WAK 2018 - Tuak Fest

On behalf of Sarawak Blogger Society, we were honoured to cover Tuak Fest - What About Kuching (#WAK2018) which was jointly organized by The Bibber's Tale and Rajah Puteh Production from 24-26th October 2018.

The event was about a search for the best Tuak which was brewed by the local tuak brewers and the participants come from all over Sarawak. The brewers were a mixture of male and female, from the age of 22 till 60 years old.

There were 10 rice wines from 10 different makers selected for this inaugural Tuak Fest. Voting was done based on professional judges as well as public voters. Cash prizes of RM1,500, RM1000 and RM500 are up for the Top Three winners.

During the public tasting, individuals and groups were invited to The Bibber's Tale. Upon entrance, each patron received a goody bag which consists of a small bottles of samples for all the rice wine so that the patron can continue to enjoy and share it once they leave.

The tasting session started with a brief explanation of what to be expected and how voting shall be done. The bartender started by pouring a small amount of wine from the first participant, and voters were given the background story for each of the wine. After the tasting was done, each voters were given a glass of water to clear of the after-taste on their palate, and move on to the next bottle until all 10 were tasted. By the 10th sampling, the voters will cast their vote on the ticket and return it to the bartender for their counting. After tasting session completed, each patron were invited to select their favorite wine and continue enjoying it until their session was up.

No. 1

No. 2

No. 3

No.4

No. 5

No. 6

No .7

No. 8

No. 9

No. 10

Based on our own tasting, we found a few to have a great commercial value and have big potential to be marketed internationally. Others are for personal consumption or during a localized festival, and a couple which have a huge room for improvement. As of the time this post is written, we still do not know who is the winner as we did not attend the prize giving ceremony on the 27th October 2018. But we do hope the one we chosen will win *finger crossed*

It was a great experience to have done a proper yet laid-back Tuak tasting event, the first ever done in Sarawak. The organizers had a great plan to introduce the winners of Tuak Fest 2018 in time for Gawai festival next year and become parts of a collaboration with The Bibber's Tale and Rajah Puteh Production . We saw great potential in this event and it truly embodied the objective behind What About Kuching.

This post is written for What About Kuching, a month long event happening from 29th September until 28th October 2018. It is a festival celebrating arts, culture and lifestyle of Kuching and its local people to the global audience.

For more info on the event please visit https://aboutkuching.com/

Tuak Nasi

Rice Wine


I believe among all the recipes that I posted here, this is the most awaited ethnic recipe. As the recipe and the method of doing rice wine is considered as part of a tradition and tightly guarded secret, I have to apologize in advance that eventhough the ingredients and method posted here are correct, I am not able to inform the amount used as it is what determine a successful and delicious rice wine. I have to do this upon request from the person who gave this info to me. You may find a complete recipe somewhere else and the procedure may look simple, but bear in mind that rice wine making is a very delicate and difficult process, it can take years to master. Not only that, a lot of taboos (pantang) have to be observed in order to produce the perfect rice wine.

Ingredients:
Dry powder compacted yeast (ragi). -Use 2 types. One flat, one round (or just use the flat type)
Rice (here we used glutinous rice)
Coarse Sugar
Water
Ginger (to swab on the container before use)

Optional :
Whisky – to add more power. Man’s rice wine normally will add this. Women’s rice wine is normally sweater.

Method.
1. Pound yeast finely.
2. Soak rice overnight. Cook it as usual. When it is cool, mix with the yeast thoroughly.
3. Keep in an airtight container. Put clean white cloth on top before closing the lid for proper fermentation process.
4. After 2-3 days, check and stir. Close again.
5. After a week or so, cook sugar with water, then pour in the container.
6. After a month, check for the taste. Adjust ingredient if necessary.
7. Strain and keep the wine in a bottle. The remaining fine sediment will go down eventually. Refilter if necessary.

Tips:
1. If it turns sour, add more cooked sugar.
2. If it turns bland, add more yeast.
3. Uncoloured container or a ceramic storage (tempayan seramik) is best.
4. Keep container in a cool, dark place.
5. Store wine preferably in a glass bottle. Plastic bottle can react to the chemical process in a wine.
6. The older the wine, the better it taste.

Taboos:
1. Try not to talk/making too much noise while doing the whole process.
2. Do not telecast to everyone you are making one.
3. Process rice wine when you are emotionally stable.
4. Will add more in the future!