Ingredients
The drink
- 200 mlsoju
- a plain unflavoured soju
- chilled
- 4small bottles Yakult
- or another drinking yoghurt
- about 260 ml in total
- well chilled
The mixer
- 400 mllemon-lime soda
- Chilsung Cider or similar
- very well chilled
- or sparkling water, for a drier drink
Sometimes added
- a squeeze of lemon
- a splash of fruit syrup
- strawberry or peach
- a few ice cubes
- crushed fruit, muddled
Equipment
- a large jug or a pitcher
- a long spoon
- small glasses
- or a cocktail shaker
Directions
- Adjust it entirely to your own taste. Every ingredient must be properly cold.
- Warm soju tastes noticeably harsher. Warm soda goes flat almost immediately.
- Chill the bottles for several hours. Do not rely on ice to do the chilling.
- Pour the soju into the jug first. Add the yoghurt drink and stir gently. Pour it down the side of the jug. That keeps more of the fizz in it.
- Stir it once, very gently indeed. The drink should stay lightly fizzy. Shake the soju and yoghurt with ice.
- Strain the mixture into a glass. Never shake carbonated soda in a shaker.
- Serve it immediately once mixed. It goes flat within about twenty minutes.
Technique
- This drink is dangerously easy to drink, and that is not a figure of speech. It tastes like a sweet yoghurt drink and the alcohol is almost undetectable — sweetness and dairy both mask spirit very effectively. A jug holds a full bottle of soju or more, and people drink it faster and in greater quantity than they would plain soju.
- Korean drinking involves rounds, toasts and having your glass refilled by others rather than yourself. That convention genuinely makes it harder to pace yourself or to stop. The atlas notes those social pressures without moralising about them.
- Never shake carbonated soda in a cocktail shaker. Pressure builds, the shaker bursts open, and it sprays across the room and can injure someone. Shake the soju and yoghurt, then top with soda afterwards.
- Chill every ingredient properly beforehand rather than relying on ice. Warm soju tastes harsher, warm soda goes flat, and ice added to warm liquid melts fast and waters the drink down.
- Add the soda last, poured down the side, and stir once very gently. Hard stirring drives out the carbonation.
- Chilsung Cider contains no alcohol. Cider in Korea means a lemon-lime soda rather than fermented apple juice, which confuses English speakers constantly. Any lemon-lime soda substitutes.
- Use a thin sweet drinking yoghurt. Thick Greek-style yoghurt will not work without considerable thinning.
- You can make it weaker at almost no cost to the taste. The soju contributes very little flavour — the yoghurt and soda carry it — so using less spirit and more soda changes remarkably little.
- Korean drinking is done with food, called anju, and drinking without it is considered odd. Fried chicken, tteokbokki, pajeon and grilled meats all suit it, since salty fried food balances the sweetness.
Substitutions
- Any thin sweet drinking yoghurt replaces Yakult; look for one similar in consistency rather than a thick set yoghurt.
- Any lemon-lime soda replaces Chilsung Cider.
- Sparkling water in place of the soda gives a considerably drier and less sweet drink, which is worth trying.
- Vodka replaces soju at a similar strength, though the drink is then no longer soju-based.
- Flavoured soju can be used, though it makes the drink very sweet; plain soju is the better base.
- A non-alcoholic version is simply the yoghurt drink mixed with soda, and it is genuinely pleasant.
Variations
- Somaek, soju mixed with beer, is the other great Korean mixed soju drink and is far drier.
- Strawberry or peach syrup added to the mix is standard at many bars.
- Some bars muddle fresh strawberries into the jug.
- Flavoured sojus — grapefruit, peach, green grape — are drunk neat and are extremely popular in Korea.
- Makgeolli, the cloudy rice wine, is the older Korean drink this most resembles in appearance.
- A shaken version, strained and topped with soda, gives a frothier and cloudier drink than the jug method.
History
A 2000s bar and pojangmacha invention that made soju approachable, later exported by Korean restaurants abroad.
Frequently asked questions
What is Yogurt Soju?
Yogurt Soju is a cocktail from South Korea: soju shaken with Yakult drinking yoghurt and lemon-lime soda; sweet and cloudy. A 2000s bar and pojangmacha invention that made soju approachable, later exported by Korean restaurants abroad.
How long does Yogurt Soju take to make?
Yogurt Soju takes 5 minutes of preparation and none of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.
What can I substitute in Yogurt Soju?
Yes, within limits. Any thin sweet drinking yoghurt replaces Yakult; look for one similar in consistency rather than a thick set yoghurt. Any lemon-lime soda replaces Chilsung Cider. Sparkling water in place of the soda gives a considerably drier and less sweet drink, which is worth trying. Vodka replaces soju at a similar strength, though the drink is then no longer soju-based. Flavoured soju can be used, though it makes the drink very sweet; plain soju is the better base. A non-alcoholic version is simply the yoghurt drink mixed with soda, and it is genuinely pleasant.
What is the most important thing to get right in Yogurt Soju?
Adjust it entirely to your own taste. Every ingredient must be properly cold.
