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Makgeolli substitute

Best substitute

Dry sake or mijiu, with sugar and rice vinegar

1 cup sake plus 1 teaspoon sugar plus 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

Best for marinades for pork and beef

Different texture

The closest easy swap is dry sake or mijiu with a little sugar and rice vinegar: 1 cup of sake plus 1 teaspoon of sugar plus 1 teaspoon of rice vinegar. If you have sake lees, whisking 1 tablespoon into a cup of water plus a pinch of sugar gets even closer, because it restores the cloudiness. Without alcohol, unsweetened rice milk plus a teaspoon of rice vinegar per cup is the best stand-in. Makgeolli is doing four small jobs at once: gentle sweetness, a lactic tang, a cloudy starchy body that gives sauces a little cling, and the alcohol that strips gaminess from pork and beef. Sake covers the alcohol and the deodorising but is clear and dry, which is why the sugar and vinegar are not optional.

Other makgeolli substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

Substitutes for Makgeolli with ratios

  1. 2Sake lees (sake kasu) whisked with water

    Close match

    1 tablespoon sake kasu plus 1 cup water, plus a pinch of sugar

    The best match on flavour and appearance, because sake lees are the same kind of leftover rice solids that give makgeolli its cloudiness and yeasty smell.

    What changes
    Best for
    marinades, braises, soups, batters, pork and chicken

    Whisk it smooth or push it through a sieve, because it clumps. The result is milky and yeasty and very close to makgeolli in character, though a shade more savoury and less sweet. It has little alcohol left, so it deodorises less than sake does.

  2. 3Soju diluted with water, plus a pinch of sugar

    Taste and texture differ

    Use 1 part soju to 2 parts water, plus a pinch of sugar for every cup of makgeolli

    Practical in a Korean kitchen, since soju is far more likely to be in the fridge than makgeolli.

    What changes
    Best for
    marinades, deodorising pork, beef and fish, stews, quick sauces

    Soju is neutral and clear, so this gives you the alcohol effect and none of the tang, body or yeasty aroma. A marinade made with it works fine but tastes plainer. Add a teaspoon of rice vinegar per cup if the recipe wanted brightness.

  3. 4Unsweetened rice milk plus rice vinegar (no alcohol)

    Close match

    1 cup rice milk plus 1 teaspoon rice vinegar plus a pinch of sugar

    The alcohol-free option that best mimics the look and feel, since rice milk is already cloudy, faintly sweet and rice-flavoured.

    What changes
    Best for
    alcohol-free cooking, marinades, batters for pancakes, braises, sauces

    You get the cloudy body and the sweet-tart flavour and lose the deodorising effect entirely, so pork or beef will taste more strongly of itself. Compensate with extra ginger, garlic and spring onion. Thin rice porridge, cooled and thinned with water, does the same job if you have no rice milk.

  4. 5Mirin diluted with water

    Taste and texture differ

    Use 1 part mirin to 1 part water, plus 1 teaspoon rice vinegar for every cup of makgeolli

    A last-resort pantry swap that gets the sweetness roughly right once diluted.

    What changes
    Best for
    marinades, glazes, stir-fried dishes

    Even diluted, mirin is sweeter than makgeolli and has essentially no acidity, so without the vinegar a marinade tastes syrupy. It also browns meat faster on a grill or in a hot pan, so keep an eye on scorching.

  5. 6Amazake or thin rice porridge (no alcohol, closest in body)

    Close match

    Use the same amount thinned with water to a pourable consistency

    Amazake is a sweet, cloudy, essentially non-alcoholic fermented rice drink, which makes it the nearest thing in texture and colour.

    What changes
    Best for
    alcohol-free cooking, batters, sauces, marinades, desserts

    Considerably sweeter than makgeolli, so cut other sugar in the recipe and add a teaspoon of rice vinegar per cup for the tang. Its starchiness will thicken a simmering sauce more than makgeolli does, so add liquid if it tightens.

What is Makgeolli?

Makgeolli is Makgeolli, also spelled makkoli and sold as Korean rice wine, is an unfiltered, milky-white brew of rice and nuruk starter, only about 6 to 8 percent alcohol, that tastes lightly sweet and tangy with a soft yeasty fizz and settles into a layer of sediment in the bottle.

Cooking tips

  • Shake or swirl the bottle before measuring. Almost all of makgeolli's body and much of its flavour is in the sediment at the bottom, and pouring off the clear top liquid gives you a weaker, thinner ingredient than the recipe intends.
  • Do not treat makgeolli as interchangeable with sake in equal measure without adjusting. At around 6 to 8 percent alcohol it is roughly half the strength, and it is sweet and tangy where sake is dry, so an unadjusted swap in either direction shifts the whole dish.
  • In a marinade, 2 to 3 tablespoons per pound of meat is plenty. Makgeolli's mild enzymes and alcohol help seasonings soak in and cut gaminess, but long soaking in a sweet, low-alcohol liquid can leave the surface of the meat mushy.
  • If a Korean pancake batter calls for makgeolli, the point is the light carbonation and the slight sourness, which give a lacier, crisper edge. Sparkling water plus a teaspoon of rice vinegar mimics that better than flat sake does.
  • Makgeolli is alive and keeps fermenting, so it sours and can build pressure in the fridge. Use an opened bottle within a few days, and expect an older one to taste noticeably more sour, which means using slightly less and adding a pinch more sugar.

Frequently asked questions

Can I just leave the makgeolli out?

In most marinades and stews, yes. Replace the volume with water or stock and add a small pinch of sugar and a few drops of rice vinegar per tablespoon. The dish loses a little sweetness, tang and body, and pork or beef will smell slightly stronger, so add extra ginger and garlic to cover the gap.

Is makgeolli the same as sake?

No, and they are not freely interchangeable. Sake is filtered clear, dry and around 14 to 16 percent alcohol. Makgeolli is unfiltered, milky, lightly sweet and sour, gently fizzy and about half the strength. Sake works as a substitute only once you add a little sugar and rice vinegar to it.

Can I substitute makgeolli in kimchi?

Treat this carefully. In a kimchi recipe, makgeolli or rice porridge is usually there to feed the fermentation and carry the seasoning paste, and the salt level is what keeps the batch safe while it ferments. Do not change the salt or acid in a tested fermenting, pickling or canning recipe. Swap like for like in the starch and liquid, keep the salt exactly as written, and check current guidance from the National Center for Home Food Preservation before altering any preserved recipe.

What is nuruk, and does it matter for substituting?

Nuruk is the traditional Korean fermentation starter, a cake of grain carrying mould and yeast, and it is what gives makgeolli its particular earthy-yeasty aroma. It matters only in that no clear, filtered wine will reproduce that smell, which is why sake lees or amazake get closer than sake itself.

Can I use beer instead?

In a batter, a light lager is a reasonable stand-in because it brings carbonation and a yeasty note. In a marinade or stew it is a poorer choice, since hop bitterness concentrates as the liquid cooks down and clashes with gochujang and sesame.

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