I have had an unending supply of great tuak, thanks to my friend Mary Jane – not her real name la. To protect her identity. She’s afraid her front door will be kicked in by a SWAT Team or hordes of tuak junkies.
She’s been with me at Sarawak many times for the world music fest. We normally get our supply from this hotel in Kuching that’s got da best shit (and d best laksa). Me n my crew would order like 70-80 bottles for d festival n drink kao-kao. Sometimes tapau some back to KL – still got some 07′s left.
Mmmm, golden rice juice. Sarawak laksa + tuak lunch, Kuching. Perfection.
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So she liked it so much, she decided to learn makin it here in PJ . Her 50% Sarawakian genes finally kicked-in.
The first batch was ready last year. It turned out good. Some of the following batches were as good or better than d Kuching one! The colour is perfect – gold. Not too murky like d longhouse ones, which are forced down your throat when u go upriver in Sarawak. Man i got some tales about that!
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Some dude I met upriver. Nice hornbill feathers, hope d bird tasted good with tuak, ol man
Anyway, Mary Jane was kind enough to show me the tuak-brewing process. We”ll share it with yall – anybody can do it. Don’t ask me about d legality. Don’t know & don’t care. D way I see it, we’ve paid way too much booze taxes in this country already. According to The Star, Malaysians pay the second highest tax in d whole goddam planet for beer! Probably d same with other booze.
Like we earn a lot.
If u buy a can of beer for five bucks, about four bucks is tax. Stupid dam government, blowing our hard-earned money! Fuck em.
Anyway, ingredients are easily available. Maybe tedious but not difficult. I have yet to do it coz she’s just so nice to me – keeps me fed and supplied. Thanks Mary Jane! Ur da shit.
Anyway, if u start makin d product now, it will be ready in 3 months. No it’s not instant. Sorry.
Here’s d rundown on how to make tuak aka rice wine.
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Mary Jane has a tuak logbook. With dates & measurements. Respect
MJ fixin me a shot to test d latest merchandise
Wat u need: (measurements based on 1kg of rice, but u can go for 5kg for more product. Multiply other ingredients by five too)
1. Uncooked rice (glutinous rice – can get everywhere, like Tesco) – 1kg
2. Fine sugar – 1kg
3. Yeast – 1.5 pieces – get it from a Chinese medicine shop. Mary Jane gets it from Centerpoint, PJ. It’s “sweet yeast for Chinese wine”. Aka ‘chao peng’.
4. A pot
5. A hose pump or a cup
and that’s it
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Dates of each batch decorate the pot's cover
Moonshiners these days have d latest bottling technology
Process:
1. Cook d rice (if u don’t know how to dat, quit now)
2. Pound yeast into powder, add yeast to rice (cooled down), stir it up in a pot. Always cover the pot (not air-tight, but make sure no dirt or insects get in)
3. Wait 2 weeks (that’s tough)
A layer of liquid will appear above d mix.
4. Boil sugar in water (make syrup), add into pot once cool. Stir it up. Wait 6 weeks (hang in there)
5. Sieve d pot’s contents thru a strainer. Dump the strained stuff, pour d brew back into d pot. Wait a week
6. Pump out the clear liquid which will float above the murky part with a hose / pump. Or u could scoop out with a cup, but that might stir up the murky shit
7. Sieve again. Liquid should be clear – it’s called tuak! Start bottling d stuff
8. Time to drink!
Rice - more handy than i thought
It’s legit. Have had many of Mary Jane’s bottles and am still alive. Most important part of d process is hygiene. Sterilize everything with soap (not d ingredients).
Actually she did say sumtin about – u gotta b naked when u do it. Hmmm… dunno la, she hasn’t given me any live demo. Yet.
U can probably brew five bottles per kg of rice. BTW, it’s supposed to taste either sourish-sweet or sweetish-sour. If u have no idea, ask someone who has tasted tuak before to sample it. Like me.
Get busy! Believe me, it’s worth it! Good tuak is awesome stuff, and the high is a real upper.
As they say in Sarawak when u cheers, OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHAAAAAAAAAA!!!!
Brain damage rating: 7.5/10
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Partying & messin about, Laos | Cocktales, by The Thirsty Blogger // May 18, 2009 at 12:54 am
[...] It’s clear rice liquor, like Sarawak’s abortion-inducer, langkau (not to be confused with tuak). [...]
would like to know if Mary Jane is selling her home made tuak??? thinking of getting some from her… would appreciate if u can reply me.
t.q
hahah Trading for commercial purposes are illegal
How did you find this site? You a friend of Deep?
The Drinking Army | Cocktales, by The Thirsty Blogger // Jun 3, 2009 at 2:19 am
[...] ← DIY tuak! A beer gut is EARNED [...]
The Man from Mars | Cocktales, by The Thirsty Blogger // Jun 8, 2009 at 1:26 pm
[...] enjoyed the tuak made by Mary Jane. “This is stronger for me, I am looking.” (Translation: This one seems stronger (than [...]
Sounds great, but bit sloth to work that whole process out and wait for months..Mary J, any chance I get a sampling? cheers!
if our paths happen to cross, I don’t see why not!
hah..Mary J, u meant leave it to fate ? that would highly unlikely i would cross your path! LOL! anyways, do drop me a mail if you’re happy to share your special tuak. cheers!
hie! how much of water to be added to the sugar? i believe that would determine how thick or light the tuak will turn out right? any suggestion on the water measurement?
hmm i’m not so sure about the water measurement but i roughly add 750gm of sugar and boil it in a big kettle. Just agak2 la…
Hello Mary J,
My name is Philip. I’m a chef in Melbourne, Australia and I have recently entered a competition and I plan to cook Kacang Mah which is a very known hakka dish back home in Sabah. But I really need to learn how to make Tuak for it is the main base that gives its flavour. I really hope you can help me out as I’ve searched high and low for recipes and yours is the best. I’ll forever grateful to you. Cheers!
you can actually buy fresh tuak in KL. Look up ngiruptuak@wordpress.com
great! checkin out…
the website is ngiruptuak.wordpress.com. the email addy is ngiruptuak@gmail.com. Ngirup Tuak means Drink Tuak in Iban btw!
10,000 views crossed | COCKTALES, by the Thirsty Blogger // Jul 28, 2009 at 2:36 pm
[...] to make tuak” has been one of the most popular search engine terms. Haha! Alcos. Also “best tequila [...]
Latest bottling technology?
Homey don’t play dat, not anymore | COCKTALES, by the Thirsty Blogger // Aug 11, 2009 at 12:49 pm
[...] couple of years, Vintage 2007 and 2008. Great stuff. Chicks luved it. [BTW will post soon about a friend of mine who brews da shit at her home. And supplies me. [...]
Hints of Dutch lavender, with a roasted lemongrass finish… | COCKTALES, by the Thirsty Blogger // Aug 13, 2009 at 2:23 am
[...] shove a bottle of tuak down one of their throats and say “U detect the tart now [...]
This is so cool. How do you bottle it tho? Mineral water bottles? I’m planning to make a batch, and do a naked dance around it just to be sure.
Hi MJ, was just wondering abt the amount of yeast… i got a similar recipe from my aunt in sarawak, but the amount of yeast is way more than what u indicated.
She uses 10 pieces of yeast for 1 kg pulut.
But the yeast she told me to buy was from an indian kedai runcit… (cost only abt 60sen) per piece.
Just wanted to know if the yeast u used from the chinese med shop comes in bigger size (and maybe that’s why u only use 1.5 pieces ?).
Would appreciate your advise.
10 pieces is a lot of yeast! dunno, never tried so many before. Try it & let me know. Maybe it’ll taste nicer? Yes, it’s a bout 50cents from the chinese shop and it’s about 1 1/2 inch in diameter.
hey…me and my buddies kinda completed our tuak project. But instead of 1kg, we went on to make tuak with 3kg rice and hence with 3kg sugar, so you can just imagine how bloody sweet it’ll taste.Anyway, the due date was on the 17th of december last year,but it was so sweet,we taught of keeping it for another month.Do you think the longer we keep it, the better it’ll taste?
Hey franky.
This is what Mary Jane my tuak consultant says- “No guarantee that it will taste better coz the yeast might make it more sour. Adding water is the best option.
You can also add peach vodka for flavour & a stonger kick.
Keep longer in clear bottles so that the sediments can settle.”
I am going to try it.
Cool. All d best!
my dad used some pulut hitam mixed with thai glutinous rice.. kunun can make the tuak smell gooder.
Thanks for the tip! Will inform Mary Jane
Thank you! Pleeeeeeeeze tell me what this hotel is in Kuching–we are going there for the first time this year for the Rainforest Music Fest and want some of that laksa!!
Hotel’s called Telang Usan. Off Ban Hock Rd, downtown. Tel: (082) 415-588.
Might see u there dis year. Enjoy!
Dear Mary J,
I’m also a fellow brewer and but new to KL. i was wondering if you could tell me where to get the clay pots and glass containers i see in the photos.
In case you are interested to try, i have experimented with raisins, honey, various types of sugar (gula melaka, Sugarcane, etc), mineral water and/or a combination of the above. Adding ginger will also give you a nice zing in the drink.
I can be reached at gabriel_ong@yahoo.com or just post the comments here.
Cheers
Will get u two in touch.
Well, I’ve started. Many thanks to Deep and Mary J.
Date: 14.10.10 7.07pm.
Will update you guys in a month on the success or failure.
All the best man.
Nice DIY.. yea, u forgot to mentioned the water|sugar ratio, Deep.. Anyway guys, have u seen tuak that’s so VINTAGE, that the colour turned dark like a really thick tea drink? =)
i tasted it at my longhouse! around 12-15yrs. that’s true vintage, guys..
I’m quite pleased with the infomration in this one. TY!
Thirsty Brother….I linked to your posting!
Haha! Thanks
reminds me of “basuh kaki” on 1 June 1981 …ne1 out there know /wud like 2 share dat traditional xperience …….just get in touch…koooool
n 2day ‘s my 62nd birthday….
Happy 62nd birthday Wiseguy! Dont know what the basuh kaki ritual is about tho