The market · Seasonings and ferments · East Asia
Rice vinegar
A mild, clean vinegar brewed from rice — less sharp than wine vinegar.
mild · sweet · tangy
What to do with it
Ibu Sari's Beef rendangRice vinegar would cut through its richnessAna Etxarri's Pil pilRice vinegar would cut through its richnessTolu Adeyemi's SuyaRice vinegar would cut through its richnessTolu Adeyemi's Rendang, the Lagos wayRice vinegar would cut through its richness
VietnameseBánh mìA light, crackling-crusted baguette filled with pâté, cold cuts or grilled meat, pickled carrot and daikon, cucumber, coriander and chilli.No one here has made it yetTeochewTeochew braised gooseA whole goose simmered in a dark, spiced master stock of soy, galangal and rock sugar, sliced thin and served with garlic vinegar.No one here has made it yetTeochewTeochew cold crabA whole crab steamed, then left to go cold, and eaten plain with a dip of ginger in rice vinegar.No one here has made it yetHuaiyangSquirrel-shaped mandarin fishA whole mandarin fish, boned, scored deep and fried so the flesh fans out in spikes, then covered in a bright sweet-and-sour sauce.No one here has made it yetFujianFuzhou fish ballsSmooth, springy balls of fish paste with a juicy pork filling, served in a light broth.No one here has made it yetFujianLychee porkCross-scored pieces of pork, fried until they curl up like lychees, in a glossy red sweet-and-sour sauce with water chestnuts.No one here has made it yetKinds
- Japanese
- Gentle, a little sweet.
- Seasoned
- Sugar and salt added — sushi vinegar; don't swap it in blind.
- Chinese white
- Sharper and plainer.
If you can't find it
Most supermarkets; avoid the seasoned kind unless the recipe wants it.
- 1Cider vinegarA little lessYou lose rice vinegar's gentleness — cider vinegar is sharper and fruitier.
Goes with
Knowing it
- Where to buy
- Asian grocers and supermarkets.
Kitchens that keep it in
Chaoshan, the far east of Guangdong, southern ChinaTeochewThe cooking of Chaozhou and Shantou on the coast of eastern Guangdong: seafood, clear broths and slow master-stock braises, each dish with its own little dip.7 classicsJapanJapaneseA cooking of restraint and season, built on dashi — and on letting one ingredient taste as much of itself as it can.10 classics · 2 cooked here