liuzhou

I did search before I asked but I guess we all know how flawed the search is. It returned nothing.

Wow! Thanks, but I now have the information I needed. I didn't realise more than one person here would have the book, never mind a signed copy.

Most dishes containing Shaoxing wine only have about a tablespoon of the wine in a marinade, or even just a splash to deglaze the wok and add a bit of flavour. However there are two classes of dish which use much larger quantities of the wine - up to 2½ cups or 250 ml per serving. These are the "drunken" dishes and the "hong shao" dishes. Often said to be of Shanghai cuisine they are certainly popular there, but also in a wider area. What they have in common is Shaoxing wine. These are examples of when you really need to splash out on a good 5 year minimum huadiao wine to do justice to the dish. I use an 8-year old. Your cheap every day Shaoxing isn't going to work well. The classic "drunken" dish is "drunken chicken" or 醉鸡 (zuì jī), a cold appetizer. However, there are almost endless variations such as drunken fish, drunken shrimp, drunken tofu etc. The drunken chicken is simply cooked in boiling Shaoxing wine for a few minutes, then the heat is turned off and the bird left in the hot liquid until cooked through. There are many recipes on the internet, but I can't really recommend any that I have read. I suggest Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe in Land of Fish and Rice (eG-friendly Amazon.com link) is your best bet. Drunken Chicken The second group are 红烧 (hóng shāo), literally red-cooked. Again pretty much everything can be red-cooked, which means simmering in a stock coloured with soy sauce. The peak of inventiveness in this group is 东坡肉 (dōng pō ròu) from Hangzhou near Shaoxing. 2 inch cubes of fatty pork belly with skin are fried, then red cooked for about 2½ hours in a mixture of soy sauces and a copious amount of quality Shaoxing wine. The resulting dish is rich and unctious. This dish is best made the day before eating and left overnight to chill. Remove the fat on top of the chilled meat. Again I recommend Ms. Dunlop's book rather than the internet. Dongpo Pork There are other dishes using Shaoxing in large amounts, but these are the two classics.

No. There was nothing pickled in the dish.

This one was a set meal. They aren't all. The green beans were fresh; not pickled. Chinese yam is dfferent from what you may call yam. Chinese Yam

There is a great article here on the history of the Nu Er Hong brand, now owned by China Shaoxing Yellow Rice Wine Group Co., Ltd and the one man who made it all possible.

香菜拌牛肉 (xiāng cài bàn ) - Coriander* Beef 肉末四李 (niú ròu) - Minced Pork Green Beans 娃娃采 - (wá wa cài) Baby Cabbage 淮山骨头汤 (huái shān gǔ tou tāng) - Chinese Yam Bone Soup 米饭 - Rice

Yes, the first is Pagoda brand. I can't entirely make out the writing at the bottom, but it appears just to be the company information. They make a point of stating that it is 'hand made' (the first two characters reading down) which is typical of that company. A good drinking quality Shaoxing. Your jade coloured jar is typical of nu'erhong style. Does it give the age anywhere? It is made by my favourite Shaoxing supplier (all nu'erhong is), Gu Yue Long Shan. There is an introduction to the company here.

So once you've sorted out your Shaoxing according to taste or budget what do you do with it. I use it in almost every meal I cook. A tablespoon or so (I always eyeball it) in marinades is de rigeur. I always use it to deglaze the wok. And sometimes in dips. It is also used in larger quantities in certain dishes, a subject I shall return to.

I am confused ( as usual). Methi just means 'fenugreek'. Do you mean the seeds?

Your second one is the real deal - ‘daughter red’ . Does it give any indication of age anywhere? As in my second post? I'm not surprised you have the same brand as @liamsaunt. They are Shaoxing's largest company and also most active in exports. About 15% of their output is exported. The less said about the Taiwanese fake, the better. It may taste OK, but it ain't the real deal.

According to Wikinonsense I have never, ever seen a bottle of Shaoxing with a vintage year marked as with grape wines. They all simply give the fermentation times as listed in my second post above. Also Shaoxing wine is one type of 黄酒 (huáng jiǔ). 黄酒 and Shaoxing are not synonyms as implied. All in all, the wiki article is pretty piss-poor.

If desperation sets in you could try this. 56% by volume 白酒 (bái jiǔ). Smells like vomit before you drink it. Only about 2 cents a small bottle. Appropriately named. Stick to Shaoxing, once you track it down. It's the only Chinese drink I touch other than beer. By the way, I mentioned 加饭 (jiā fàn, meaning added rice) in the first post. That first character 加 (jiā) is also an abbreviation for Canada! The things you learn on eG!

That is not wine, but a very strong spirit / liquor. China's most famous, served at state banquets. Disgusting stuff. There is a huge translation problem with the Chinese character 酒 (jiǔ). It really means alcohol, but is often mistranslated as wine, although sometimes wine is correct! I do a lot of work with the wine and drinks press and we always tie ourselves in knots trying to translate some names. The Moutai in that picture is a type of 白酒 (bái jiǔ), and is a strong white liquor from Guizhou province, made from sorgum but often described as 'white wine'. You don't want to be putting that in your dinner! And, yes, 白酒 (bái jiǔ) can get very expensive, although the cheapest is almost free. I have one bottle which sells at $2,306 CAD, although it is a limited edition and contains 1.8 litres. No, I didn't buy it. It was a gift from a client. I can't stand the stuff! The earlier picture you posted is rice wine but I have no knowledge of the quality. Even beer is a 酒 (jiǔ) - 啤酒 (pí jiǔ) and grape wine is 葡萄酒 (pú tao jiǔ), literally grape alcohol. There are many more. It's enough to drive anyone to drink!

I am "suffering" from a surplus of beautiful fresh pomegranates. Looking for suggestions other than just eating the things as they come. I have a lot more than these three.

Dinner: 冬瓜汤 (dōng guā tāng - Wax Gourd Soup) 啤酒鸭 (pí jiǔ yā - Beer duck (with ginger) 南瓜 (nán guā - Pumpkin) 五花肉花菜 (wǔ huā ròu huā cài - Cauliflower stir fried with Pork Belly ) 米饭 (mǐ fàn - Rice)

While that is glutinous rice wine, I'm not sure that it is Shaoxing. Shaoxing always says so - 绍兴 or 紹興. The large characters (糯米酒) on that bottle just say 'glutinous rice wine'. Most strange. It may say Shaoxing in the small print, but I can't make it out in that image.

When it comes to drinking Shaoxing, many internet sources insist that it is drunk warm. Not always. From the manufacturers of the first bottles above. In other words, do what you like!

That should be a good one in the 'added rice' style. The winery is Shaoxing's largest, much of their oputput being exported. 8 years old as you say. My only reservation is that they have added caramel coloring (last ingredient listed at the bottom of the label). The best only has water, glutinous rice and wheat as I noted. These are the first three listed on your bottle.

The age of any Shaoxing is normally given in Chinese. Here are the numbers for the most common ages: 3 years - 三年 5 years - 五年 8 years - 八年 12 years - 十二年 15 years - 十五年 20 years - 二十年

There have been Shaoxing topics before, but all seem to be specific to particular regions and problems – Buying Shaoxing in Canada or How to Buy Salt-Free Shaoxing in the USA etc. I feel there is a place for a more general topic discussing types, brands and uses etc. If the powers that be disagree, no doubt it will be moved or merged or … Some basics for those who don’t know. Shaoxing (绍兴(酒) / 紹興(酒) -shào xīng (jiǔ)) (the alternative spelling ShaoHsing is outdated and never used in China), a prized type of 黄酒 (huáng jiǔ, literally ‘yellow wine’ – glutinous rice wine) has been made in, wait for it, Shaoxing, a relatively small city in Zhejiang province, Eastern China, south of Shanghai for over 2,000 years. Ingredients should be simply water, rice, and wheat. Never salt outside North America where salt is added to get round licensing rules. It is used extensively as a 料酒 (liào jiǔ – literally, ‘ingredient wine’ – Cooking Wine) but is also drunk, depending on grade. 3-Year old cooking grade Shaoxing Most Shaoxing sold in supermarkets is the 3-year old basic stuff intended for cooking. Higher quality wines intended primarily for drinking are labelled 花雕 or 花彫 (huā diāo, meaning flower carved, as this grade is often sold in carved jars). These can be any age between 8 to 20 years and beyond. They are also used in certain dishes where the wine is a key element rather than just another marinade ingredient. 15-year old Huadio drinking grade Two special wines are labelled 加饭 / 加飯 (jiā fàn, meaning ‘added rice’) for a richer taste and 女儿红 / 女兒紅 (literally ‘daughter red’), so-called after the practice of laying a bottle down on the birth of a daughter then opening it at her wedding feast. Red is China’s luckiest colour and a symbol of marriage. Daughter Red - 3- Years Old. Note: Where I give two versions of the Chinese names, the first is in Simplified characters as used in mainland China (including Shaoxing) and the second in Traditional characters as still used in Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as much of the Chinese diaspora. Either may appear on bottles or jars. If I only give one version, that means they are the same everywhere.

Another day, another breakfast. 肉包 (ròu bāo), literally 'meat buns' = Pork Buns. Served with 剁椒 (duò jiāo), chopped chilli (jarred, from my pantry; not delivery). Duo Jiao

Basically, yes.

Dry Hot pot jumping bullfrog with onion and green and red chillies. Rice. Sorry for the dark image; it was a dark dish! But a good one!

I know Fruh am Dom has a bad reputation for its service. How did you find it?