Help me to mix up some shochu/oolong cocktails

February 25, 2009 9:32 AM

Help me make my favorite shochu/oolong beverage that I always drink when getting yakitori on St. Marks.

So I live in NC, not New York, but during my frequent trips to the city I enjoy eating at one of the various yakitori and udon places on St. Marks. My favorite part of the dining experience, though, is ordering a few of those shochu and oolong iced beverages.

I was first introduced to shochu when a friend came back from Japan with a few bottles, but I have since discovered that Korea has a similar drink called soju. I have also read that sometimes Japanese shochu is imported under the name soju because, for whatever reason, it is less legal than soju.

Now, I have a friend who has found a place to purchase soju (which apparently is not exactly legal here, but let's ignore that fact). My first question is this: How can I tell if it is soju or shochu-masked-as-soju? If I can't, does it really matter? Do they essentially taste the same?

My second question is a bit simpler:
I hope to mix the shochu/soju with some oolong like I like it in the restaurants, but I have no idea how to prepare it. What's the liquor-to-tea ratio? How much tea do I need or how strong should I make it? Do I pour the beverage directly over ice or chill it first? What's the best kind of oolong to get?

Assume I will be making this beverage in large quantities and serving it at a party this coming Saturday (this means I would ideally like bulk mix recipes and no recommendations of where to purchase the liquor online, as there is little time to ship it).

Thanks for the help!

posted by greta simone to food & drink (7 answers total)

This list has some interesting shochu recipes on it, although oolong-hai is not among them. There is, however, a recommendation for oolong tea for use in an oolong-hai in the right-hand "recent entries".

I hope that helps!
posted by LN at 10:42 AM on February 25, 2009

Soju and shochu are both available at crappy PA State Stores. So as to illegality of soju, I say BS. The Japanese shochu I bought is more or less vodka made from buckwheat. The soju which we usually get a bottle of at the Korean BBQ place on 5th St tasets like Aqua Velva smells (it's much better than it sounds, though).
posted by fixedgear at 10:48 AM on February 25, 2009

I recall my friends making it 1/3 tea, 2/3 tea - but then they were alcoholics so you should just see what tastes good to you. Your friends might not like the stiffer drink, maybe just a shot would be enough.

Making pitchers of ice tea will be easy -- take maybe 5 or 6 oolong tea bags, throw them into a pitcher, and fill the pitcher halfway with hot water. Let it steep for a while, then take out the bags and fill it up to the top with ice.
posted by lizbunny at 10:51 AM on February 25, 2009

There's also this recipe (scroll down a bit), created by some random gent off the internets, that might be of use to you in terms of the ratio of alcoholic to non-alcoholic liquids:

The Mehkong Wagtail:

1 oz Mekhong
1 oz cold jade oolong tea
.5 oz Saan Soju
.5 oz Lemon juice
1 barspoon Orgeat syrup
2 barspoons realgrenadine

Shake and serve in a snifter. Garnish with a long lemon peel and pineapple wedge.
posted by LN at 10:53 AM on February 25, 2009

Thanks so far y'all.
And sorry fixedgear, but I'm not sure of the laws. I was just told that it's not entirely legal here, but it doesn't really matter if I can even find it to begin with. It is the bible belt. We were only recently able to allow certain high-alcohol imported beers, so it wouldn't surprise me if we aren't allowed some imported liquors too. We also can't purchase any kind of spirits from 2am to 12pm on Sundays. We have weird laws because we're a weird people.
posted by greta simone at 12:51 PM on February 25, 2009

Japanese shochu is indeed sometimes labeled as soju, due to strange American liquor laws. A good step in the right direction might be learning to recognize the difference between Korean writing and Japanese. Asking a clerk might also work. If all else fails, they are very similar drinks, and it shouldn't make too much of a difference. The names aren't similar by chance.

I can't speak for the bartenders at St. Marks, but I can tell you how the locals do it in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. I assume it's the same as in the rest of the country, but promises.

Neither the shochu nor tea is usually refrigerated. This doesn't matter, because the glass is usually filled almost completely with ice before adding the liquor to a third or quarter of the height of the glass. The tea (or water, sometimes, or juice or soda) is then poured until the glass is full, followed by a quick stir. If you're mixing with oolong, specifically, in Japan it's usually the pre-bottled version. If you want to brew it yourself, just make it like standard ice tea.

Despite shochu being weaker than the liquors we're used to, Japanese people tend to dilute it quite a bit when drinking. Over time you will learn exactly what ratio you like, and how to get the tea just right. This isn't like a martini or a manhattan, prepared according to a recipe by a bartender - just folks drinking casually, and pouring/mixing for each other as they go. It may take a couple tries to get it just like you've had in NY, but it should be pretty simple to make something pleasing and drinkable. Grab something that seems close to shochu (the real thing should be pretty cheap), a glass, ice, a mixer and a stirrer, and give it a shot.
posted by Bun at 5:15 PM on February 25, 2009

I drink this all the time in Tokyo. It's known in Japanese by the name "uuron-hai" (ウーロンハイ), the "hai" being short for "shochu haibooru," or "shochu highball" after the glass it's served in. The glass is filled with ice, 1/3-1/4 with shochu, the remainder with oolong tea, then stirred. No refrigeration necessary.

Any smooth grain alcohol should work fine, so feel free to experiment if you can't find actual shochu. If you know of a bar or restaurant with Japanese-speaking staff, this is what you will get should you order an ウーロンハイ.
posted by armage at 5:22 PM on February 25, 2009