Great taste of liquid amber

The rich hues of shaoxing wine make it easily recognizable, from the very light gold to a deep chocolate brown.

This is also the wine most often used as the Chinese equivalent to the ubiquitous cooking sherry. Some recipes actually suggest sherry and shaoxing be interchangeable, but they are really worlds apart.

Shaoxing is most typical of the huangjiu, the yellow liquor from southern China. It is fermented from rice or glutinous rice, and not distilled. In some cases, the finished wine is further distilled to concentrate the flavor and increase potency.