My favorite type of recipe is Korean desserts, and depending on how ripe your berries are, this Korean Strawberry Soju Cocktail is perfect for capping off a heavy meal. It provides a small serving of fruit, and it's creamy without adding any fat (great to follow Korean BBQ!).
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About this recipe
Creamy Soju Cocktail: with the sneaky trick of combining the Korean probiotic drink Yakult with soju, this soju cocktail is creamy, quite fruity, and a bit tangy with a sweet aftertaste.
Summer Korean Cocktail: while yogurt and soju may be a strange and fun combination for most people, in Korea the small, sweet local strawberries come into season just as the weather is turning warm. Much like the beloved matcha drinks, during the spring in Korea, strawberries take over.
Beyond that, Yakult is a probiotic drink enjoyed by Koreans of all ages, but usually particularly reminds people of elementary school. So for most Koreans, creamy strawberry milk or yogurt is a symbol of warmer months, relaxation, and dessert.
Super Easy to Make: requiring just 4 ingredients and as many minutes, it doesn't get much more simple than this when it comes to strawberry cocktails (or mocktails if you leave out the soju!).
Ingredients
Soju: this clear liquor is known generically as Korean vodka, and is available in numerous brands and formats around the world, but no more varied than where the drink originated - in South Korea.
Strawberries: this recipe only calls for a couple berries per serving, but the riper strawberries you buy (preferably the smaller, sweeter ones), the more flavorful your strawberry soju cocktail will be.
Yakult: these tiny yogurt shots are both creamy and flavorful, enjoyed in Korea for the same reasons as kimchi, as a way to repopulate good gut bacteria. They're meant to taste mildly fruity, and they're very sweet.
For such tiny, unassuming packaging, you wouldn't guess that these are the same tiny yogurt drinks enjoyed by all Korean elementary schoolers at the same time each afternoon. I wonder if this is what gogurt was supposed to taste like?
Lemon-Lime Soda: in Korea they have a drink called 'Cider' which tastes just like Sprite and is used in all the cocktails. But since there are a lot more drink options in the States, I paired strawberries & the creamy probiotic Yakult with the prebiotic prowess of a low-cal Poppi Strawberry soda (feeds good gut bacteria), which tastes fizzy & delicious. However feel free to use any soda or seltzer you'd like to pair with strawberries and strawberry soju.
How to make strawberry soju cocktails: step-by-step instructions
Step 1. Grab 2 cocktail glasses, then mash, mascerate, or mince your strawberries until they release their juices, and put equal amounts in each glass.
Step 2. Measure out 2oz. of strawberry soju (¼ cup or two shots) into each glass, and stir the berries and soju together.
Step 3. Measure out half the 2.7oz. container of Yakult into each glass, and stir everything together well (from here on out it will separated every once in awhile, but just give it a nice stir before you sip).
Step 4. Either measure or just pour your soda to the top of the glass (leave room in you want to add ice), then lightly stir everything together (just don't shake it or the soda will lose its fizz).
Recipe notes & tips
Swap for Yakult: if you can't get your hands on or don't have time to pick up some Yakult, you could use any flavor of Calpis, kefir, or a combination of thinned-out yogurt and some simple syrup (though either swap will change the overall flavor of your drink).
No Sprite, No Problem: even if you can't get your hands on Sprite, never fear, because you can use any sweet fizzy drink as a swap for the Sprite, though lemon-lime is the standard flavor combo.
Using Plain Soju: if you decide to use a plain soju rather than strawberry soju, note that it will make your drink less sweet & less flavorful, but it will also increase the alcohol content by about 50%. You'll probably want to use a sweeter soda or add some sugar or maple syrup when muddling the strawberries, to make up for the lack of sweetness.
Other soju cocktails to try
Homemade Strawberry Soju Cocktail Recipe Card
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📖 Recipe
4-Ingredient Creamy Strawberry Soju Cocktail
Ingredients
- 3-4 small strawberries chopped
- 4 oz. strawberry soju
- 4 oz. strawberry soda or fizzy soda of choice
- 1 bottle Yakult alt. 3oz. Calpico or Calpis
Instructions
- Grab 2 cocktail glasses, then mash, mascerate, or mince your strawberries until they release their juices, and put equal amounts in each glass.
- Measure out 2oz. of strawberry soju (¼ cup or two shots) into each glass, and stir the berries and soju together.
- Measure out half the 2.7oz. container of Yakult into each glass, and stir everything together well (from here on out it will separated every once in awhile, but just give it a nice stir before you sip).
- Either measure or just pour your soda to the top of the glass (leave room in you want to add ice), then lightly stir everything together (just don’t shake it or the soda will lose its fizz).
Notes
Using Plain Soju: if you decide to use a plain soju rather than strawberry soju, note that it will make your drink less sweet & less flavorful, but it will also increase the alcohol content by about 50%. You'll probably want to use a sweeter soda or add some sugar or maple syrup when muddling the strawberries, to make up for the lack of sweetness.
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