Horchata. that mexican rice drink.

[vash]

i get it sometimes. it's a big glass of diabetes. super sweet..cloyingly so. with rice. i never finish it.

i elected to try to make some myself. from scratch. first surprise: there is ZERO cooking. there is some blending..some waiting..then mixing. that is it!! the easiest thing in the world.

i cut the sugar way back. and used 50% calrose rice for the extra rice flavor.

this stuff is amazing.

[kach22i]

Start to finish, ingredients and steps/process.

I used to love the stuff, but cannot seem to find anything I really like locally anymore.

[aigel]

Still looks like a ton of refined carbs in an easy to drink shape ...

I can't drink it at the local joint - it is too sweet - think southern "sweet tea". It also always sits there in a big ass container, with a ladle in it, flies circling ... So, I'd like to sample yours sometime!

G

[vash]

Originally Posted by kach22i

Start to finish, ingredients and steps/process.

I used to love the stuff, but cannot seem to find anything I really like locally anymore.

from memory.

1 1/3 cups long grained rice. (again, i used half Calrose rice - prob one cups of each)
put it in your blender with 2 cups of water.
put in two sticks of cinnamon. get it blending. instructions say 2 minutes. i went longer cuz my blender sucks.
after it gets whipped up. the rice is not blended into a smoothie. the rice looks like big gritty sand. ADD TWO more cups of water and blend 2 minutes more.
pour it all into a lidded thing. i used a big food storage container..get ready to have to scoop out all the rice and chunks with a spoon..again, the big grit settles fast! (imagine aquarium gravel )

now let the thing sit on your countertop for 8 hours. i went 16 cuz forgot about it. (the second time)

when the rest period is over. stir it up and pour it thru a fine mesh sieve. lots of starchy "dust" passes.

add 1.5 cups of milk
add 1/3 cup of sugar. instructions say 1/2cup.
some vanilla extract. tablespoon i think
some powdered cinnamon.

stir it up BEFORE you serve it. there is heavy sediment and it is suppose to be like that. pour over ice and drink or chill the entire thing.

i bought soy milk to try instead of real milk. maybe even take the sugar back some more.

[vash]

Originally Posted by aigel

Still looks like a ton of refined carbs in an easy to drink shape ...

I can't drink it at the local joint - it is too sweet - think southern "sweet tea". It also always sits there in a big ass container, with a ladle in it, flies circling ... So, I'd like to sample yours sometime!

G

agree 100%.

i think some of the food we stuff in our face that isnt the best for us. learn to make it. if you want it..make it. if i had this rule set in stone..i would probably NEVER eat fried chicken or french fries.

laziness, difficulty making it..or challenging ingredients would surely limit intake. i cant stand big vats of dirty used cooking oil. it is a rare occasion for me to deep fry anything.

[Otter74]

Make it yourself and you can just add however little sugar you prefer. If you buy it at e.g. a restaurant it will probably have lots of sugar in it. I live in Chicago so I can find any kind of Mexican food I can think of in about 30 seconds but some things are still sometimes better made yourself. A friend and I stopped by a good paleteria near me on our way to the beach and she had an agua de alfalfa and found it shockingly sweet. She makes it herself with no sugar and could barely recognize what she was trying, though it did still taste grassy. A good agua de fruta is hard to beat in the summer and all it is is pureed fruit and water and you don't really need to add any sugar.

[vash]

i think we call them Aqua Frescas. (could be wrong)

[flatbutt]

Does it mix well with vodka?

[Arizona_928]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Does it mix well with vodka?

prolly would if you like a sweet mix


I get it at the -berto Mexican chains in phoenix.

[Oracle]

I like that drink! Even my wife buys me horchata drink if she finds it.

[javadog]

Originally Posted by vash

agree 100%.

i think some of the food we stuff in our face that isnt the best for us. learn to make it. if you want it..make it. if i had this rule set in stone..i would probably NEVER eat fried chicken or french fries.

laziness, difficulty making it..or challenging ingredients would surely limit intake. i cant stand big vats of dirty used cooking oil. it is a rare occasion for me to deep fry anything.

If I lived within driving distance of Thomas Keller's fried chicken, I would never make fried chicken again.

There are only a couple things that I don't make myself; food is just so much better and so much better for you when you make it from scratch.

Of all of the Mexican flavored waters, Agua de Jamaica is probably my favorite, along with some of the melon flavored waters.

[RANDY P]

That crap is awesome.

rjp

[john70t]

A decade plus ago I lived on the pennisula and was a hard core El Farlito pollo super burrito chips with green meany sauce dip and horchata to balance the cure from the spicy side, much as a mango lassi does.
They were unclean dumps with crappy furniture, but the meat was always grilled on raw hot iron to perfection.

[Noah930]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Does it mix well with vodka?

Rum. Goes great with rum.

Kern, the juice maker, now makes a half-gallon carton of the stuff. Don't know how regional and seasonal that is, though.

[tabs]

I like the floating flies in mine...tastes like pepper.

[flipper35]

If they are still alive they tickle when they go down too!

[vash]

i'll admit..i dont understand the fly comment.