One of my favorite Mexican drinks is horchata—a sweet beverage made from rice, water, milk, sugar and cinnamon. In English, it is often called “rice milk,” and can be found at many inexpensive taco shops in larger cities. It is the perfect accompaniment to a very spicy meal because the milk and rice has a cooling effect and helps sooth sensitive taste buds.

While having dinner at an asian restaurant last week, I came across a pumpkin version on the drink! It was a little less sweet and didn’t have the same cinnamon spice that I was used to in traditional horchata, but it certainly did the job and helped me to work my way through a bowl of very spicy mussels covered in red chilis.

I’m not sure how they made it exactly, but if I had to guess, I would say they juiced fresh pumpkin and used that as the base for the rice milk drink instead of water. Delicious!

Filed Under: Food Finds