Glutinous rice is getting a hand at overcoming its image as the country bumpkin of rice, with a little help from producers of the powerful traditional wine.

The Central plains, the North and the Northeast have long been known for their millions of rice paddies. But the rural folks in these farming regions have been seen of late grabbing a bottle rather than a rice bowl. In back yards behind stilted houses, men toil away not with water buffalos, but with the Thai equivalent of the French oak barrel - oang magkorn, an open-mouthed, round-shaped water container designed with a dragon motif. They are brewing glutinous rice into something of a far more elevated image - fermented rice wine.

It's all for a good reason: rice wine has essentially helped lift the veil of public misconception that has hovered around the image of Thai glutinous rice for generation after generation. From a Bangkokian's standpoint, glutinous rice is synonymous with all that is less than cosmopolitan.

Glutinous rice is the staple food of the Isaan folks. It's served with such notable side dishes as som tam, larb (half-cooked minced meat seasoned with spices and basil) and gai yang (grilled chicken with spicy tamarind dip) sold by Isaan women clad in sarongs and wearing bamboo hats, who have a passion for fermented fish and odorous salted crabs. These savoury dishes go hand in hand with streetside al fresco dining.

Trendy urbanites sneer at sticky rice due to a myth that eating it results in a transformation of physical features, including a squaring of the jaw and a flattening of the nose.

But glutonous rice is regaining its lustre thanks to the lifting of a government ban on liquor production nine months ago in the hopes of boosting villagers' supplementary incomes. A total of 413 producers in 52 provinces have already begun brewing.

Official support for the home-brewed liquor came in the form of the Thai Fermented Liquor Festival held last week that featured liquor producers from 50 provinces who turned fruit and herbs into table wines.

Rice wine producer, Thotsaphol Kaewrawang, 40, a native of Phimai district, Nakhon Ratchasima province, has been brewing rice wine all his life using the family wisdom passed down from his grandparents.

"The first thing you need is glutinous rice. White or black grains will do," explains Thotsaphol. Then mix look paeng (a ball of flour mixed with spices, herbs, yeast, fungus and bacteria), in a container filled with fresh water and steamed glutinous rice to begin the fermentation process. The three main players - yeast, fungus and bacteria - will do their parts in turning the watery part of the fermented sticky rice into alcohol. How?

"Fungus turns flour into sugar, which is developed into alcohol by yeast. The fermented mix will generate a sour or acidic taste with the help of bacteria.

"That's why you can't keep rice wine for too long. Otherwise, it will turn sour," says Thotsaphol.

The fermentation is done not in oak barrels, but in the oang magkorn, which is made of clay and stainless steel. The result is a sweet and aromatic rice wine, with a seven per cent alcohol content, rivalling that of beer and much higher than the ready-made mixed drinks on the local market, like Bacardi Breezers and Kristof.

Depending on the distilling quality, home-brewed rice wine is either crystal clear or cloudy. The clear wine is dubbed authentic, reflecting the brewers' attention to distilling.

Villagers like Thotsaphol also mix in a number of homegrown herbs like galangal, noni, garlic and look yor for aroma and health. Others use tropical fruits like lychee, longan, banana and even mangosteen.

"They taste great and sweet. I like that. Most importantly, most are cheap," says Chakkrit Phiromraks, who bought six rice wine bottles for Bt100.

Chakkrit reckons one can get dizzy in minutes after the first few glasses, as the alcohol is so strong. He says some on sale at the festival had up to eight-per cent alcohol content.

Buyers like Chakkrit often ask wine sellers how long the product can be kept in and out of refrigerators. The answer is one month on average.

But buyers rarely ask more serious questions, such as the type of container in which the fermentation occurs. While most rice wine producers use large, stainless steel containers, some rural producers use plastic ones of the lowest grade.

"Any chemical reaction with the plastic material could have some unwanted consequences," says Patcharee Sunthornandh, an assistant professor at the Microorganism Biology Department of Kasetsart University science faculty.

This sub-standard rice wine production is one of the reasons that deter potential drinkers like Patcharee. She says she would never buy rice wine in plastic bottles.

"I think some wine producers need to be taught about how to use the right containers," says Patcharee, a scientist and facilitator of a wine making course at Kasetsart.

The scientist says the rice wine industry could be upgraded if the government can make sure that all rice wine available on the market is safe for health. So far, the Excise Department is the only governmental body that deals with local rice wine producers. But while its main purpose is to tax local producers, it does little to ensure safety and cleanliness of local rice wine. The Food and Drug Administration still has not implemented controls on rice wine products.

Apparently some country folks in Isaan have yet to make hygiene a priority. But, as they advertise, after a bottle or two, you'll realise there's magic in the sticky rice.

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Brown is better

Thailand's rice farming is a free trade and practised by many, but rice wine production was illegal until nine months ago. In Thailand, rice cultivation is mainly carried out by individual farmers - at least those lucky enough to own a small plot of land.

Most Thai people eat white or polished rice as part of their normal, everyday diet. However, with the focus on food moving toward the natural, many have switched to healthier brown rice. This is the rice that has been hulled, but not lost in bran and contains more nutrients than its white counterpart.

There are basically three types of rice grown in Thailand.

The first is the long-grain non-glutinous rice that is called khao jao. This is cooked and eaten in the Central and Southern parts of Thailand. The fragrant or jasmine rice (khao hom mali) is considered a top quality long grain rice world over.

The second is glutinous rice (khao niaow). It's the mainstay of the diet in the North and Northeast and is used in confections in all regions. There are two kinds of glutinous rice: white glutinous rice that can be eaten as an accompaniment to a main meal, or as desserts with added coconut milk and sugar. The other is black glutinous rice and is mostly used in desserts with added coconut milk and sugar.

The thirdly variety, brown or unpolished rice or khao klong as Thais call it, is considered high in nutritional value. In the old days, brown rice was eaten by prisoners, so city people avoided it, considering it as the diet for the poor and the condemned. - Manote Tripathi