Real Chinese Rice Wine

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Source: Saveur
Real Chinese Rice Wine Photo: Christopher Hirsheimer
Experienced cooks never cook with a wine they wouldn't drink, an adage that applies across all cuisines. When preparing a Chinese meal, look for real Chinese rice wine—which is richer and darker than sake, rather like a dry sherry—and not the "cooking wine" that's sold in Asian markets, which is dosed with salt so that it qualifies as a food product, not a wine. Buy the real thing in liquor stores, especially in Chinatowns. We like Nuehong, bottled in jade-colored ceramic jugs. Aged Hau Tiao is good, too—and the younger, less complex Pagoda Brand Shao Xing Rice Wine is just fine.

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #6