Chinese Rice Wine

Ever tried Chinese rice wine? Apparently some of it is pretty good! This company imports high-quality rice wine for drinking (not cooking or degreasing engine blocks) from China.

I don't remember when I first tried 白酒 bai jiu, but I remember that it takes some getting used to. First of all, it's usually 100 proof or more. The kind I'm familiar with has an acrid, sharp smell that feels like it's going to make your eyes bleed if you're exposed to the fumes.

Bai jiu, it should be noted, can be made from a variety of different grains, typically sorghum or barley. Although the characters can be translated as "white wine", a more accurate description would be Chinese-style vodka. It's very useful for making herbal liquor - the higher proof helps to extract the active ingredients of the herbs.

Someday I'll have to try the rice wine this guy is selling. I wonder if it's at Ranch 99.

Summer Drinking

Nothing says booze and summer like the Fourth of July. Why not make yourself a nice, refreshing alcoholic infusion with herbs? It could prove to be delicious and nutritious!

The infusion above was made with 薄荷 Bo He, 生姜 Sheng Jiang and 枸杞子 Gou Qi Zi, popularly known as mint, ginger, and goji berries.

Yumbo!!

Be merry, be safe, and enjoy the holiday.

Meet the Herbs: Wu Shao She

Chinese: 乌 蛸 蛇
Pin Yin: Wu Shao She
Pharmaceutical: Zaocys dhumnades
English: Black snake
Vietnamese: Rắn Cạp

Snakes are generally used to dispel wind-damp and open the channels and collaterals. Soaked in liquor, the herb can be taken as shots everyday to help with aches and pains of the muscles and joints. A study noted in Chinese Medical Herbology and Pharmacology cites that an alcohol extract at 40mg/kg proved to have an analgesic effect on rats.

It can also be used for wind-damp in the skin by grinding it into a fine powder and eating it with a bit of honey to cut the stink.

Alcohol Extracts of Chinese Herbs

Chinese medicine has a long history of using medicinal wines and liquors. For some herbs, alcohol is a better choice to extract active ingredients than water. If you go to some herbalist's shops, you may see a big jar of dark liquid with some herbs floating in it. Alexa Hulsey, formerly of Yosan University, saw some in China, as you can see here.

Chinese Medicinal Wines and Elixirs, by Bob Flaws, details some traditional recipes and methods. Chinese Medicated Liquor Therapy, by Song Nong, also has hundreds of recipes for everything from indigestion to impotence.

Jake Fratkin, an American practitioner, has combined traditional Western methods with Chinese herbs and uses them in his practice. In this article, he details his method, which uses ground raw herbs and a shorter soaking cycle than the traditional Chinese practice (1-2 days rather than 5-10 days). He considers it an important way for people to take herbs long-term and says he has success with conditions as varied as chronic cough to ovarian cysts.

If you'd like to make herbal alcohol extracts, Fat Turtle Herb Company can help you with all stages of the process, from getting high-quality raw herbs to grinding.