Makgeolli Starter (Seokim) | 밑술 (석임) 1

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This recipe is used make a starter for brewing a fresh batch of makgeolli. I have used this recipe, or a variation thereof, many times with great results. I find that it helps to ensure consistency while brewing, and makes a nice, active fermentation. This recipe was found in a book I bought a couple years ago in Korea, and a citation can be found below.

Ingredients

  • Rice flour, 1 kg
  • Nuruk, 200 g
  • Yeast, 5 g 
  • (Wheat) flour, 100 g
  • Boiled water, 1.2 - 1.5 l

Preparation

  • Soak yeast and nuruk into 100 ml of water.
  • Soak rice for about 4 hours. Drain and dry prior to grinding into flour. (if you are grinding rice)

Procedure

  1. Mix rice flour with boiled water to make bumbeok 범벅(porridge).
  2. When the bumbeok cools down, add the nuruk, yeast, and water mixture.
  3. Add wheat flour into the mixture.
  4. Ferment for 24-36 hours at 23-25 C and use as a primary fermentation starter (밑술). In this condition, the starter can be refrigerated and divided into 2-3 parts for use. 

Citation: 
(Text is Korean Only)

권희자; 술 만들기, HOT CRAFT 08, 아금다운 우리 전통; ISBN 978-89-408-0422-3

Kwon Hee Ja; Making Sool, HOT CRAFT 08, Our Beautiful Tradition; ISBN 978-89-408-0422-3 

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 5, 2025 at 7:58 PM

    Many thanks, Brian! Just discovered your very informative blog while already battling with my first solo attempt at brewing makgeolli. I would have one question:
    The mitsul/soekim recipe is based on 200g nuruk per 1kg rice flour. The simpler, one-step makgoelli recipe I am following recommends 100g nuruk per 1kg glutinous rice.
    For my next batch, how much of your mitsul/soekim per 1kg rice would you advise?

    ReplyDelete
  2. BrianMay 5, 2025 at 10:43 PM

    Hi there! Thanks for reading and commenting. Nuruk ratios typically hover around 10% of the rice mass whether it is from flour or rice grains. This starter was originally designed for a 2 kg or more batch of makgeolli. With seokim, you can always add more nuruk to match the final rice ratio in the end recipe. For example if you have a multi stage recipe with 5 kg of rice, the remaining 4 kg of rice could be from steamed rice or godubap and you would add another 300g nuruk with the next stage to get close to the 10% ratio. Keep in mind this is not the only ratio and multi stage recipes vary, so I'm just using it as an example. Hope this helps, if not please leave another comment and we can chat more. Cheers!

    ReplyDelete

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