Shaoxing wine (绍兴酒, Shàoxīng Jiǔ) is China’s most important cooking wine — a fermented rice wine from Shaoxing in Zhejiang province that has been used in Chinese kitchens for over 2,000 years.
What Is Shaoxing Wine?
Shaoxing is a type of huangjiu (黄酒, yellow wine) — a fermented but un蒸馏ed grain wine. It is made from rice and wheat, with a distinctively rich, savory, slightly sweet flavor that distinguishes it from clear spirits like白酒. The best Shaoxing wine is aged for decades in clay jars, developing extraordinary complexity.
Types of Shaoxing
Shanyan (善酿): The premium grade — aged for years, rich and complex. Used as a sipping wine and for the most demanding cooking applications.
Also worth reading:
Zhuanti (元红): The standard cooking grade — aged 1-3 years, good all-purpose cooking wine.
Hua Diao (花雕): A mid-range grade, named for the decorative “carved flower” bottles it traditionally comes in.
Cooking With Shaoxing
Shaoxing wine is used to: remove fishy and gamey odors from meat and seafood; add depth and savory richness to braised dishes; deglaze woks for the “wok hei” effect; and as a key ingredient in red-cooked (红烧) dishes. The alcohol burns off during cooking, leaving only the savory complexity.
Substitute: If unavailable, dry sherry is the closest Western substitute.
For more on Chinese cooking ingredients, visit our Chinese Food Complete Guide.
