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Appears in
The Japanese Cookbook

By Emi Kazuko and Yasuko Fukuoka

Published 2024

  • About
Literally meaning fiery spirits, shochu is a distilled spirit made from rice and a mixture of various other grains or even, at times, sweet potatoes. It was initially considered a low-class beverage in Japan but recently shochu has become more fashionable, particularly among the young. The alcohol content is quite high, 20-25 per cent, and some varieties are as high as 45 per cent, so it is normally drunk diluted with a little hot or cold water, depending on the season.

The most popular way to drink shochu in Japan is as ume-jochu, which is one part shochu diluted with four to five parts hot water. An umeboshi (dried salted Japanese apricot) is added to the glass before drinking. Shochu is also used for making umeshu (Japanese plum liqueur). Both shochu and umeshu are available from Japanese supermarkets.

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