Sunday, March 24, 2024

What Is Chinese Cooking Wine

Don't Miss

Wine And Chinese Food: 7 Delicious Pairings

What is Shaoxing Wine, and why’s it in almost every Chinese recipe?

Pairing wine and Chinese food might not seem the most obvious choice in the world. But the right choices can push your takeout above and beyond!

Chinese cuisine is far from homogeneous. So its a challenge to find a wine that can manage the complexity of its flavors.

Lets take a look at 7 of our favorite pairings, along with some advice on what goes best with a variety of choices. No guarantees about whether youll be hungry for more after an hour.

Vanilla Extract And Water

Best used to replace: fortified wine

Sherry, port, Madeira and Marsala are found in a wide selection of recipes. They are excellent for savory dishes and desserts. For sweet desserts, use a mix of vanilla extract and water. For savory dishes use equals parts of apple cider vinegar with water. You can also use a little sugar to enhance the flavor.

What Can I Use Instead Of Cooking Wine

This article discusses 11 non-alcoholic substitutes for wine in cooking.

  • Pomegranate Juice. Pomegranate juice is a beverage with a rich, fruity flavor.
  • Cranberry Juice.
  • Red or White Grape Juice.
  • Chicken, Beef or Vegetable Stock.
  • Apple Juice.
  • Lemon Juice.

Read Also: Is Stella Rosa Wine Good

Alternate Names & Spellings

Shaoxing wine is also sometimes called hua diao wine , which translates to carved flower wine to describe the flower design carved into the clay jars once used to store and age it.

This alternate name can also be spelled, hua tiao chiew

Chia Fan wine is another nam you may see on some bottles. It is similar to hua diao wine. These Shaoxing wines are made using more rice during the brewing process, hence the name chia fan, which literally means add rice.

There are also alternate spellings, including shao xing wine or shaohsing wine. All are the same type of cooking wine.

Nutritive Value And Health Benefits

How to Use Chinese Rice Wines in Cooking

Chinese cooking wine is rich in eight amino acids required by the human body, such as leucine, isoleucine, methionine, phenylalanine, and threonine. Among them, lysine and tryptophan can produce neurotransmitters in the brain, which improve sleep quality and is also beneficial to childrens physical development.

Read Also: Buying Wine On Amazon

What Can I Use Instead Of Chinese Cooking Wine

The best substitutes for Shaoxing Wine / Chinese Cooking Wine are as follows:

  • Dry sherry thats right, just every day cheap and cheerful dry sherry
  • Mirin a Japanese sweet cooking wine.
  • Cooking Sake / Japanese Rice Wine this is a bit lighter in flavour than Chinese cooking wine, but is an acceptable substitute.

5 . 2018 .

What Wine Is Used In Chinese Cooking

Shaoxing Wine also known as Chinese Cooking Wine or Shaosing Wine is an essential in Chinese cooking, the secret ingredient that makes recipes truly taste like what you get at Chinese restaurants. Chinese restaurants use it by the gallon in everything from stir fry sauces to soup broths, marinades and wontons!

You May Like: What Wine Goes With Pizza

Its The Secret Ingredient

If youve ever made a Chinese recipe and wondered why it didnt taste quite as good as what you get from your favourite Chinese restaurant, then Chinese Cooking Wine is probably the missing ingredient.

You can get every other ingredient right in a stir fry sauce, but if you dont use Chinese cooking wine, it will be missing that extra something-something that makes it truly taste restaurant quality.

My general advice is that if you come across a stir fry recipe in your internet travels that does not call for Chinese cooking wine, I would proceed with caution.

Or if it really looks tasty and you really want to try it anyway, add a splash of Chinese cooking wine and know youve just improved the recipe.

Pictured: Chow Mein

What Is Shaoxing Wine

What is Shao Hsing Wine? – Chinese Ingredient of the Week

Shaoxing wine, or shàoxng ji , is a type of Chinese rice wine that hails from Shaoxing, a city in Chinas Zhejiang Province famous for rice wine production. Its a key ingredient in many dishes and will create that authentic restaurant flavor you may have found difficult to replicate at home.

With early records mentioning it over 2000 years ago, Shaoxing Wine is one of the oldest forms of rice wine in China. The production process involves fermenting rice, water, and a small amount of wheat . Clear rather than cloudy, it has a dark amber color, with a mildly sweet, fragrant aroma.

Aged Shaoxing wine can be consumed as a beverage, usually warmed beforehand. For cooking, however, we use lower grade Shaoxing wine with added salt to 1) avoid an alcohol tax and 2) allow it to be sold in regular grocery stores.

This amber-colored rice wine differs from clear rice cooking wine, or mji , in that it has a more complex and deeper taste. Comparing the lighter flavor of rice wine vs. Shaoxing wine is like the difference between using salt or light soy sauce. One is more purely salty, while the other adds a richer flavor.

Weve actually visited the city of Shaoxing in China to learn more about ancient wine production! In a couple of the photos below, you can see the style of the clay jars that used to store wine.

Read Also: Can You Ship Wine To Illinois

Vinegar And Red Grape Juice

Best used to replace: burgundy wine

A common variety of burgundy is dry red wine that is made from Pinot noir grapes. It makes a fantastic beef burgundy pie or slow cooked casserole. The best substitute for burgundy wine is vinegar combined with red grape juice. Dont go overboard with the vinegar as it will quickly overwhelm the dish with a sour and acidic taste.

What It Is What To Do With It And Some Substitutes For When You Inevitably Run Out

Prop stylist: Megan Hedgpeth. Food stylist: Anna Billingskog.

This story first appeared on Food52, an online community that gives you everything you need for a happier kitchen and home that means tested recipes, a shop full of beautiful products, a cooking hotline, and everything in between!

I love cooking with alcohol. The magnificent aromas, the satisfying glug of rich liquid pouring from the bottle, and, of course, the drinking. Sure, French cooking gets well-deserved attention for its liberal use of wine, and Japanese cooking wouldn’t be nearly as delicious without mirin and sake, but there are few places where alcohol is used as effectively, or as liberally, as in Chinese cuisines. If your pantry is short a bottle of Chinese wine, for cooking and for drinking, it’s time to fix that. And we’re here to help.

What is Chinese cooking wine?

Why use Chinese cooking wine?

If you’re like me, it probably breaks your heart just a little bit to pour a bottle of perfectly sippable wine into a braise or stew, particularly if you’ll have to wait hours to actually eat it. It’s a little easier, of course, if that wine is puckeringly salty. But still, why bother cooking with alcohol when you could be drinking it instead?

Where can I buy Chinese cooking wine?

What can I substitute?

How should I use Chinese cooking wine?

Read Also: Bridesmaid Wine Bottles

When And Who Are Not Suitable To Drink Alcohol

It is believed unhealthy for people to drink alcohol:

  • When someone is having bad emotions, such as being too sad or angry

Alcohol should be appreciated in beautiful and elegant places.

Spring in a pavilion, summer in the countryside, autumns on a boat, winter in the house, or nighttime under the moon.

Painting “Lan Ting Xiu Xi” by Wen Huiming , Presents An Ancient Way for People to Drink from Cups that are Floating in River Palace Museum

  • Content

People would play wager games, have intelligent or close conversations while drinking, or write poems many brilliant poems and articles in Chinese history were created when authors were drinking.

Ivory Carved Cards Used in Drinker’s Wager Games of the Qing Dynasty Shenyang Palace Museum

How Is It Used

CHINESE COOKING WINE  THE LOW DOWN OF HUA DIAO JIU ...

Just like using wine in Western dishes, Shaoxing wine adds depth and flavor complexity. We use it in marinades for meats, as a flavor agent in wonton or dumpling fillings, to deglaze our wok and add flavor to stir-fries, and to add flavor to sauces and braises. Wed go so far as to say that the vast majority of our savory recipes contain Shaoxing wine.Shaoxing Wine is particularly essential for hong shao or red-cooked dishes like Chinese Braised Fish and Shanghai Style Braised pork belly . It appears in larger quantities in braised dishes, , while a marinade or stir-fry usually contains only a tablespoon or two.

It is also the star of a traditional cold appetizer aptly named, Drunken Chicken, in which the chicken is cooked and then soaked in a brine of Shaoxing wine and other seasonings. This drunken brining method can also applied to seafood, like shrimp and crab.

Again, there are types of high quality Shaoxing wine made for drinking , but in the U.S., salt is added to the wine to avoid alcohol taxes and to permit it to be sold in stores where regular wine/liquor cannot be sold. The flavor of the wine sold in most grocery stores for cooking is therefore briny and not meant for drinking!

Recommended Reading: What Wine Has The Lowest Calories

What Is Rice Wine

Rice wine is made from the fermentation of glutinous rice. The sugars in the rice are transformed into alcohol by the addition of yeast.

Depending on the type, rice wine is clear or has a red, yellow, or brown hue. It is used in marinades to tenderize meat and to impart flavor to almost any dish. The alcohol content can vary greatly. It is generally in the region of 18 to 25% ABV .

Chinese cooking wine is a rice wine specifically for cooking. It is salty with a strong alcoholic flavor and is not intended for drinking.

How Much Cooking Wine Does It Take To Get Drunk

But while the salty drink may not taste great, it can certainly get you drunk most bottles have an alcohol content of around 17per cent, the same as a bottle of Cabernet. In terms of how drunk it gets you, drinking a whole bottle of cooking wine is equivalent to drinking three or four beers, says Ms Rubin.

Also Check: How To Make Glasses Out Of Wine Bottles

Best Choices Of Rice Cooking Wines For You

Is rice cooking wine the same as mirin?

Although it sometimes gets confused with rice wine vinegar, mirin actually is a sweet rice wine used in Japanese cooking. It doesn’t just flavor food. … If you don’t have mirin, there are many common suggestions for substitutions. You can just use dry sherry or sweet marsala, for instance.

In this regard, which wine is made from rice?

1 Sake Japan One of the most popular forms of rice wines, sake, Japan’s national drink, is a rice wine with an alcohol content of 15%. In Japan, serving sake is a graceful act, steeped in tradition, where it is usually served in porcelain bottles and consumed hot.

Besides, is rice wine and cooking wine the same?

Cooking wines, sold in local supermarkets, are overly salted and have a different flavor than a Chinese rice wine. And don’t confuse Chinese ricewine vinegar with Chinese rice wineit is a vinegar, not a wine, and will add an acidic flavor.

Accordingly, where can I buy rice wine for cooking?

Depending on which state you live in, the types of rice wine you can buy may vary. However, a good place to start looking is in the vinegar aisle of the grocery store. Check for cooking rice wines like Japanese mirin or Chinese Shaoxing wine around the oils and vinegars.

Then, is Chinese cooking wine the same as rice wine?

What Do You Use Rice Wine Vinegar For

COOKING BASICS – WHAT IS SHAOXING RICE WINE?? | HOW DOES SHAOXING RICE WINE TASTE?

When just a touch of sweetness and acidity is called for, rice wine vinegar is what you want. The seasoned rice wine vinegar flavor pairs well with Asian cooking, though that is a well-known fact. It accompanies sweet-and-sour dishes perfectly as the acetic acid is just the right amount to let the sweetness shine.

You May Like: Aries Grille Guard

What Is The Difference Between Cooking Wine And Regular Wine

The difference between the two wines is the quality of the drink. Regular wine is finer, more flavorful, and will have a stronger taste in your dishes. Cooking wine is a go-to wine that will add the flavor you need, but will not be enjoyable to drink, as the flavors it will bring won’t be as potent.

Where To Buy Shaoxing Wine

While you may think that since you live in China, finding Shaoxing wine is easy, its never easy. In fact, the probability of finding it in your nearby grocery store is next to impossible.

You can find your best wine in big Asian markets if you are in the US or the best place to find it is on Amazon.

You can also get them in the various cooking stores. I often buy my Shaoxing wine from Rakuten global market and Ive never been disappointed. Whenever you visit the Chinese markets you will find the Shaoxing wines at the frozen food section.

One thing you should be careful about though is buying the wine kind that has increased amount of salt in it because that tastes awful.

Recommended Reading: What Is The Best Sweet Wine To Buy

Add It During Cooking

During cooking, the time to add the cooking wine depends on the cooking methods and materials. The substance with fishy smell can be dissolved by the ethanol in cooking wine and volatilized together under high temperature. When stir-fry meat, it should be added after the meat color changes if the dish is first stir-fried and then braised, it should be added before brasing when cooking soup, add it before turning to low heat when stir-frying shrimps, add cooking wine just before taking them out of the wok.It is not advised to put too much cooking wine when cooking dishes, otherwise the taste of the wine will mask the taste of the food itself.

Who Is The Sage Of Alcohol In Chinese Culture

Double Phoenix Chinese Cooking Wine 640ml from Buy Asian ...

Yi Di, an official of Yu the Great, is believed as the person that invented, or well organized and further developed alcohol-making technology.

Du Kang, also named Shao Kang, is the most famous, well-acknowledged Sage of alcohol in Chinese Culture that invented alcohol using sorghum.

He was an official of the Yellow Emperor, or, in other historical documentations a king of the Xia Dynasty .

You May Like: Least Calories Wine

Can You Get Sick From Drinking Old Sake

Although this varies from sake to sake, in most cases the more delicate and refined the flavor and fragrance of a sake, the sooner it goes downhill. Of course, it will not spoil in such a way as to make you sick, nor will it turn to vinegar or become downright unpalatable.

Shaoxing Wine Your Best Cooking Wine In The Market

Chinese cuisine is popularly known for its rich flavor and artistic nature of meal preparation. What most people dont understand is that the natives use unique ingredients and cooking style to come up with the spicy yet healthy delicacies.

One of the unique ingredients in almost every dish in China is Shaoxing wine. While the westerners believe that cooking wine is only meant for cooking, in China we believe that you shouldnt cook with any wine that you would never drink.

I know that whenever you are out for your shopping at the grocery stores you may have noticed a list of wines being promoted as cooking wine. This is mostly used for cooking only especially in the western countries.

I love cooking wines because they not only enhance the flavor of your food but you can also enjoy drinking.

Unlike regular wines that are naturally flavorful, strong in taste and finer, the cooking wine is your go-to wine that will only add the exact flavor you desire.

According to wine folly, the difference in your food is the kind of wine you use.

Recommended Reading: How To Make A Pallet Wine Rack

Can I Use White Vinegar Instead Of Rice Wine

Try substituting white wine vinegar for rice vinegar in a 1:1 ratio. To add just a hint of sweetness, add 1/4 teaspoon of sugar per tablespoon of the white wine vinegar. Summary White wine vinegar has an acidic taste that is slightly less sweet than rice vinegar.

What Can I Substitute For Chinese Cooking Wine

How to cook a delicious Chinese Chicken Wine Soup | éé湯 | The easy and fast way of cooking

The best substitutes for Shaoxing Wine / Chinese Cooking Wine are as follows:

  • Dry sherry thats right, just every day cheap and cheerful dry sherry
  • Mirin a Japanese sweet cooking wine.
  • Cooking Sake / Japanese Rice Wine this is a bit lighter in flavour than Chinese cooking wine, but is an acceptable substitute.

5 . 2018 .

You May Like: Where Can I Buy Seven Sisters Wine

What Does Rice Wine Taste Like

It has a mixed aroma and taste. For those who are unfamiliar with it, Shaoxing rice wine doesn’t smell much like alcohol. Some think it has a very particular taste: vinegary, spicy and caramel-like. Playing an important role in Chinese cuisine, Shaoxing rice wine is commonly used for everyday cooking.

More articles

Popular Articles