Shaoxing Wine – also known as Chinese Cooking Wine or Shaosing Wine – is an essential in Chinese cooking, the secret ingredient that makes recipes truly taste like what you get at Chinese restaurants. Chinese restaurants use it by the gallon in everything from stir fry sauces to soup broths, marinades and wontons!
Shaoxing Wine is used in practically every single Chinese recipe I’ve shared – because it’s key ingredient!
WHAT IS SHAOXING WINE?
Shaoxing Wine is also known as Chinese Cooking Wine, Shao-hsing or Shaohsing Wine. I call it Chinese Cooking Wine in almost all my recipes.
Chinese Cooking Wine is a rice wine that is made specifically for cooking. It has a salty, harsh alcoholic flavour and it’s not intended for drinking!
Along with soy sauce, it is probablythe most important ingredient in Chinese cooking. Just like in Western cooking, it is used to add depth and complexity to sauces, broths and anything it is added to.
It’s usually used in small quantities – most stir fries only call for 1 or 2 tablespoons of Shaoxing Wine – and you can’t distinguish the taste of it in the finished dish. You just know it’s better! 🙂
SHAOXING WINE SUBSTITUTE
The best substitutes for Shaoxing Wine / Chinese Cooking Wine are as follows:
- Dry sherry – that’s right, just every day cheap and cheerful dry sherry;
- Mirin – a Japanese sweet cooking wine. If you use this, omit or reduce sugar called for in the recipe because Mirin is sweeter than Chinese Cooking Wine. If there’s no sugar to omit, that’s fine, just know that the sauce will be a bit sweeter;
- Cooking Sake / Japanese Rice Wine – this is a bit lighter in flavour than Chinese cooking wine, but is an acceptable substitute.
These work well because they are alcoholic, like Chinese cooking wine, so they bring a similar depth and complexity to sauces.
Non alcoholic substitute for Shaoxing Wine
Non alcoholic substitutes will vary from recipe to recipe, and I try to include the best substitute in every recipe. However, as a general rule, the best non alcoholic substitute is to use chicken broth (liquid chicken stock) in place of water in sauces.
Caveat: I understand that there are some people who can’t get or can’t consume alcohol, whether for health or religious reasons. But because Chinese cooking wine is such a key ingredient in Chinese sauces, I cannot promise the same recipe outcome if it is made without using an alcoholic substitute.
But for those who can consume alcohol, I really urge you to use one of the alcoholic substitutes above. You will thank me! 🙂
Pictured: Chop Suey / Chicken Stir Fry
WHAT IS SHAOXING WINE USED FOR?
Every Chinese restaurant uses Shaoxing Wine in almost every savoury dish. You’d be hard pressed to find a single dish on a Chinese restaurant menu that does not use Chinese cooking wine!
It is used in every stir fry sauce, from classic Chop Suey / Chicken Stir Fries (pictured above) to Cashew Chicken, Mongolian Beef to Beef and Broccoli, and Kung Pao Chicken.
It’s also used in noodle recipes such as Chow Mein, and soup broths, like Wonton Soup and Chinese Corn Soup. And the fillings for dumplings, like Wontons and Potstickers.
Pictured: Kung Pao Chicken and Potstickers
IT’S THE SECRET INGREDIENT
If you’ve ever made a Chinese recipe and wondered why it didn’t taste quite as good as what you get from your favourite Chinese restaurant, then Chinese Cooking Wine is probably the missing ingredient.
You can get every other ingredient “right” in a stir fry sauce, but if you don’t use Chinese cooking wine, it will be missing that extra something-something that makes it truly taste restaurant quality.
My general advice is that if you come across a stir fry recipe in your internet travels that does not call for Chinese cooking wine, I would proceed with caution.
Or if it really looks tasty and you really want to try it anyway, add a splash of Chinese cooking wine and know you’ve just improved the recipe. (*She ducks as food bloggers all over chuck rotten tomatoes at her* 😉 )
Pictured: Chow Mein
IS IT SAFE FOR CHILDREN TO CONSUME?
Chinese Cooking Wine usually has an alcohol content of between 15 – 20%. Because stir fries are cooked quickly, the alcohol content does not cook out. But recipes only use a small amount of Chinese Cooking Wine – usually only 1 or 2 tablespoons for a stir fry that will serve between 3 to 4 people.
So the amount of alcohol in the cooked dish is very small. And you certainly cannot taste it!
But if you are concerned about consuming a small amount of alcohol in food, then I would advise you to not eat any Chinese food from Chinese restaurants because Shaoxing Wine is such a key ingredient in Chinese cooking, it is used in almost everything. Certainly in all the take out favourites!
In fact, I would advise you not to eat Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Thai food from any restaurant because all these cuisines use cooking rice wines in a similar manner. 🙂
THE BRAND I USE
I use a brand called Double Pheonix (red bottle, above right) which I get from Asian grocery stores which costs a whopping $2 per bottle and will make 40 or 50 stir fries.
There are plenty of different brands at Asian stores and to be honest, I’m not furiously loyal to Double Pheonix, it is just the most common brand that I see. I’ve used others and not noticed a difference.
Chinese Cooking Wine is also now sold in supermarkets here in Australia. A brand called Pandaroo (above left bottle) which is perfectly adequate – though more expensive than real Chinese brands!
How to store Shaoxing wine
Shaoxing wine does not need to be refrigerated once opened. Just keep it in your pantry – and it keeps for years! Check the expiry date on your bottle.
Pictured: Egg Fried Rice
I hope that’s helped to answer some questions you might’ve had about Shaoxing Wine! You’ll find that I use Chinese cooking wine in virtually every Chinese recipe on my site. I’ve popped a list of some of the most popular ones below! – Nagi x
POPULAR RECIPES THAT USE SHAOXING WINE
Try these popular Chinese takeout recipes at home:
CHICKEN
BEEF
NOODLES
DUMPLINGS & STARTERS
Hi,
Should the Chinese Cooking Wine be refrigerated after the bottle has been opened?
N
HI Nancy! Nope, no need. 🙂 N x
Hi, is this the wine that causes the wok to be on fire?
Hi Jay, I’ve never had my wok on fire! In commercial kitchens where they are using a super high heat, adding cooler ingredients can cause flare ups however – N x
Is there a general good substitute for shaoxing wine that is non alcoholic ? As if we were to cook halal version of certain food that requires shaoxing wine, what is the best substitute ?
Hi Aaron – I discuss this all in this post – N x
We use Manzanilla Sherry i think it’s closest to Shaoxing wine, which is impossible to find in the states. Most importantly, neither has any salt added. If you can’t drink it, don’t cook with it!
Yes! A great sub!
What about rice wine vinegar? Is that considered the same or something completely different?
Hi Cat, no that’s something completely different – it’s a vinegar – N x
I think I noted this in another recipe, but, in an Asia market you can find this wine in the booze aisle, and in the regular part of the store. The one in the market section, here in the U. S., will have 1.5% salt added. Too salty to drink, I guess.
Hi Fred, yes the type I buy has salt added – only use it for cooking and not drinking ☺️
I bought a different bottle of the stuff last week. After a little research, I found out that there are a lot of “Knock-Offs” of this product. What I wanted was “RICE WINE” for cooking, not “COOKING WINE”, As the article states, cooking wine has a nasty bitter and SALTY taste. I’m still looking for the right stuff. What you would want to look for is the RED and BLUE label bottle with the GOLD pagoda atop it’s front label. My bottle, was the RED Label one with the RED pagoda. The other one is the Premium stuff. Hope this info helps you.
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Do you have a cookbook with all these recipes?
Hi Joan, I don’t have a printed cookbook unfortunately! I do have e-books which are available and free to download ❤️
I have the shassong real Chinese cooking wine I got at a Asian supermarket. I want to make a glazed salmon, bok choy and Shitake mushroom one pan meal. How much should I use for four 6 ounce pieces of salmon, bok choy and mushrooms. Will it burn while roasting?Sould it be put on after? Please help.
Hi, how long Mirin and cooking wine lasts opened, please? I cannot find them in small bottles.
Hi Olga, it does last a while however you could always freeze to store longer!
Hi Nagi… What’s the shelf life of Shaoxing wine after opening? Thanks 🙂
Years and years!!! I’ve used bottles that were even 2 years old – possibly older!
Nagi what is the difference between red and blue label Shaoxing cooking wine thank you
Hi Robyn! The blue label one I have tried is slightly more expensive and is pitched as “superior” but in all honesty, I did not notice a difference. You probably could notice if used uncooked but I do not have any recipes where the wine is not cooked. 🙂 N x
Hello Nagi 🙂
I see that Chinese Shaoxing wine’s color seems to be due to caramel additive. Can I use the clear rice wine I have from Japan for your recipes that call for Shaoxing wine?
Thanks in advance!
Anne
Hi Anne! You sure can – under the 2nd photo there is a list of substitutes and it’s listed as one of them 🙂 N x
Nagi,
I am pretty sure that, assuming normal stir fry cooking times and temperatures, there is zero alcohol in any dish cooked with Shaoxing wine—this is because alcohol’s boiling point is under 80°C. The small amount that is in the wine initially will be boiled off in the stir fry process.
Absolutely😉