Rượu nếp, made by fermenting glutinous rice with yeast into a rice wine, stands out as our absolute favourite Vietnamese dessert. Through our culinary explorations, we’ve come across Korean sikhye and Japanese amazake, both showcasing more fluid consistencies. However, it wasn’t until we encountered the Chinese jiǔniàng that we discovered a truly comparable match in both taste and consistency. This here is the Mǐ Pópo Jiǔniàng with 2% alcohol content.

The jiǔniàng had the familiar sweet fragrance of fermented rice, akin to homemade rượu nếp, albeit lacking the slight spicy alcohol undertones. Upon tasting, the flavour mirrored this similarity: it closely resembled homemade rượu nếp, with the notable exception of the subdued spicy alcohol nuances. Additionally, the consistency leaned towards a more liquid form, differing from the thicker texture we’re accustomed to. All in all, this product went a considerable distance in fulfilling cravings for rượu nếp, although it fell short of surpassing the homemade version.

This Mǐ Pópo Jiǔniàng contained 900 g. It was produced in China and purchased in Sydney, Australia in 2023.