Dazhu Sweet Fermented Rice

Dazhu Sweet Fermented Rice

　　Dazhu Sweet Fermented Rice is a famous specialty of Daxian County, Sichuan Province. There are many types of sweet fermented rice in Sichuan, but Dazhu Sweet Fermented Rice is particularly well-known, also referred to as "Eastern Han Sweet Fermented Rice" or "Dongliu Sweet Fermented Rice." The finished product features white color, clear juice, sweet and rich taste, refreshing flavor, and a strong aroma of alcohol. It also has health benefits such as replenishing qi, generating blood, improving circulation, regulating menstruation, and moistening the lungs, and is especially refreshing in summer.

　　The brewing history of Dongliu Sweet Fermented Rice dates back a long time, originating in the Han Dynasty and flourishing in the Qing Dynasty. Historical records can be found in the Dazhu County Annals: "Sweet wine is also made from glutinous rice, mixed with the mash for consumption, hence the name 'sweet fermented rice.' The best comes from Dongliu Bridge north of Dazhu County town." Hence the name Dongliu Sweet Fermented Rice. Dongliu Bridge is located north of Dazhu County town, about three li from the county center. Legend has it that during the reign of Emperor Gaozu of Han, there was already a stone-pier wooden bridge at Dongliu, called "Dongliu Bridge." In the 59th year of the Qianlong reign of the Qing Dynasty, the bridge piers were reinforced, the bridge deck widened, and it was rebuilt into a five-arch stone bridge. Houses were built along the river, forming a town, with rows of weeping willows on both banks, hence the name "Dongliu Bridge." FLE

　　It is said that about one li away from "Dongliu Bridge," there is the Tang Family Courtyard, where a spring has flowed continuously all year round. Residents living within several li flocked to build houses here, regarding the spring water as sacred, believing it would bring blessings and ward off illnesses. Cooking rice with this water makes it especially soft and fragrant, and cooking glutinous rice with it gives it an even more unique flavor. FLE

　　To address the issues in the traditional production process of sweet fermented rice—such as long production cycles, intermittent operations, multiple points of human-caused contamination, unstable quality, low yield, and high costs—Dazhu Sweet Fermented Rice uses refined glutinous rice, spring water, and specialized rice koji fermentation agents as formula materials. It has developed a new process featuring continuous steaming, mechanical koji mixing, single-bottle packaging, and constant-temperature fermentation, which is easy to scale up for industrialized and large-scale production. This changes the traditional method of fermenting before bottling to a process of continuous steaming, mechanical stirring, and single-tank constant-temperature fermentation, making it suitable for scalable, industrialized, and standardized production. The research on single-bottle packaging, specialized rice koji fermentation agents, and constant-temperature fermentation technology represents a major improvement over the traditional large-container fermentation process and is the first of its kind in China. At the same time, the product retains the original nest-like "V" shape and the original fermented juice, without adding any food additives. It offers an authentic, rich, and pure taste, an attractive appearance, rich nutrition, and the convenience of easily loosening when cooked. The product has a solid content of over 50%, soluble solids ≥25%, and all indicators surpass those of similar domestic and international products. Its comprehensive technology leads at the national level. The research on single-bottle packaging, specialized rice koji fermentation agents, and constant-temperature fermentation technology is a major improvement over the traditional large-container fermentation process and is the first of its kind in China. FLE