Sweet Fermented Rice Soup

One of my favorite summer treats in Xi’an is a cold, sweet fermented rice drink, oftentimes sold at street stands. It’s essentially just sugar and funky rice, a grain version of kombucha, something to sip on while walking back home. When I was a kid, this drink always felt taboo because of its trace amount of alcohol. I never got drunk off it, but I always knew I could if I had enough.

This is the grown-up, more complex version of that summer drink, less sweet and more tart,