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Making malt water (Choose one of the two methods below) – Simply put the malt barley in a cheesecloth bag (or nut milk bag), and place the bag in 12 cups (can be more if your bowl is large enough) of warm water in a large bowl for 20 to 30 minutes. Then, massage and squeeze the bag to extract milky grain contents until the liquid is milk color.
Alternatively, use a fine sieve. Place the malt barley in a large bowl, and stir in 12 cups (or more) of warm water, and let it sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Rub the malt between your palms and squeeze out milky liquid. Filter the liquid through a fine sieve (or lined with a cheesecloth). Then, squeeze the strained malt husks in the sieve with your hands to drain out the remaining liquid.
After about 4 hours, open the lid and check to see if about 10 rice grains float at the top. It can be many more. If not, close it and leave it for another 30 min to 1 hour (or longer) as necessary. A grain of rice between your thumb and index finger, the grain should roll like a piece of yarn, not slippery starchy grain, when ready.
Optional step if you want to have some floating rice grains when serving: Strain out some rice from the sikhye. Rinse the rice grains in cold water, changing the water a couple of times. This removes malt contents the grains picked up while being steeped and makes them lighter. Keep them in a container with enough fresh water to cover. Store in the fridge.