmae makgeolli (pictured above) from a grocery store in Chinatown. I didn't hear about this one before but I can't claim to be a connoisseur on this subject. From what I've seen, they all seem to have around 6% alcohol content.
KOREAN WORDS
과일 (gwa il) fruit(s)
우산 (woo san) umbrella
