What is makgeolli(막걸리)?
Makgeolli(막걸리) is the most famous alcohol in Korea which is a rice wine. This Korean rice wine is sweet, tangy, and very tasty. It has about seven percent 7% of alcohol inside and looks white cloudy. 막걸리 is Korea’s oldest alcoholic drink and the word 막걸리 means “carelessly strained”.
Makgeolli can be good for your health because it contains lactobacillus and lactic acid bacteria which is good for digestion system and improves immune system of body.Traditionally it is prepared by fermentation of rice with water and Nuruk in a crock for about a week. Nuruk is a dry cereal cake that has been allowed to ferment and mature to promote the growth of molds producing hydrolyzable enzymes that decompose the starches of the cereal grain into sugar. This sugar is then used by yeast to produce alcohol through fermentation.
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How to drink Makgeolli
- It comes out cold in shallow bowls. Better to not fill the cup.
- You will see powder at the bottom, that’s why you should mix it before drinking. Gently turn the bottle upside downed shake.
- You can enjoy it without food. But you can also pair them with different Korean foods as fried Jeons.(with kimchi, seafood,vegetables)
Best food combination with Makgeolli
I had a lot wonderful drinking experiences of 막걸리 in South Korea for 10.000 Wons. And it was with many dishes as kimchi pancakes, pork belly with tofu, grilled fish, sesame-fried egg, soy-marinated crab and rice. Basically 막걸리 is easier to try than soju. During hot raining summer times, it becomes suitable replacement for a meal. Here are a few menu combinations that are famous all around Korea.
Jeon (Vegetables, Seafoods, Kimchi)
The best dish you can pair 막걸리 with is Jeon. It is a Korean pancake made with some eggs, onions and other vegetables. Also it is a pan-fried seafood coat up in eggs. A sip of this wonderful drink goes perfect with vegetable and seafood and leaves unforgettable taste that you would like to try again.
Kimchi and warm tofu
This is a classic combo of tofu, kimchi for enjoying 막걸리. It is a light tofu’s piece with pan-fried kimchi. It is naturally carbonated and rich in flavor.
The best Makgeolli bar
Usually you can easily find good Makgeolli bars in the Hongdae street and Sinchon districts. So if you go to those areas you will have more luck to find good 막걸리 bars. One of my favorite 막걸리 bar is around Yonsei university at Sinchon station. It is Makgeolli Salon or in Korean 막걸리싸롱 신촌점.
Makgeolli Salon is an all-you-can-drink joint located near Sinchon Station (신촌역). The bar offers different types of makgeolli from every part of South Korea. For just 5,600 won you can drink as much makgeolli as you want. However, brand and fruit makgeolli will be more expensive (6,000 to 12,000 won). Also you can order a set which offers makgeolli with some jeons.
Location
The address of this bar is 10, Yonsei-ro 11-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. It is located close to the second 2 exit of Sinchon Station (신촌역), 9 minutes of walking.
Read more: Sinchon: the Young Street
