Choujiu is a type of Chinese fermented

Fermentation (food)

Fermentation in food processing typically is the conversion of carbohydrates to alcohols and carbon dioxide or organic acids using yeasts, bacteria, or a combination thereof, under anaerobic conditions. Fermentation in simple terms is the chemical conversion of sugars into ethanol...

 alcoholic beverage

Alcoholic beverage

An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...

 brewed from glutinous rice

Glutinous rice

Glutinous rice is a type of short-grained Asian rice that is especially sticky when cooked. It is called glutinous Glutinous rice (Oryza sativa var. glutinosa or Oryza glutinosa; also called sticky rice, sweet rice, waxy rice, botan rice, biroin chal, mochi rice, and pearl rice, and pulut) is a...

. It is very thick and has a milky white color, which is sometimes compared to jade

Jade

Jade is an ornamental stone.The term jade is applied to two different metamorphic rocks that are made up of different silicate minerals:...

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Choujiu is an ancient variety of Chinese wine

Chinese wine

Jiu is the Chinese word that refers to all alcoholic beverages. This word has often been mistranslated into English as "wine"; the meaning is closer to "alcoholic beverage" or "liquor"...

, and is possibly the original Chinese wine. It can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

, where it was praised by the poet Li Bai

Li Bai

Li Bai , also known in the West by various other transliterations, especially Li Po, was a major Chinese poet of the Tang dynasty poetry period. He has been regarded as one of the greatest poets in China's Tang period, which is often called China's "golden age" of poetry. Around a thousand existing...

.http://www.sxtour.com.cn/sxtc/sxtc22.htmhttp://www.huaxia.com/gd/csdh/xa/2006/00455606.html In ancient times, choujiu was referred to as láolǐ (醪醴) or yùjiāng (玉浆).

In the modern day, the city of Xi'an

Xi'an

Xi'an is the capital of the Shaanxi province, and a sub-provincial city in the People's Republic of China. One of the oldest cities in China, with more than 3,100 years of history, the city was known as Chang'an before the Ming Dynasty...

 is known particularly for its choujiu.

Doburoku ( / ) is the Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

ese equivalent of choujiu, and in Korea gamju

Gamju

Gamju or dansul is a traditional Korean alcoholic beverage, made from rice fermented with yeast-cake. Because its fermentation is incomplete, its alcohol content is relatively low. It is made from steamed rice, to which water and yeast-cake are added. It is then fermented for several hours in a...

and makgeolli are similar.

See also

• Makgeolli
• Gamju
  Gamju
  Gamju or dansul is a traditional Korean alcoholic beverage, made from rice fermented with yeast-cake. Because its fermentation is incomplete, its alcohol content is relatively low. It is made from steamed rice, to which water and yeast-cake are added. It is then fermented for several hours in a...
  
  
• Doburoku
• Chinese wine
  Chinese wine
  Jiu is the Chinese word that refers to all alcoholic beverages. This word has often been mistranslated into English as "wine"; the meaning is closer to "alcoholic beverage" or "liquor"...
  
  
• Sato (rice wine)
  Sato (rice wine)
  Sato is a traditional northeastern Thailand beer style that has been made for centuries from starchy glutinous or sticky rice by growers in that region. Just as other regional varieties made not from grapes but cereal are commonly called wine rather than beer, sato is commonly called Thai rice...