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Alcoholic drinks from Isan

Sato (Isan rice wine) and lao hai / ou (jar wine)สาโท

Steamed glutinous rice is dusted with powdered loog-pang, a dried starter ball of rice flour, herbs and spices, and sealed in a jar. For about three days moulds turn the rice into a sweet syrup (nam toi); then water is added and yeasts ferment it for another week or more into a cloudy, sweet-sour rice wine.

Fully documentedAlcoholic drinks11 days – 16 days

Recipe

Sato (Isan rice wine) and lao hai / ou (jar wine), a photo from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Napareetc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Amounts from a sourceA laboratory batch from Rattanasuk and colleagues (2026), whose yeast and mould strains were isolated from loog-pang collected in Roi Et and Yasothon. Village brewers work by eye.
Black glutinous rice100 gSoaked overnight, steamed 40 min in muslin, cooled[rattanasuk2026]
Water, sprinkled over the cooked riceAbout 250 mLLoosens the grains[rattanasuk2026]
Loog-pang, finely ground6 gThe study's own starter, made from rice flour, herb and spice powders, a yeast culture and mould-inoculated rice (Tane-koji)[rattanasuk2026]
Water, added after the sweet stage500 mL[rattanasuk2026]
Starterkoji/qu/mold-starter (loog-pang)

Total time across the recorded steps: 11 days – 16 days

Start
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What changes: Soaked glutinous rice is steamed in cloth until soft

Step 1 of 7
Soak and steam the glutinous rice
Time
40 min
Reported
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Yeasts

Output: steamed sticky rice.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Steamed glutinous rice is dusted with powdered loog-pang, a dried starter ball of rice flour, herbs and spices, and sealed in a jar. For about three days moulds turn the rice into a sweet syrup (nam toi); then water is added and yeasts ferment it for another week or more into a cloudy, sweet-sour rice wine. Made in 7 steps over 11 days – 16 days. The longest step, ferment to wine, takes 5–10 days (Rattanasuk S 2026) and runs at 25–35 °C (Nienvitoon S 2025). Moulds of loog-pang (Amylomyces, Aspergillus, Rhizopus, Mucor, Absidia), which turn the starch to sugar and Yeasts of loog-pang, including an alcohol-tolerant isolate close to Issatchenkia orientalis do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step5–10 daysReported[rattanasuk2026][nienvitoon2025]Ferment to wine
Temperature25–35 °CReported[nienvitoon2025]Ferment to wine
AciditypH 3.4–3.8Measured[rattanasuk2026]Ferment to wine

What makes this one different

Sato is fermented in two stages in one jar. The rice is first left solid so the moulds of loog-pang make a sweet syrup, and only then is water added for the yeasts. Thai law defines sato as undistilled liquor of glutinous rice fermented with loog-pang, at no more than 15 degrees.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Lao hai / ouSato brewed in earthenware jars (hai) and drunk through bamboo straws, with water added to the jar to keep the level up as it is sipped (Wikipedia).
  • Khao makFAO lists Thai khaomak as a semi-solid, sweet, alcoholic paste of glutinous rice fermented with moulds and yeasts (Rhizopus, Mucor, Saccharomyces, Hansenula).
  • Black glutinous rice satoMade from pigmented rice, which is rich in phenolic compounds and anthocyanins.

Safety

The mash sours to pH 3.40–3.84 in a laboratory batch of black glutinous rice sato. A Rangsit University study of finished sato found pH 3.7–3.8 and about 9 % alcohol, with volatile compounds within the Thai standard TISI 2089-2544. It says the mixed bacteria and fungi of the starter can hold back potentially pathogenic bacteria, though the abstract reports no pathogen test. It also says heat-tolerant Bacillus and Lactobacillus species stay in the finished wine. Thai law caps sato at 15 degrees.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Under Thailand's Liquor Act of 1950, sato is defined as undistilled liquor made from glutinous rice fermented with loog-pang, of no more than 15 degrees alcohol.

  1. [rattanasuk2026] Rattanasuk S., Thinthapthai K., Khamthawi N. 2026, Development of a functional loog-pang starter using selected yeast and fungal strains for black glutinous rice sato fermentation, The ScientificWorldJournal 2026:e2063235, doi:10.1155/tswj/2063235paper
  2. [nienvitoon2025] Nienvitoon S., Bhanityanakorn K., Rongthong A., Potasin W. 2025, Using Pathumthani native plants Khao Hom Pathum and lotus petal for sato production, Recent Science and Technology 17(2):261091 (citing the Excise Department for the legal definition)paper
  3. [fao1999] Haard N.F. et al. 1999, Fermented cereals, a global perspective, FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin 138, chapter 3 (loog-pang microbes, citing Pichyangkura and Kulprecha 1977; khaomak)gov
  4. [WP:Sato (beverage)] Wikipedia, Sato (beverage) (outline only)wiki
  5. [rsu2020] Puangwerakul Y. and Soitongsuk S. 2020, Microorganisms in sato production (abstract), Proceeding in RSU International Research Conference, 1 May 2020, Rangsit Universitypaper