Chinese cooking wine is a basic ingredient for sauces and marinades. It is common to Chinese cooking but is a recommended pantry item for your kitchen as it may be used for cooking in general.
Chinese cooking wine is made from alcohol, water and salt. The alcohol burns off in the cooking. This gives Chinese wines their own quality in that they act as an enhancer of other flavours. Try mixing it with soy sauce and sugar for a braised Chinese beef as in the recipe below; or blend it into a paste of crushed dried herbs, salt, pepper and fresh garlic to marinate meat.
Types
Mijiu is the generic name for Chinese fermented rice wine, similar to Japanese sake. It is generally clear, and is used for both drinking and cooking. Mijiu intended for cooking often contains 1.5% salt. Alcohol content by volume: 12-19.5%.
Fujian glutinous rice wine: made by adding a long list of expensive Chinese medicinal herbs to glutinous rice and a low alcohol distilled rice wine. The unique brewing technique uses another wine as raw material, instead of starting with water. The wine has an orange-red color. Alcohol content by volume: 18%.
Shaoxing wine is the more internationally known high grade version commonly used in Chinese cooking. The reddish color of these wines is imparted by red yeast rice.
No, you cannot sub rice cooking wine with red wine vinegar.because the Vinegar give the sour taste.
The quality of Chinese wine shows of in the simple stewing of meats or what is called Red cooking in China.
Red Cooking uses a main protein such as pork, chicken, beef, tofu, duck or wheat gluten (sometimes even carp fish) which is simmered over a low flame with dark soy sauce, rice wine, rock sugar, stock and other fragrant additions such as scallions, ginger, black cardamom, five-spice powder, star anise and cinnamon. One thing to remember, dark soy sauce is a key ingredient since it is thicker and sweeter than the regular kind.
Recipe
Cut 2 lbs. stewing beef into thumb-sized cubes. Heat a medium sized wok or pot. Add a little oil. When very hot, brown the beef a few cubes at a time, removing them as they are done. After all are done, put the meat back in the pan. Mix in a cup of water, a quarter cup each of of soy sauce and Chinese cooking wine (or dry white wine and a pinch of salt) and a tablespoon of sugar. Bring this to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer and cover the pan. Let this cook for 1 to 2 hours. Stir a few times to keep the meat from sticking to the pan. The liquid will reduce to about 1/2 a cup. Spinkle finely chopped scallions (green onions) on top and serve rice on the side.
