Before we get into Happy Hour recipes for the celebrations this weekend, I wanted to draw attention to this non-alcoholic Mexican drink that admittedly sounded strange to me until I tried it - now I am hooked. Though there are drinks under the name Horchata in other cultures, the Mexican version is made from blended rice. It looks (and even tastes) like a milky drink, but there is absolutely no dairy in the recipe. It is rumored that this drink helps to cure hangovers, so you may want to whip up a batch if you plan on indulging at all this weekend.
If you want to try the drink but don't want to go to all the effort of making it yourself, Rice Dream apparently makes a version that is already prepared, though I've never tasted that myself. You can find the full recipe after the jump.
Horchata
1 cup long grain rice
1/2 cup skinless almonds (optional)
1 tsp lime zest
1/2 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
Instructions:
Grind rice in a blender or a coffee / spice grinder until smooth. Combine with almonds, lime zest, vanilla extract, and cinnamon stick. Add 3 cups of water, place in sealed container and let rest overnight.
In the morning, blend the mixture until smooth, adding 2 cups more water. Strain through a fine sieve or cheesecloth until no particles remain. Add sugar and remaining cup of water to final product, stirring until sugar dissolves.
Serve over ice.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-04-2007 @ 2:18PM
Miss Tiffie said...
sounds like it's just rice milk or something? sounds yummie!!! i wanna make some this wkend.... hahaha for cinco de mayo.. er.. after the festivities, hopefully that whole 'curing hangover' thing works :)
Reply
5-04-2007 @ 4:18PM
Jon said...
So that's what's in horchata! I get some occasionally at a local Guatemalan restaurant. I know it's non-dairy, but the waitresses never know enough English to say what's in it.
Reply
1-24-2008 @ 12:40AM
michael said...
ususally there isn't almonds and lime. It's usually just long grain rice, sugar, and cinnamon. Combine ingredients, let sit for a couple of hours to soften ingredients. Blend it all thouroughly and pour through a sifter. At a restaurant I used ot work at they also added condensed milk it was really good.
5-04-2007 @ 4:55PM
RobotDeathSquad said...
Horchata is like rice milk with cinnamon and sugar. I can attest that it clears hang-overs, but only with like 3 good authentic carne asada tacos with a ridiculously hot red salsa on them.
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5-04-2007 @ 5:15PM
eli bishop said...
silly question: do you cook the rice first, or grind the dried grains?
Reply
5-04-2007 @ 5:21PM
Ari said...
Horchata is GREAT! And I can vouch for the fact that the Rice Dream version in a box is actually VERY good - better than some of the home-made versions I've had or been served in restaurants.
Reply
5-04-2007 @ 7:14PM
laserboyjc said...
I love horchata! I even made a painting about it you can see here: http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/14510451/?qo=31&q=by%3Alaserboyjc&qh=sort%3Atime+-in%3Ascraps
that's not how it really looks but I took artistic license. My Mom makes one excellent horchata which is sweetened with condensed milk, I highly recommend it that way.
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5-05-2007 @ 6:43AM
bdw said...
I love horchata. In Puerto Vallarto a street vendor sold me a version made with barley, which was even better. He called it "cena," which just means "barley." It was more complex than the rice horchata,with a very pleasing thick mouth feel, and at first I thought it contained chocolate.
Both horchata and cena are sold bagged in powdered form by Goya, right next to their bagged rice and barley.
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5-05-2007 @ 8:48AM
mr.pink said...
In Spain, it is traditionally made from "chufa" beans. Spoooo goooood.
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5-06-2007 @ 2:54AM
G said...
I like how the ingredient list calls for 6 cups of water but only uses 5 cups in the instructions.
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5-06-2007 @ 8:06PM
Joanne Lutynec said...
There are 6 cups accounted for in the instructions, G.
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5-07-2007 @ 11:52AM
gomergirl said...
i like the other agua frescas too, jamica and tamarindo are also non alcoholic and refreshing with mexican food!! yummy!!! i think this is my fav food holiday.
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7-25-2007 @ 3:09PM
Peter said...
If by "other cultures" you mean Spain, it's certainly true. Actually, as far as I know, horchata originated in Valencia where it's made with chufa nuts
http://www.sitebits.com/2007/la_hora_de_horchata.html
I think (not sure it's 100% historically accurate) rice was chosen in Mexico simply as a substitute for chufa nuts. However, its nutritional qualities are quite different from chufas.
If you come across a chufa-based recipe, please post..
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8-22-2007 @ 10:45PM
nwad said...
hello. when i make this i end up with a handful of bits that don't fit through the strainer. perhaps i'm just not grinding enough - but either way, does anyone have any ideas on how to use the leftover bits?
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