as a follow-up on the asian cooking items thread:
Rice Vinegar - Chinese Seasonings
From Rhonda Parkinson,
Your Guide to Chinese Cuisine.
Chinese rice vinegar offers a sweeter, delicate alternative to regular
vinegar
Given the importance of rice in Chinese food and culture - inquiring
whether a person has had their bowl of rice is a common greeting in
southern China - it's not surprising that the Chinese have been using
rice to make vinegar for at least 3,000 years.
A trip through any Asian grocery store quickly reveals how complex the
world of rice vinegar has become since those ancient times. There are
several basic types of Chinese rice vinegar, along with sweetened
varieties that have everything from sugar to ginger, orange peel
and/or cloves added for extra flavor.
Rice Wine or Rice Vinegar?
Before going any further, let's clear up the difference between rice
wine and rice vinegar. Enjoyed by the Chinese for over 4,000 years,
rice wine is made by a fermentation process involving yeast that
transforms the sugars from glutinous rice into alcohol. When making
rice vinegar the fermentation process goes one step further, adding
bacteria to turn the alcohol into an acid. It's easy enough to confuse
the two since they often sit side by side at the grocery store. The
fact that rice vinegar is also called "rice wine vinegar" doesn't help
matters.
Types of Rice Vinegar
* Black Rice Vinegar
Black rice vinegar is very popular in southern China, where
Chinkiang vinegar, the best of the black rice vinegars, is made.
Normally black rice vinegar is made with glutinous or sweet rice,
although millet or sorghum may be used instead. Dark in color, it has
a deep, almost smoky flavor. One word of warning: the quality of black
rice vinegars varies strongly. I once tried a brand where the caramel
and sugar overpowered all the other flavors. Gold Plum's Chinkiang
vinegar, made with glutinous rice, water and salt, is generally
considered to be the best. Black rice vinegar works well in braised
dishes and as a dipping sauce. It can also serve as a substitute for
balsamic vinegar.
* Red Rice Vinegar
This is another vinegar that is dark colored, but lighter than
black rice vinegar. In any event, you'll never get the two mixed up
once you have a taste - red rice vinegar is an intriguing combination
of [censored] and sweet. Red rice vinegar can be used as a substitute for
black vinegar - just add a bit of sugar. It makes a very good dipping
sauce, and you can also use it in noodle, soup and seafood dishes
(you'll often find it in recipes for Hot and Sour and Shark's Fin
Soup). Both Pearl River Bridge and Koon Chun from Hong Kong are good
brands.
* White Rice Vinegar
This is a colorless liquid, higher in vinegar content and more
similar in flavor to regular vinegar (every time I taste it I
immediately envision a plate of salty French fries doused in vinegar).
Nonetheless, it is still less acidic and milder in flavor than regular
vinegar. There is also a hint of sweetness that comes from the
glutinous rice. The higher vinegar content of white rice vinegar makes
it the best choice for sweet and sour dishes, and for pickling
vegetables. It generally works well in stir-fries. The best brand is
Pearl River Bridge.
Cooks frequently prefer one rice vinegar over another - one of my
instructors routinely added black Chinkiang vinegar to all her
stir-fries. My personal favorite is the red – I love its unique [censored]
and sweet flavor. But any rice vinegar will make a milder, sweeter
alternative to regular vinegar. An added plus is that rice vinegar is
considered to be a digestive aid and is low in calories.
Don’t think you need to limit your use of rice vinegar to Chinese
dishes. Creative cooks have used it to spice up everything from stewed
ribs to barbecue rubs. A few tablespoons of [censored] rice vinegar adds a
wicked kick to salad dressings. And Japanese rice vinegar is one of
the secret ingredients in sushi rice. The only limit is your
imagination.
<http://chinesefood.about.com/cs/sauces/a/ricevinegar.htm?nl=1>
there are recipes and such at the site. ms. parkinson seems
semi-knowlegeable on the subject - good for neophytes in any case.
there's a newsletter that comes every couple of days if you care to
sign up.
your pal,
blake