Siam Sato

[bwbbkk]

I amost never drink anything besides Beer and good Saki if I can get it. Yet........I don't mind Sato at all ,it is better with ice and a bit of water. I also like to buy the homemade sato when I can find it. Hmmm.....maybe I will go get a bottle now.

I came across it the same way that a few others have. I went in to my local 7-11, and though it was beer. As soon as I found that it wasn't, I started to look for ways of making it taste better, although I do think that the brand I got, was not too bad at all.

I buy limes, and soda water, and I slice the limes, and slightly crush them in the bottom of a glass. I then pour in about a third of a glass of Sato and then top up with soda and ice. I think of it as a Thai Mojito.

[maahuanao]

Thee self-made Sato is very good (especially while it is still sweet). I have done it a few times and one can get very badly hammered. There are issues of hygiene, but then everything in Isaan is a little bit rough around the edges.

I was drinking it from a large bucket, I had to use a straw to get below the scum that was floating on the top (looked like broken up styrofoam), but surprisingly it was OK.

[Deke]

The homemade Sato that I've had was served out of an old motor oil jug. It gave me the worst hangover I've ever had.

[sokal]

I typically drink a couple of beers a few times a week. However, last weekend while doing my shopping, a beverage (to use the term loosely) called Siam Sato caught my eye. I've seen the stuff before but have never tried it, so I decided to buy a bottle. Yeah, I know it's really cheap (under 30 baht a bottle) and that should probably tell me all I need to know, but I guess I wanted to believe that this stuff might be something a little different and maybe even half-decent in an interesting kind of way.

I took it home and put it the freezer to get it well chilled. After reaching a nice cold temperature, I poured myself a little glass and tried it. I must say that this is some of the foulest stuff I have ever tasted. I figure that it best compares to what gasahol and sugar must taste like when mixed together -- very nasty stuff.

Anyway, I was just wondering if other people have had any experience with Siam Sato. Is it safe to drink? Is there any way to make it palitable? Can I put in the gas tank of my car? Will it destroy my PVC piping if pour it down the drain?

That is all I drank on my last trip. It is hard not to buy it when it costs less for a big bottle then a can of Chang. I never got sick or anything and I would say Chang gives you worse hangovers then SiamSota.

[sokal]

That is truly some rough stuff. The recovery process can be very long indeed after drinking an excessive amount.

I have found it more useful for stripping paint, fire starting, and as a weed killer.

Nah, look at the price, if you like to cheap out then nothing comes close to SiamSato

[thaigold]

I love Siamsato. It really works for me when I'm on the wagon and off Sang Som. Goes really good with pizza and spaghetti, or Tex-Mex.

[sharecropper]

I drink this one and I like it. I don't even think it's very strong!

Edited February 20, 2010 by sharecropper

[NADTATIDA1]

The easiest rice wine to make,if left a good week or at a push two....more flavour and stronger! Strawberry sato goes down well as does mango

Sato is a home made rice wine, made from fermenting sticky rice with water and yeast. You will need the dried yeast to make this, 5 baht a ball in the village. It's much more like a beer than a wine, and it need not be alcoholic, you can make a sweet Sato by fermenting for only a short period of time.

The golden rule is cleanliness! Any mould contamination will ruin the Sato, so you must clean everything in hot water and clean your hands carefully. The water should also be boiled and then cooled to make it sterile. If your water is chlorinated it can affect the yeast, so leave the water to stand for the chlorine to escape before using it.

Ingredients

100 gms. Sticky Rice

1 Call of Dried Yeast

Cold Boiled Water

1-2 ltr Jar

Preparation

1. Soak the sticky rice overnight.

2. Steam the rice until cooked (abount 15 minutes), rinse it with cool water until the rice is cool and no longer sticky.

3. Put the sticky rice in to clean jar add yeast in. Stir until mixed, fill the jar with the water to the top and stir.

4. Keep in a dark place at room temperature. After 1 week taste the sato and it should be sweet, at this point you can filter it through muslin, and drink it. You can also leave it longer, the longer you leave it, the less sweet and more alcoholic it gets.

I make it and any thais that drink it,think it is the best they have had!! i do enjoy it with ice and soda also for a long drink.Not comparable to the shop bought sato at all.

[deejah]

i have heard of standing water to rid fluoride

not sure if this work for chlorine

[nicolas18]

Same story... Bought it because I took it for a beer bottle. I have to say that this is probably the foulest thing I have ever drank. Not only that, but the aftertaste stays in your mouth for at least ten minutes. Truly totally utterly disgusting.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

The easiest rice wine to make,if left a good week or at a push two....more flavour and stronger! Strawberry sato goes down well as does mango

Thank you very much, that's a brilliant post!!

Out of curiosity, how so you get the mango or strawberry taste in?

Would love to give it a try, it's a traditional drink during Songkran.. I'm not a huge fan of Siam Sato (it's kind of vile) but I've had some really good home made ones. Delicious.

[NADTATIDA1]

Like i stated the shop bought mass produced sato is just not the same,taste wise or colour or strength.

when soaking the rice with the crushed up yeast and leaving for 4 days after this anytime day 4-7?? up to you! i have added the mango which consists of a couple of mangos sliced and chopped put in a pan with water boiled and left to cool,i then add it into the container and seal again for a further 3-4 days longer if you want it stronger,same with the strawberry.

My ex girlfriends mother taught me how to make it and i must say she also used the strained/mushed up rice afterwards for making little thai sweet parcels also.

The most important thing is cleanliness as in any home wine/beer making,everybody has there own opinions of sato(homemade) but in fact it very rarely hangs around and when i make it,it is drank very quickly!

[deejah]

Same story... Bought it because I took it for a beer bottle. I have to say that this is probably the foulest thing I have ever drank. Not only that, but the aftertaste stays in your mouth for at least ten minutes. Truly totally utterly disgusting.

i know i am going to get grief for this:

but it can not be any worse than chang beer

i dont know how people can drink it

every time i have, got a headache

rumor has it, it contains formaldehyde

[thaimate]

I like it ,the OP is a big girls blouse

[Pattel]

I have just had my first taste of Siam Sato. I had to look on the Internet to find out that it was a rice wine. Served chilled I find it has a nice sweet taste which goes well with the chilli flavoured snacks I am eating.

Obviously my taste buds must be wrecked after drinking San Som, Mekong. Chang, Leo, Archer, and all the other wines Brandys, Whiskys and wines I have drunk over the last 45 years. Not to mention eating Chillis.

And yes I will be buying more Siam Sato.

[upagainstawall]

Weird, I'm surprised at people's reaction to Sato.

I'm actually LOVING Siam Sato at the moment, to the point where I get a daily craving. It basically tastes like a cheap thai version of cider, and it's SO cheap!

Yeah I'm buzzed off it already. Doesn't give you a drunken beer buzz, gives you an airy, happy cider-like buzz. I reckon it tastes pretty dam_n good too, just by itself. Will try it with ice sometime though.

I definetely recommend everyone to try some siam sato at least once...

[mmushr00m]

I mix mine with ice and lime juice in a blender or just with manao soda.

Taste very light and refreshing especially in this heat.

Cheap too.

[tigerboy]

I mix mine with ice and lime juice in a blender or just with manao soda.

Taste very light and refreshing especially in this heat.

Cheap too.

I am a long time drinker of Siam Sato. I usually mix it with some fruit juice drink, sometimes Lipton ice tea, some times both. I'll give that manao soda a try and see how I like it.

I like that sato doesn't go flat if you don't finish it and that it doesn't make you feel all bloated and belchy like beer does. Wish there was a 10% or 12% version though, maybe I'll have to home brew some...

[keestha]

Tried homemade Sato once, it was palatable enough. But the Thai people I was celebrating with all said it has to be quickly consumed after being produced.

Edited May 10, 2010 by keestha

[NADTATIDA1]

The homemade variety,which is the best and nothing like the shop bought version never ever lasts long...you just drink it because it tastes so good!

[wintermute]

The homemade variety,which is the best and nothing like the shop bought version never ever lasts long...you just drink it because it tastes so good!

I suppose you believe urine is delicious.

[NADTATIDA1]

You have obviously never tasted it ,mine that is!

I can provide a specimen for your small effort of taking the piss...

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Excellent response. Bit more than it deserved actually.

I actually wonder about all the angst about Sato in general.. It's fermented, making it similar to beer and wine I suppose. Where it can get dangerous is with distilled liquor, the home made lao khao / corn liquor, etc.

And with Sato, it's remarkable that something made out of old rice can end up tasting so fresh, sweet & happy.

Edited May 11, 2010 by WinnieTheKhwai

[Mulcahey]

Does anyone know the name of the deity pictured on the Siamsato bottle? At least I assume she's some kind of goddess... She's a woman with chicken legs. Anybody know what that's called?

[inmysights]

I typically drink a couple of beers a few times a week. However, last weekend while doing my shopping, a beverage (to use the term loosely) called Siam Sato caught my eye. I've seen the stuff before but have never tried it, so I decided to buy a bottle. Yeah, I know it's really cheap (under 30 baht a bottle) and that should probably tell me all I need to know, but I guess I wanted to believe that this stuff might be something a little different and maybe even half-decent in an interesting kind of way.

I took it home and put it the freezer to get it well chilled. After reaching a nice cold temperature, I poured myself a little glass and tried it. I must say that this is some of the foulest stuff I have ever tasted. I figure that it best compares to what gasahol and sugar must taste like when mixed together -- very nasty stuff.

Anyway, I was just wondering if other people have had any experience with Siam Sato. Is it safe to drink? Is there any way to make it palitable? Can I put in the gas tank of my car? Will it destroy my PVC piping if pour it down the drain?

Reference from the indispensable Wikipedia link ---http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sato_(rice_wine) . Like other replies, some web-sites suggest leaving this potion to the locals

Who will not pass the age of anywhere between 30 to 50. It's a disgusting poison, quite possibly related to more deaths amongst Thai men here than any other drug (for that is what it is,) and should be banned, right alongside it's ugly twin Lao Khao.

But it won't. Much like the Irish Pocheen. It's for the poor. The difference being that the Irish became wealthier and could afford better whiskey.

It's made from rice of course, much like Pocheen was made from potatoes, their staples. But is as foul as any other Thai made alcohol. How the Japanese can make their extremely palatable Saki from rice and the locals just fck it up, again. I really have no idea.

It's been said many times that the reason that the Thais are so inept at brewing is because they'd never been invaded by the Europeans to teach them how to do it properly. Well the Japanese were here weren't they?

Edited October 20, 2010 by inmysights

[dave2]

wtk.

re ... And with Sato, it's remarkable that something made out of old rice can end up tasting so fresh, sweet & happy.

i found a bottle of this today in a seven eleven and thought it was a beer so i bought one to try.

now ive not drunk an english cider for about 45 years but thats what it reminded me of .

its almost clear with a hint of green , very sweet , fizzy and smells of apples the same as cider

so if theres any ex english cider likers out there try it coz at 25 baht a large bottle @ 8 % alcahol you

could be very happy .... very quickly for very little baht

me ... i think ill go back to my archa coz i like it : )

dave2

[thaimate]

I buy a bottle now and again and to be honest i like it ,nice taste .

ps i also love marmite!!

[Kilgore Trout]

I love Siamsato. It really works for me when I'm on the wagon and off Sang Som. Goes really good with pizza and spaghetti, or Tex-Mex.

A true connoisseur

[SymS]

I was looking for a definite answer about Siam Sato, but looks like 50% hate it and 50% love it. If it tastes like cider I definitely want to try it. I'm off to 7/11.

[DP25]

I've changed my mind about Siam Sato since this thread started, I like the stuff now