VINEGARS

RICE VINEGAR
Mandarin: MICU; Contonese: HUCK TSO; Japanese: SU

Vinegar fermented from rice, or distilled from rice grains is used extensively in oriental cooking. The former is dark amber in color and is referred to in China as red or black vinegar; the latter is clear, so is called white vinegar. The raw ingredients used for making rice vinegar consist of glutinous rice, long grain rice, wheat, barley, and rice husks. It is fermented twice and is matured for up to 6-7 months. Japan has a brown rice vinegar-gaen mae su- which is dark and heady. This vinegar, which has been likened to balsamic vinegar, is robust yet wonderfully smooth.

Aroma and flavor
Red or black vinegar has a pleasant fragrant aroma with a mild, sweetish flavor. The distilled white is mush stronger. It smells vinegary and tastes quite tangy and tart. Japanese brown rice vinegar has a distinctive sweet and sour flavor.

Culinary uses
Vinegar has always played a vital role in Chinese cookery, and in some parts of the country, particularly in the north, it is added to almost every dish as a matter of course, although the amounts are sometimes so minute as to be barely detectable. Rice vinegar is an important ingredient in the world-renowned sweet and sour sauce, which originated in northern China, and also in the popular hot and sour sauce from Sichuan.

Throughout Asia, rice vinegar also features in Thai cucumber sauce and dipping sauce, such as the Vietnamese vinegar and garlic fish sauce. It is also widely used in preserving and pickling. Thai cooks add rice vinegar to several dishes, including their famous hot & sour soup. In Japan, rice vinegar is famously used for sushi rice.

Cooking techniques
If rice vinegar is heated for too long, its fragrance will be lost, the food will taste extremely tart and rather unpleasant. In Asian cooking, therefore, vinegar is generally the last item to be stirred into a dish. It is also important not to use too much vinegar; in a good sweet and  sour sauce the key ingredients should be in perfect balance, the sour having a slight edge on the sweet.

Storage
Bottled rice vinegar will keep for a very long time, provided it is not exposed to either heat or strong light.

OTHER VINEGARS

Coconut vinegar
Made from coconut nectar or "toddy" tapped from the flower sheaths of mature coconut palms, this amber vinegar is highly regarded in the Philippines

Pon vinegar
This Japanese vinegar is made from the juice of citrus fruit that resemble limes.