Rice Vinegar
Rice vinegar is a mild, slightly sweet vinegar made from fermented rice, essential for sushi rice, dressings, and quick pickles across East and Southeast Asian cooking.
How to buy
Look for plain, unseasoned rice vinegar if you plan to season it yourself, versus "seasoned rice vinegar," which already has sugar and salt added for sushi rice -- check the label carefully since the two are used differently. Japanese and Chinese versions differ slightly: Japanese tends milder and rounder, while Chinese black rice vinegar, a very different, darker product, is deeper and closer to balsamic.
How to store
Store in a cool, dark pantry; it's shelf-stable indefinitely thanks to its acidity, with best flavor within about 2 years of opening. No refrigeration is needed.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Mild and slightly sweet with gentle acidity, much softer and rounder than white or cider vinegar -- it seasons food without the harsh sourness of stronger vinegars.
- Texture
- Thin and watery, identical in body to most other vinegars.
- Aroma
- Light and faintly sweet, with a mellow tang far less sharp-nosed than distilled white vinegar.
How to prepare
- Seasoned for sushi rice — Mixed with sugar and salt and folded into warm cooked rice.
- Used in quick pickles — Combined with sugar and salt for fast pickled cucumbers or daikon.
- Whisked into dressings — Mixed with sesame oil and soy sauce for Asian-style salad dressings.
- Added to dipping sauces — Combined with soy sauce and chile for dumpling or spring roll dipping sauce.
Classic dishes
Chinese
- Sweet and sour sauce — A glossy sauce balancing sugar against rice vinegar's mild acidity.
- Hot and sour soup — A tangy soup whose sourness comes in part from rice vinegar.
- Chinese cucumber salad — Smashed cucumbers dressed in rice vinegar, garlic, and sesame oil.
- Chinese dumpling dipping sauce — A simple dip combining rice vinegar, soy sauce, and chile oil.
Japanese
- Sushi rice — Steamed rice seasoned with rice vinegar, sugar, and salt for sushi.
- Sunomono — A Japanese cucumber salad dressed lightly in sweetened rice vinegar.
- Japanese sesame dressing — A creamy dressing blending rice vinegar, sesame paste, and soy sauce.
- Gyoza dipping sauce — Soy sauce and rice vinegar combined into a simple dumpling dip.
- Takuan — Bright yellow pickled daikon sometimes finished with a touch of rice vinegar.
- California roll seasoning — Sushi rice seasoned with rice vinegar for rolled sushi preparations.
- Gari — Pickled ginger cured in a sweetened rice vinegar brine, served alongside sushi.
Thai
- Ajat — A Thai cucumber relish dressed in a rice vinegar-based sweet-sour syrup.
Korean
- Oi muchim — A spicy Korean cucumber salad dressed with rice vinegar and gochugaru.
- Japchae dressing — Stir-fried glass noodles seasoned with a touch of rice vinegar and soy sauce.
Vietnamese
- Pickled daikon and carrot — A quick-pickled banh mi topping made with rice vinegar, sugar, and salt.
- Nuoc cham — A Vietnamese dipping sauce that some versions build on rice vinegar instead of lime.
Substitutions
- White Wine Vinegar — Sharper and less sweet; use a bit less and add a pinch of sugar to approximate rice vinegar's gentler tang.