Chinese Vinegar - White or Black?

Vinegar is a very ingredient in Chinese cooking. White and black vinegar are the most popular vinegars on the Chinese market (although it is also possible to get Red Vinegar). Both are normally made from rice or glutinous rice and are sometimes referred to as "Rice Vinegars".

White vinegar is crystal clear; it delivers a sense of delicate fragrance and tastes sour and sweet at the same time. It is similar to Western vinegars, but with a less acidic and milder flavour. Be careful when choosing your white vinegar; nowadays some cheap white vinegars are simply made from chemicals. They won't kill you but won’t do you any good in the long run! So always read the ingredients.

Black vinegar, on the other hand, is dark in colour and has an almost smokey flavour. There are two famous types of black vinegars.

The first is called Super-Mature Vinegar and is from the Shanxi province (in Chinese Pingying it’s known as “Chencu”). It is made from sorghum (a type of edible grass), wheat bran, grains or a combination of all three and has the richest taste and darkest colour of all the varieties. It's usually used in dark-coloured dishes that require extra sourness.

The other variety of black vinegar is Aromatic Vinegar (“Xiangcu”) which comes from the Jiangsu province. As the name suggests, it tastes fragrant and mellow. Personally, Xiangcu is my favourite vinegar as it’s neither as rich as the Super-Mature Vinegar nor as mild as white vinegar. This makes it easier to use for family cooking. I also like to use Aromatic Vinegar when making dips for Dim Sum.

As always, these products can be found in your local Asian supermarket.