What Is Chinese black vinegar and How Can I Use It?
Chinese black vinegar rewards a little know-how: how to choose it, cook it, store it, and substitute in a pinch. Browse 7 recipes to cook with it.
Key Points
- Dark, aged rice vinegar of southern and Sichuan cooking, malty and savory like a mild soy sauce.
- The best-known type is Chinkiang vinegar from Zhenjiang; for most cooks they are the same bottle.
- Used in dumpling dips, hot-and-sour dishes, and braises; add it near the end.
- Substitute aged balsamic cut with rice vinegar and a drop of soy; keeps for years.
What is chinese black vinegar?
Chinese black vinegar is the dark, aged rice vinegar at the heart of southern and Sichuan cooking. It is malty and savory with a faint sweetness, closer to soy sauce in character than to a sharp Western vinegar.
The best-known type is Chinkiang vinegar, from the city of Zhenjiang, and for most cooks the two names mean the same bottle.
For full detail on flavor, uses, substitutes, and storage, see Chinkiang vinegar.
How It Is Used
Black vinegar shows up most in a dumpling dipping sauce, stirred together with soy sauce and ginger plus a little chili oil for pork dumplings or potstickers.
It also carries the sour side of hot-and-sour dishes and adds depth to braises. Black Vinegar Pork builds a whole dish around it, while Sichuan Stir-Fry Eggplant with Bell Peppers and Fried Dumplings with Hot Chili Sauce use it to round out rich, spicy flavors.
Add it near the end of cooking rather than boiling it hard, since long heat drives off the malty aroma and leaves only acidity.
Substitutes and Storage
If you have no black vinegar, a good aged balsamic cut with a little rice vinegar and a drop of soy sauce gets you close on color and sweet-savory depth.
Keep the bottle capped in a cool, dark cupboard. It does not spoil and lasts for years, and a little sediment in an aged bottle is normal.
Quick facts
- In Chinese
- 中国黑醋
- British (UK) term
- Chinese black vinegar
- en français
- chinois vinaigre noir
- en español
- vinagre negro chino
Recipes using chinese black vinegar
There are 7 recipes that contain this ingredient.
Sichuan Stir-Fry Eggplant with Bell Peppers
A classic Chinese sichuan stir-fry. There are lots of notes in this dish, spicy, sweet, fermented taste from soy bean paste, and Asian symbol flavor from garlic, ginger and scallions. In China, the eggplant is usually fried in a good amount of oil under a high temperature, and sometimes people add some minced pork to add flavor. It's a delicious and popular dish that you can find at every Chinese restaurant in China.
Asian Chicken Pot Pie
Almost like a delicious Chinese stir-fry was topped with crispy phyllo pasty, which was quite good. Feel free to use your leftover turkey meat, replace the veggies with whatever you have on hand. The recipe is very versatile.
Fried Dumplings with Hot Chili Sauce
Chinese fried dumplings stuffed with pork, shrimp, water chestnuts, and ginger, served with a hot chili dipping sauce. Crispy, golden, and deeply savory.
Homemade Chinese Dumpling Wrappers from Scratch
Silky dumpling wrappers made from just flour and water, kneaded until soft and elastic. Roll thin, fill with your favorite filling, and boil using the 3-water method.
Sichuan Fried Eggplant
Battered eggplant slices deep-fried until crispy and drizzled with a spicy Sichuan sauce of chili bean paste, black vinegar, ginger, and tomato paste. A vegetarian Chinese dish with serious crunch and heat.
Black Vinegar Pork
A healthier take on a traditional Chinese recipe, with no MSG or food colouring, which are often added to commercially made versions.
Eggplant with Spicy Meat
Chinese-style eggplant stir-fry with spicy ground pork, chile oil, hoisin, soy sauce, and Chinese black vinegar, finished with a cornstarch glaze. Ready in 20 minutes and deeply savory.
