Shaoxing wine facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Shaoxing wine |
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A smaller scaled version of the classic Shaoxing wine container
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| Simplified Chinese | 绍兴酒 | ||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 紹興酒 | ||||||||||||||
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Shaoxing wine is a special kind of traditional Chinese drink. It's also known as "yellow wine." People make it by letting glutinous rice, water, and a special kind of yeast (made from wheat) ferment. This process turns the ingredients into wine.
This famous wine comes from Shaoxing, a city in the Zhejiang province of eastern China. People use it in two main ways: as a drink and as a cooking ingredient in Chinese cuisine. It's well-known not just in mainland China, but also in Taiwan and many countries in Southeast Asia.
Contents
How Shaoxing Wine is Made
Making Shaoxing wine the traditional way involves a lot of care. Workers stir the rice mixture by hand every four hours. They use a wooden tool to help the yeast break down the sugars evenly. This stirring is called kāi pá (Chinese: 开耙). It's a very important skill! It helps make sure the wine doesn't taste bitter or sour.
Another key skill for the winemaker is listening. They listen to the big vats (containers) to hear the bubbling sounds. This helps them know how the fermentation is going.
Most Shaoxing wine is made from glutinous rice. But sometimes, people also use sorghum or millet to make it.
After it's made, the wine is put into bottles. Some bottles are sold in China, and many are sent to other countries. If a wine has been aged for many years, it's called chén nián (Chinese: 陳年). This is like how grape wines are known by their "vintage year."
Wines sold outside of China are often used for cooking. These cooking wines might have spices and extra salt added. Sometimes, wines from other places are wrongly called "Shaoxing Wine." This is a common trick.
Main Companies That Make Shaoxing Wine
Many companies make Shaoxing wine. Here are some of the well-known ones:
- Zhejiang Gu Yue Long Shan Shaoxing Wine Co., Ltd. (Chinese: 古越龍山) from Shaoxing, Zhejiang.
- Di ju tang (Chinese: 帝聚堂)
- Kuai ji Shan (Chinese: 會稽山) (This name comes from a local mountain!)
- Tu Shao Jiu (Chinese: 土紹酒)
- Nü Er Hong (Chinese: 女兒紅)
In 2020, about 80 companies in Shaoxing that make rice wine earned a lot of money. They reported about 4.3 billion yuan, which is around $664 million!
A Look Back in Time
People in China have been making rice wine for a very long time. It started around 770 to 221 BC. Back then, it was mostly used for special ceremonies.
Later, during the late Qing dynasty, smart people from Shaoxing helped make the wine popular across the country. It became a very important part of Chinese banquets (big meals). Large amounts of the wine were made and stored in clay jars for many years.
In the 1980s, people in Hong Kong became very interested in Nü Er Hong, a brand of Shaoxing wine. This was partly because they felt a connection to old Chinese traditions. Also, many popular martial arts novels at the time mentioned it. Tung Chee-hwa, who became the first leader of Hong Kong, even celebrated his new job with Nü Er Hong!
Today, Shaoxing wine is still used for cooking in China. But some people think it's a bit "old-fashioned" as a drink. Outside of Asia, most people know it mainly as a cooking wine.
How People Use Shaoxing Wine
Shaoxing wine can be enjoyed as a drink. Sometimes, people drink it instead of having rice at the start of a meal. At home, some families drink their wine from rice bowls. This is also how it's served at the famous Xian Heng Inn. If it's not part of a meal, Shaoxing wine can also be enjoyed with snacks like peanuts.
There's a special tradition in Shaoxing called Nǚ Ér Hong (Chinese: 女兒紅; lit. 'daughter's red (wine)'). When a baby girl is born into a family, they brew a jar of wine. They then bury it underground. On the day of her wedding, they dig up the jar and open it to celebrate!
Shaoxing wine is also known as Huang jiu (Chinese: 黄酒; pinyin: huáng jiǔ; lit. 'Yellow Alcohol') in its local area. It's very famous for being used in meat dishes. It's a key ingredient in many Chinese recipes. For example, it's used in a famous dish of braised pork belly with scallion greens. This was a favorite dish of a famous Chinese leader.
Here are some other common dishes where Shaoxing wine is used to marinate (soak) ingredients:
- Drunken chicken (Chinese: 醉雞)
- Drunken shrimp (Chinese: 醉蝦)
- Drunken gizzard (Chinese: 醉腎)
- Drunken fish (Chinese: 醉魚)
- Drunken crab (Chinese: 醉蟹)
- Drunken liver (Chinese: 醉肝)
- Drunken tofu (Chinese: 醉豆腐乾)
- Drunk phoenix talon (Chinese: 醉鳳爪)
See also
In Spanish: Vino de Shaoxing para niños
