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Introducing Baijiu to the West in Celebration of the Chinese New Year and Ongoing Diplomacy

By Ann Hattes
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Baijiu is an integral essence of China: a source of inspiration to poets; a link between business partners, relatives and friends; and a celebration symbol for the Lunar New Year plus other festivals, and for special family events like weddings.

Baijiu (pronounced “bye-joe”), variously translated as “white wine,” “white alcohol” or “white liquor,” accounts for more than one-third of spirits consumed in the world every year, though very few in the West have heard of it. There are over 10,000 manufacturers in China where it has been a part of their culture for more than a thousand years.

The hastily made, harsh tasting fiery mixtures have warmed soldiers and farmers, while the long aged and carefully blended varieties with their delicate scents have been favored by dignitaries and the elite. It was baijiu, the Kweichow Moutai brand, with which U.S. President Nixon and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai shared toasts in Beijing in February 1972. Presidents Reagan, Clinton and Obama have similarly exchanged baijiu toasts with their Chinese hosts.

Baijiu is an integral essence of China: a source of inspiration to poets; a link between business partners, relatives and friends; and a celebration symbol for the Lunar New Year plus other festivals, and for special family events like weddings. The raw materials for baijiu vary and may include sorghum (a cousin of sugar cane), rice, sticky rice, wheat and/or corn. The grains are washed, sorted, divided into precise proportions, mixed with water, cooked, then formed into bricks or balls and left in a warm place for about a month growing yeasts, fungi and other microorganisms to create “qu.” This yeast-like material starts the fermentation when mixed with the grains and put in underground mud pits or ceramic jars. Recipes are closely guarded secrets as the ratios of combined selected ingredients are a major determinant of a baijiu’s aroma and flavor.

Water from rivers or wells, each with distinct mineral content, affects the final product, too, as water is used in every stage of production. The most well-known baijiu is produced in southern China in the provinces of Sichuan and Guizhou where conditions are ideal with mild temperatures, high humidity, a rich nutrient soil and pure water from melting snow of the nearby mountains.

After the fermented mix is exposed to precise temperature and pressure conditions, liquid is strained from the mash, distilled in giant steamers, then aged for a year – or many years –  in clay pots to preserve flavor and remove undesirable aromas. Finally the aged distillates made from a variety of mashes are blended for consistency or complexity and bottled with the alcohol reduced to 48% to 53% in most cases. The appearance is crystal clear with the scent of alcohol minimal in the premium categories.

Baijiu is categorized by “aroma” based on the region where it is produced –  the four main types being strong, light, sauce, and rice aroma. Light-aroma, easy and fast to produce and thus inexpensive, is made in the north of China, fermented in earthenware jars.

Moutai, the leading luxury brand in China prized by international diplomats and blended from up to 200 spirits before bottling, is in the labor- and resource-intensive sauce-aroma category. Using only sorghum as an ingredient and fermented in pits lined with stone bricks, Moutai’s complex bouquet has been described as soy sauce and fermented grains, to dried dates with a hint of nuts and toasted rice. It’s silky, spicy, dry but smooth. 

Strong-aroma baijius, the most popular and widely produced category, use mud fermentation pits. Luzhou Laojiao – Zisha, with sorghum and grains as ingredients, is sought after by connoisseurs for its traditional slight sweetness taste and long-lingering peppery, ripe peach fragrance. Shui Jing Fang, a strong-aroma baijiu with a fruity bouquet, is made at the oldest distillery in China with over 600 years of production, aged a minimum of five years, and blended with spirits aged up to 30 years.

Traditionally baijiu with its high alcohol content is partnered with food rather than mixed in a cocktail, and is drunk straight at room temperature from thimble-size cups or glasses which are refilled throughout the meal. Baijiu draws out the flavors in spicy foods, as well as sautéed mushrooms and soy-marinated beef but can be tried with any foods. “You can’t set the table without wine” is the Chinese custom. Baijiu has brought countries together and on holidays or any day brings people, friends and families together.  “Ganbei” (i.e. “Bottoms Up”)

Another way to celebrate the Chinese Year of the Sheep (also called goat or ram) is with recipes from The Daily Cookie (Andrews McMeel Publishing) by Anna Ginsberg which has 365 tempting treats honoring holidays throughout the year. Every day is a day to celebrate.


 

Chinese Almond Cookies

Courtesy Andrews McMeel Publishing. Makes about 48 cookies.

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 & ½ teaspoons baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

¼ cup light corn syrup

1 tablespoon almond extract (This full tablespoon gives these sugar cookies the flavor of the popular restaurant-style cookies.)

¼ teaspoon vanilla extract

48 whole almonds, blanched or with skin

 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place a rack in the center. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick foil.

Mix the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium-size bowl; set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or in a large mixing bowl, using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and creamy. Reduce the speed slightly and beat in the egg, corn syrup, almond extract, and vanilla. Using the lowest speed of the mixer, stir in the flour mixture until it’s completely incorporated.

Scoop up rounded teaspoonfuls of dough and arrange about 2 & ½ inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Top each cookie with a whole almond. Bake one sheet at a time for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cookies are browned around the edges. Let cool on the baking sheet for about 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

Fortune Cookies

Courtesy of Andrews McMeel Publishing. Makes about 45, plus a few practice cookies.

3 large egg whites

¾ cup granulated sugar

8 tablespoons (4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

¼ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon almond extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 to 4 tablespoons water

 

Type fortunes onto paper and cut into long strips. Have them ready to go before you begin the cookies.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and place a rack in the center. Line two rimless baking sheets with nonstick foil.

With a handheld electric mixer, beat the egg whites and sugar on high speed for about 2 minutes, or until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the melted butter, salt, vanilla, almond extract, and flour. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of water and stir well, then add more water until you get a very soft dough – not quite a batter, but close to it. You don’t want the dough to flow too quickly from the spoon.

Scoop up heaping teaspoonfuls of batter and form six paper-thin circles about 3 inches in diameter on one of the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies for 5 to 7 minutes, or until your circles have brown edges. Remove from the oven, and working quickly, with one circle at a time, put a fortune in the center of the circle, fold the cookie over once to make a rounded half-moon, then fold the far edges toward each other. Set in a muffin tin and let cool. Repeat with the remaining hot circles, doing your best to keep the folded fortune cookies closed as they set and cool. Start another sheet. While one batch of cookies bakes, spoon out the batter for the next batch.

 

Ann Hattes has over 25 years experience writing about both travel and food for publications both in the US and internationally. A senior living in Wisconsin, she’s a member of the International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association and the Midwest Travel Writers Association.

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