Edit History

The first ingredient to be featured in this topic, back in 2006, was Chinese cooking wine. Specifically, it was for something described as Shaoxing wine.

 

Unfortunately, it was not Shaoxing wine at all but a Taiwanese knock-off. The name Shaoxing is protected in China - only wines made in the city  of Shaoxing  S: 绍兴; T: 紹興 (shào xīng) in Zhejiang province can legally be called Shaoxing wine -  S: 绍兴酒; T: 紹興 酒 (shào xīng jiǔ).

 

Anyway, Shaoxing wine has been discussed here before.

 

 

Shaoxing is not the only cooking wine in China, albeit probably universally considered the best. So, now I'd like to look at some of the others.

 

Cooking wine in China is known as 料酒 (liào jiǔ, literally 'ingredient alcohol).  The most common is S: 黄酒; T: 黃酒 (huáng jiǔ) or 'yellow wine'. This is made from rice.

 

Ingredient wine.

 

(Shaoxing is both a yellow wine and an ingredient wine.)

 

Non-Shaoxing wines are cheaper and generally of lower quality but are more widely available. Every supermarket and corner shop has a 500 ml bottle for less than a dollar USD.

 

This 2 litre bottle is available for $3 USD. A basic lowest level Shaoxing will be around $3 minimum for 500ml.

 

 

Many of these yellow wines come flavoured.

 

L-R: Onion and ginger flavour, Banquet flavour, 5-spice flavour, aged natural flavour. No, I've no idea what banquet flavour means. The aged stuff has probably been aged for at least ten minutes.

 

Beware of 白酒 (bái jiǔ, literally white alcohol). This is NOT 'white wine' but a hard liquor made from sorghum or maize (the name c@rn uses in a pathetic attempt to disguise itself). It is very strongly flavoured and smells like vomit. It is used in a very few dishes but cannot be considered a general cooking ingredient.

 

米酒 (mǐ jiǔ) is a weak, colourless rice wine, often home made, usually drunk but occasionally used in cooking. It is made from glutinous rice.

 

The only non-Shaoxing Chinese wine I possess is this 桂花酒 (guì huā jiǔ), osmanthus wine, which was a gift and which I'll probably drink.

 

 

It's rather too floral for cooking anything I want to eat but would probably work in some desserts. I don't do desserts.

 

 

The first ingredient to be featured in this topic, back in 2006, was Chinese cooking wine. Specifically, it was for something described as Shaoxing wine.

 

Unfortunately, it was not Shaoxing wine at all but a Taiwanese knock-off. The name Shaoxing is protected in China - only wines made in the city  of Shaoxing  S: 绍兴; T: 紹興 (shào xīng) in Zhejiang province can legally be called Shaoxing wine -  S: 绍兴酒; T: 紹興 酒 (shào xīng jiǔ).

 

Anyway, Shaoxing wine has been discussed here before.

 

 

Shaoxing is not the only cooking wine in China, albeit probably universally considered the best. So, now I'd like to look at some of the others.

 

Cooking wine in China is known as 料酒 (liào jiǔ, literally 'ingredient alcohol).  The most common is S: 黄酒; T: 黃酒 (huáng jiǔ) or 'yellow wine'. This is made from rice.

 

Ingredient wine.

 

(Shaoxing is both a yellow wine and an ingredient wine.)

 

Non-Shaoxing wines are cheaper and generally of lower quality but are more widely available. Every supermarket and corner shop has a 500 ml bottle for less than a dollar USD.

 

This 2 litre bottle is available for $3 USD. A basic lowest level Shaoxing will be around $3 minimum for 500ml.

 

 

Many of these yellow wines come flavoured.

 

L-R: Onion and ginger flavour, Banquet flavour, 5-spice flavour, aged natural flavour. No, I've no idea what banquet flavour means. The aged stuff has probably been aged for at least ten minutes.

 

Beware of 白酒 (bái jiǔ, literally white alcohol). This is NOT 'white wine' but a hard liquor made from sorghum or maize (the name c@rn uses in a pathetic attempt to disguise itself). It is very strongly flavoured and smells like vomit. It is used in a very few dishes but cannot be considered a general cooking ingredient.

 

米酒 (mǐ jiǔ) is a weak, colourless rice wine, often home made, usually drunk but occasionally used in cooking. It is made from glutinous rice.

 

The only non-Shaoxing Chinese wine I possess is this 桂花酒 (guì huā jiǔ), osmanthus wine, which was a gift and which I'll probably drink.

 

 

It's rather too floral for cooking anything I want to eat but would probably work in some desserts. I don't do desserts.

 

 

The first ingredient to be featured in this topic, back in 2006, was regarding Chinese cooking wine. Specifically, it was for something described as Shaoxing wine.

 

Unfortunately, it was not Shaoxing wine at all but a Taiwanese knock-off. The name Shaoxing is protected in China - only wines made in the city  of Shaoxing  S: 绍兴; T: 紹興 (shào xīng) in Zhejiang province can legally be called Shaoxing wine -  S: 绍兴酒; T: 紹興 酒 (shào xīng jiǔ).

 

Anyway, Shaoxing wine has been discussed here before.

 

 

Shaoxing is not the only cooking wine in China, albeit probably universally considered the best. So, now I'd like to look at some of the others.

 

Cooking wine in China is known as 料酒 (liào jiǔ, literally 'ingredient alcohol).  The most common is S: 黄酒; T: 黃酒 (huáng jiǔ) or 'yellow wine'. This is made from rice.

 

Ingredient wine.

 

(Shaoxing is both a yellow wine and an ingredient wine.)

 

Non-Shaoxing wines are cheaper and generally of lower quality but are more widely available. Every supermarket and corner shop has a 500 ml bottle for less than a dollar USD.

 

This 2 litre bottle is available for $3 USD. A basic lowest level Shaoxing will be around $3 minimum for 500ml.

 

 

Many of these yellow wines come flavoured.

 

L-R: Onion and ginger flavour, Banquet flavour, 5-spice flavour, aged natural flavour. No, I've no idea what banquet flavour means. The aged stuff has probably been aged for at least ten minutes.

 

Beware of 白酒 (bái jiǔ, literally white alcohol). This is NOT 'white wine' but a hard liquor made from sorghum or maize (the name c@rn uses in a pathetic attempt to disguise itself). It is very strongly flavoured and smells like vomit. It is used in a very few dishes but cannot be considered a general cooking ingredient.

 

米酒 (mǐ jiǔ) is a weak, colourless rice wine, often home made, usually drunk but occasionally used in cooking. It is made from glutinous rice.

 

The only non-Shaoxing Chinese wine I possess is this 桂花酒 (guì huā jiǔ), osmanthus wine, which was a gift and which I'll probably drink.

 

 

It's rather too floral for cooking anything I want to eat but would probably work in some desserts. I don't do desserts.

 

 

The first ingredient to be featured in this topic, back in 2006, was regarding Chinese cooking wine. Specifically, it was for something described as Shaoxing wine.

 

Unfortunately, it was not Shaoxing wine at all my but a Taiwan knock-off. The name Shaoxing is protected in China - only wines made in the city  of Shaoxing  

S: 绍兴; T: 紹興 (shào xīng) in Zhejiang province can legally be called Shaoxing wine -  S: 绍兴酒; T: 紹興 酒 (shào xīng jiǔ).

 

Anyway, Showing has been discussed here before.

 

 

 

Shaoxing is not the only cooking wine in China, albeit probably universally considered the best. So, now I'd like to look at some of the others.

 

Cooking wine in China is known as 料酒 (liào jiǔ, literally 'ingredient alcohol).  The most common is S: 黄酒; T: 黃酒 (huáng jiǔ) or 'yellow wine'. This is made from rice.

 

Ingredient wine.

 

(Shaoxing is both a yellow wine and an ingredient wine.)

 

Non-Shaoxing wines are cheaper and generally of lower quality but are more widely available. Every supermarket and corner shop has a 500 ml bottle for less than a dollar USD. This 2 litre bottle is available for $3 USD. A basic lowest level Shaoxing will be around $3 minimum for 500ml.

 

 

Many of these yellow wines come flavoured.

 

L-R: Onion and ginger flavour, Banquet flavour, 5-spice flavour, aged natural flavour. No, I've no idea what banquet flavour means. The aged stuff has probably been aged for at least ten minutes.

 

Beware of 白酒 (bái jiǔ, literally white alcohol). This is NOT 'white wine' but a hard liquor made from sorghum or maize (the name c@rn uses in a pathetic attempt to disguise itself). It is very strongly flavoured and smells like vomit. It is used in a very few dishes but cannot be considered a general cooking ingredient.

 

米酒 (mǐ jiǔ) is a weak, colourless rice wine, often home made, usually drunk but occasionally used in cooking. It is made from glutinous rice.

 

The only non-Shaoxing Chinese wine I possess is this 桂花酒 (guì huā jiǔ), osmanthus wine, which was a gift and which I'll probably drink.

 

 

It's rather too floral for cooking anything I want to eat but would probably work in some desserts. I don't do desserts.

 

 

The first ingredient to be featured in this topic, back in 2006, was regarding Chinese cooking wine. Specifically, it was for something described as Shaoxing wine.

 

Unfortunately, it was not Shaoxing wine at all my but a Taiwan knock-off. The name Shaoxing is protected in China - only wines made in the city  of Shaoxing  

S: 绍兴; T: 紹興 (shào xīng) in Zhejiang province can legally be called Shaoxing wine -  S: 绍兴酒; T: 紹興 酒 (shào xīng jiǔ).

 

Anyway, Showing has been discussed here before.

 

 

 

Shaoxing is not the only cooking wine in China, albeit probably universally considered the best. So, now I'd like to look at some of the others.

 

Cooking wine in China is known as 料酒 (liào jiǔ, literally 'ingredient alcohol).  The most common is S: 黄酒; T: 黃酒 (huáng jiǔ) or 'yellow wine'. This is made from rice.

 

Ingredient wine.

 

(Shaoxing is both a yellow wine and an ingredient wine.)

 

Non-Shaoxing wines are cheaper and generally of lower quality but are more widely available. Every supermarket and corner shop has a 500 ml bottle for less than a dollar USD. This 2 litre bottle is available for $3 USD. A basic lowest level Shaoxing will be around $3 minimum for 500ml.

 

 

Many of these yellow wines come flavoured.

 

L-R: Onion and ginger flavour, Banquet flavour, 5-spice flavour, aged natural flavour. No, I've no idea what banquet flavour means. The aged stuff has probably been aged for at least ten minutes.

 

Beware of 白酒 (bái jiǔ, literally white alcohol). This is NOT 'white wine' but a hard liquor made from sorghum or maize (the name c@rn uses in a pathetic attempt to disguise itself). It is very strongly flavoured and smells like vomit. It is used in a very few dishes at cannot be considered a general cooking ingredient.

 

米酒 (mǐ jiǔ) is a weak white-coloured rice wine, often home made, usually drunk but occasionally used in cooking. It is made from glutinous rice.

 

The only non-Shaoxing Chinese wine I possess is this 桂花酒 (guì huā jiǔ), osmanthus wine, which was a gift and which I'll probably drink.

 

 

It's rather too floral for cooking anything I want to eat but would probably work in some desserts. I don't do desserts.