HORCHATA DE ARROZ

Horchata de Arroz image

Categories Raw

Yield makes about 6 cups

Number Of Ingredients 6

Ingredients

2/3 cup medium-or long-grain white rice
3 cups warm water
1 (2-inch) piece Mexican cinnamon stick
1 cup sugar, or more if needed
2 cups whole milk
Ground Mexican cinnamon

Steps:

Put the rice in a blender or spice grinder and process until completely pulverized, with a flour like texture. (Alternatively, you can leave the rice whole if you prefer.) Combine the rice powder, warm water, and cinnamon stick and stir with a whisk until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours or overnight.
Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until as smooth as possible. It will feel slightly grainy but should not be gritty. Strain into a pitcher through a sieve or colander lined with a couple layers of cheesecloth, pressing the solids with the back of a wooden spoon to extract as much liquid as possible. Stir in the sugar and milk, then taste and add more sugar if you like.
Refrigerate until completely chilled. Serve over ice, topped with a sprinkling of the ground cinnamon.
In downtown Oaxaca's Mercado 20 de Noviembre, there's a stand called Doña Casilda, where they add about 2 tablespoons worth of chunks of cantaloupe and red prickly pear and 1 tablespoon of pecans-or a combination of those-to a tall glass of horchata, depending on your preference. The prickly pear makes the horchata turn a light shade of pink, and the chunks of fruit and pecans complement the horchata wonderfully.
Or, to make a coconut horchata, add 1/2 cup of ground blanched almonds to the rice powder mixture before you soak it, and 1 cup of fresh coconut flesh when blending the rice mixture. If the consistency is too thick, add water.
To make a nut horchata, add 1 cup of raw nuts (almonds, cashews, or peanuts) to the rice powder mixture before soaking, then proceed as directed.