Tuak is a traditional alcohol beverage in Malaysia. Nowadays, there are many ways to prepare this wine other than the traditional way. People will prepare Tuak based on their culture, region, skills level and so on. The person that I interviewed is my mother, Angie Ng due to she comes from Sarawak. Although my mother is a Chinese, she is able to make Tuak since she had a lot of Iban friends in Sarawak. In this blog, I will like to compare the differences between the online recipe and the actual recipe.       

Traditional recipe (online recipe):

According to the recipe from Spirits of the Harvest (2014), the traditional alcohol drink is made from the fermentation of rice (usually glutinous rice) using yeast and enzyme which is naturally available in ragi. The enzymes break the starch in the rice into sugar and the yeast converts the sugar into alcohol, which is the fermentation process. The fermentation process in tuak making starts with yeast which is often readily available in local markets called pasar tamu, sundry shops and most Chinese medicine shops across Sarawak.  Some elders prefer to make their own yeast using the squeezed pulp of ginger and galangal (lengkuas) and rice powder.  The squeezed pulp is mixed with rice powder and the dough is shaped into buns to be dried out in the sun. The dried yeast, obtained commercially or made traditionally, is pounded into fine powder and added to the glutinous rice.  

At the same time, the rice must be cooled down to room temperature to avoid killing the yeast (at high temperature).  The mixture of yeast and rice is then stored in a container which is tightly covered with a cloth to prevent insects and lizards from entering.  The container must not be airtight because carbon dioxide is continuously released as a byproduct during fermentation.  There are ways of having a good fermentation process such as using a stop valve and storing in glass or ceramic jars.  Some tips are covered in the Brewing tab.

Water and sugar may be added to the mixture depend on how much rice flavor and alcohol level is desired in the end product two weeks before the initial fermentation.  Whether with or without sugar water, the mixture is left to continue the fermentation for at least six weeks to reach the highest alcohol level and the majority of the yeast dies off. 

The process of making tuak generally takes an average of two months; the longer the better.  This gives time for the brew to clarify and take a yellowish color, something like chrysanthemum tea.  Tuak fermentation with yeast will stop as the alcohol level reaches between 16% to 20%.  This is when the yeast succumbs to alcohol poisoning and dies.  However, some yeast may endure higher alcohol levels, including traditional yeast mold.

Ingredients:

The basic ingredients we prepared for Tuak are very simple. The ingredients we need are glutinous rice, sugar, water and yeast. 

                   

Glutinous Rice

                                    

Yeast Powder

Process:

After prepared all the ingredients, we are going to make the traditional Dayak brew, Tuak. It is not complicated as you think of making this rice wine. The most important thing is keep all of the equipment and the ingredients dry and clean. The first step is to cook the rice with a large pot. We boil the rice with sufficient amount of water. Basically, we add water until it is covered with a layer of water equal to the rice. After that, wait the rice cooled down to room temperature and always checked the outside of the pot temperature without touched the rice with the hand. The following step is to add the yeast powder that we bought into the rice and stir it up in a pot. Then, we covered the pot tightly and it should not be hermetically sealed but make sure no dirt or insects get in the pot. We waited for one week then the rice become more liquid and smell strongly of fermentation. Next, we boiled the sugar in the water then add into the pot once it cooled down to the room temperature. The last step is to pour the water into the container, mix the resulting mess well with a sterile ladle, then cover it again and wait again. After 10 days, it is ready to serve as a drink. Actually, it should be left for about 3 months in order to make the taste even better.

           

Mixing boiled rice with yeast powder

                        

Tuak is ready to be served

Differences:

Tuak is a traditional Dayak brew generally made with glutinous rice, yeast, sugar and water.  It is similar to Chinese rice wine and Japanese rice wine.  Tuak is served during the harvest festival, called Gawai Dayak by the native Dayaks in Sarawak.  It has extensive purpose during any merrymaking which includes weddings, thanksgiving dinners and parties (Spiritsoftheharvest, 2014).  In Sarawak, most of the people from the Iban community can made their own unique tuak. The Ibans are famous for their tuak. Ibans’ womenfolk must know a myriad of rituals and taboos to make a best tuak (The Star Online, 2010). According to the taboos or rules to follow when preparing tuak, women cannot prepare the tuak during menstruation because they believed that the tuak will turn out bad. Other than that, never ferment the tuak in a container that was once used to store salty foods because it will cause the tuak to taste sour. Moreover, people who make tuak should not eat any salty food or beverages (Themalaysiantimes, 2013). In this case, since we are not Sarawakians, we are not necessary to comfort with their myriad of rituals and taboos. Nevertheless, there are still some common requirements ought to comply with. For example, do not store the rice wine in a container that used to fill with salty foods. 

Furthermore, there are some region differences of Tuak in Malaysia. In Sarawak, most of the Ibans will made their own yeast by using the squeezed pulp of 9 types of ginger, normal rice flour, glutinous rice flour and others. In Penisular Malaysia, we prefer to buy the yeast that sold in the markets because it saves a lot of unnecessary trouble. It is something that looks like a batch of floury ping pong sized ball. However, this traditional rice wine is best to drink but not too addicted. This is due to it contained of alcohol content and if we drank too much will affect our health.

Moreover, the ingredients of Tuak are able to purchase at many places such as supermarket, grocery shop and etc. It is easily available to get those ingredients. All the prices of the ingredients are affordable. Other than that, I also saved the petrol expense since I bought those needed ingredients near my house. The only problem I met is time consuming. It took quite a lot of time to make this rice wine. It consumed a lot of time from step by step. For instance, we waited for a week before proceeded to the following step during the fermentation process.

In conclusion, there are not any significant differences between the online traditional recipe and the actual recipe that we made. The main difference is the taste of Tuak. The alcohol content in Tuak can be altered from 5% to 20% by volume. The taste is depending on the amount of sugar we used in the fermentation process. If the rice wine was stored for a long time, the taste of it will be over sweetened like honey wine. Last but not least, I realize that the process of making Chinese rice wine (mijiu) and Tuak is quite similar to Tuak but different purpose. The mijiu available in Asian Grocery Store is generally of a lower quality, and often contains added salt to avoid alcohol tax but Tuak did not add any salt. Chinese will use the mijiu for cooking purpose since the alcohol is low while Tuak is used in social and ritual events of the Dayak.

References

Spiritsoftheharvest (2014) Spirits Of The Harvest, SOTH: Tuak, Available from: http://www.spiritsoftheharvest.com/p/tuak.html [Accessed 15 November 2014].

The Star Online (2010) Gawai preparation starts with the brewing of tuak, The Star Online [online] 30 May. Available from: http://www.thestar.com.my/story/?file=%2f2010%2f5%2f30%2fnation%2f20100530132147&sec=nation [Accessed 15 November 2014].

Themalaysiantimes (2013) The secret recipe of Tuak, Dayak Gawai’s rice wine | The Malaysian Times, Available from: http://www.themalaysiantimes.com.my/the-secret-recipe-of-tuak-dayak-gawais-rice-wine/ [Accessed 15 November 2014].