Rice vinegar is avinegar made fromrice wine inEast Asia (China,Japan andKorea), as well as inVietnam inSoutheast Asia. It is used as a seasoning, dressing, and dipping in many dishes, includingsushi,jiaozi, andbanchans. Some of its variants are also a drink by themselves.
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Chinese rice vinegars are stronger than Japanese ones, and range in color from clear to various shades of red, brown and black and are therefore known as rice wine vinegars.[1] Chinese vinegar are less acidic than their distilledWestern counterparts which, for that reason, are not appropriate substitutes for rice vinegars. The majority of the Asian rice vinegars are also milder and sweeter than those typically used in the Western world, withblack vinegars as a notable exception.
White rice vinegar is a colorless to pale yellow liquid, more acidic than other Chinese vinegars, but still less acidic and milder in flavor than Western ones.[2]
Black vinegar is very popular in southern China.Chinkiang vinegar, which originated in the city ofZhenjiang (Chinese:镇江香醋;pinyin:Zhènjiāng xiāngcù) in the eastern coastal province ofJiangsu, is considered a great one.[3]Baoning vinegar (保寧醋 or 保宁醋) fromSichuan is another famous example. Typically, black rice vinegar is made with blackglutinous rice (also called "sweet rice"), althoughmillet orsorghum may be used instead. It is dark in color, and has a deep, almost smoky flavor. In addition to Zhenjiang, it is also produced inHong Kong. This is different from the black vinegar popular in north China, which is made from sorghum, peas, barley, bran, and chaff and is most associated withShanxi province.
Red rice vinegar has a distinctive red color fromred yeast rice (红曲米), which is cultivated with the moldMonascus purpureus. This vinegar has a distinctive flavor of its own due to the red mold.
In Chinese cookbooks, ½ tablespoon of Western distilled white vinegar is stated to be equivalent in strength to 1 tablespoon Chinkiang vinegar, and recipes which call for 4 teaspoons of red rice vinegar could be substituted with only 3 teaspoons of white vinegar.[4]
Japanese rice vinegar (米酢komezu, "rice vinegar" or simply酢su, "vinegar") is very mild and mellow compared to conventional western vinegars, with only approximately 5%acetic acid content, and ranges in color from colorless to pale yellow. It is made from either rice or sakelees. These are more specifically calledyonezu (米酢 よねず) andkasuzu (粕酢 かすず), respectively. These vinegars are used in makingsunomono (酢の物, "vinegar dishes"), sometsukemono (漬物, "pickles"),nimono (煮物, "simmered dishes"), as well as in marinades to mitigate the stronger odors of certain fishes and meats.
Seasoned rice vinegar (合わせ酢awasezu) is made by addingsake, salt and sugar. Additionally,mirin is also sometimes used (but only rarely). Although it can be made at home, prepared awasezu can also be readily bought at supermarkets. Seasoned rice vinegar is added to cooked rice to be used in makingsushi. It is also used in salad dressing varieties popular in the west, such asginger or sesame dressing.
Traditionally, Edomae-style sushi used to be seasoned with a type of red rice vinegar known as akazu (赤酢). This is made using sake lees which would be stored in wooden boxes and aged for up to 20 years. After aging, the now black sake lees are mixed with water to form a mash known as Moromi (もろみ/醪). This mash is constantly turned and compressed before undergoing acetic acid fermentation.[5]
A somewhat lighter form of black vinegar calledkurozu (黒酢), made from rice, is produced in Japan. It is considered as a healthy drink; its manufacturers claim that it contains high concentrations ofamino acids. Recent scientific research on kurozu has revealed its anti-cancer propertiesin vivo on rats[6][7] andin vitro on human cancer cells.[8]
In Korean cuisine,ssal-sikcho (쌀식초; "rice vinegar") made with eitherwhite orbrownrice.Glutinous rice may also be used. Rice is mixed withnuruk (fermentation starter).[9] Alternatively, rice winelees can be used to make rice vinegar, in which case the final product is often calledmakgeolli-sikcho (rice wine vinegar). Two rice vinegar varieties, each fromNorth Gyeongsang Province andSouth Chungcheong Province, are included in theArk of Taste catalogue of heritage foods.[10][11]
Rice vinegar is calleddấm gạo orgiấm gạo in Vietnamese. One variation of Vietnamese rice vinegar is the spicy and sourgiấm bỗng made fromnếp cái hoa vàng rice. The most notable place of origin of this kind of vinegar is Vân village,Vân Hà commune,Việt Yên district,Bắc Giang province.Giấm bỗng is an ingredient ofvịt om giấm bổng,bún riêu, andbún ốc.
Another rice vinegar is the lightly sourhèm, used inốc bươu hấp hèm andgà hấp hèm which is a specialty ofHóc Môn district,Ho Chi Minh City. Themẻ rice vinegar, which is strongly sour, is used intrâu luộc mẻ—-a speciality ofCần Thơ city.
