Huangjiu

Huangjiu (Simplified Chinese: 黄酒; Traditional Chinese: 黃酒; Pinyin: Huáng jiǔ; literally "yellow wine") is a family of Chinese brewed alcoholic beverages made from steamed grains—usually glutinous rice or rice, sometimes millet—fermented with a qu (曲) starter culture. After saccharification and fermentation the wine is usually pressed, pasteurized and aged; its color ranges from pale yellow and amber to brown, and alcohol content is typically about 8–20%. The best-known style is Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒) from Shaoxing in Zhejiang, which is drunk as a beverage and is one of the most important cooking wines in Chinese cuisine. Huangjiu is not Baijiu, which is a distilled spirit, and not Jiuniang, the sweet, lightly fermented rice eaten as a dessert.

Characteristics

Aroma and taste are nutty, caramel-like and savory, with a mellow sweetness that varies by style. Chinese classification sorts huangjiu by sugar content into dry, semi-dry, semi-sweet, sweet and extra-sweet; well-known Shaoxing examples include dry yuanhong (元红), semi-dry jiafan (加饭) and huadiao (花雕), and semi-sweet shanniang (善酿). Aged wines are labeled by years of aging. It is traditionally served warm, often in small cups or bowls; sweet styles may be served chilled in summer.

Ingredients (overview)

Glutinous rice or rice (or millet in northern styles), water, and a wheat- or rice-based qu starter containing molds and yeasts; some styles add red yeast rice (hongqu) for color. Cooking-grade wine (liaojiu, 料酒) may contain added salt or spices. Overview only—not a recipe.

History and culture

Grain wines brewed with qu have a very long history in China, and huangjiu was for centuries the country's main brewed drink; the legendary figure Du Kang is traditionally honored as the inventor of wine, which should be read as folklore. Shaoxing became the most famous production center, and the Shaoxing huangjiu brewing technique was included in the first batch of China's national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006. A well-known Shaoxing custom, nü'er hong ("daughter's red"), describes burying a jar of wine when a daughter is born and opening it at her wedding; Taiwan also produces its own Shaoxing-style wine.

Uses in cooking

Huangjiu is used to remove fishy or gamey odors and add depth to marinades, braises and stir-fries. It is central to red-braised dishes such as Hong Shao Rou and DongPo Stewed Pork, and to the "drunken" dishes of Zhejiang and Shanghai, in which chicken, shrimp or crab is steeped in wine, such as Drunk Chicken, Drunk Shrimp and Drunk Crab.

See also

• Baijiu
• Jiuniang
• Chinese Drink
• Zhejiang Food
• Drunk Chicken
• Drunk Crab
• Drunk Shrimp
• List of dishes (A-Z)