Jiuniang

Jiuniang (酒酿, also called láozāo 醪糟, jiāngmǐjiǔ 江米酒, or tiánbáijiǔ 甜白酒 in Yunnan) is a sweet, soup- or pudding-like dish in Chinese cuisine. It also known as sweet wine or sweet rice wine.[1] It consists of a mixture of partially digested rice grains floating in a sweet saccharified liquid, with small amounts of alcohol (1.5–2%) and lactic acid (0.5%). It is made by fermenting glutinous rice with a starter called Jiuqu (酒麴) containing Rhizopus oryzae and/or Aspergillus oryzae and often yeast and bacteria.

Jiuqu (Chinese Fermentation Starter)

Jiuniang

A bowl of guihua jiuniang (桂花酒酿)
Type	Rice pudding
Place of origin	China
Region or state	East Asia
Main ingredients	Glutinous rice, fermentation starter (yeast and Aspergillus oryzae)
Cookbook: Jiuniang

It was first developed as a by-product of mijiu production and generally speaking is partially digested and fermented rice from a young rice wine (or vinegar) ferment. If eaten quickly or held at 10 degrees or less which halts the fermentation, the product can be consumed as Jiuniang. If the temperatures are raised and fermentation continues, Jiuniang will eventually produce rice wine or rice vinegar. Jiuniang is most commonly made and consumed in the winter, where fermentation can be halted easily.[2]

Often jiuniang is translated to rice sauce or even rice wine (due to its alcohol content) by western Chinese retailers. It is often made with sweet osmanthus flowers and the dish is called guihua jiuniang (桂花酒酿).