6 replies to this topic

[rotuts]

the only Shaoxing wine Ive see is sold in chinese grocery stores and for that reason has a lot of salt in it. Is there a version sold in liquor store without the salt?

Why add extra salt if you dont have to?

[kaszeta]

The reason for the salt is regulatory, there's an exemption for cooking wine that allows it to be sold in grocery stores if it has salt in it.

The good stuff is in the liquor stores. Since you're in Boston, they carry several decent brands of drinking-quality unsalted shaoxing at Truong Thanh (I have to buy my Shaoxing in MA, since the NH Liquor people don't seem to approve any shaoxing for retail sale). Pagoda is the one I prefer for cooking.

As an aside, it can be hard to find some of the stuff at Truong Thanh, but when confused I've just shown them a picture of what I was looking for.

[weinoo]

Yes - it's the only type of Shaoxing wine I buy - all the liquor stores in Chinatown have multiple varieties.

[rotuts]

thanks Ill pop into Truong next time Im in Chinatown and get a bottle of Pagoda. Is it pricy?

[weinoo]

No. I don't believe I've ever spent close to $10.

[kaszeta]

I think my last bottle of Pagoda was $8

[liuzhou]

As with anything else, you get what you pay for.

Here in China, where they certainly don't salt the stuff, prices vary widely depending on quality. Lower end cooking quality is very cheap (around $1 US for 500 ml), but prices rise dramatically at the intended-for-drinking end.

I usually buy something around $4. I never drink the stuff.

I'm guessing, but I don't know, that stuff imported to the US to be sold in licenced liquor places will display similar price differences.