Chinese Black Vinegar

[shel]

I just discovered the existence of Chinese black vinegar. Gonna try it in my next batch of hot and sour soup. Anyone here using it? I'm going to head down to the Asian Pacific market in a bit - any brands to look for or to avoid?

Shel

[Suzanne]

You might want to get yourself a copy of Linda Bladholm's The Asian Grocery Store Demystified. She's got very good information about Asian ingredients, along with suggestions of which brands are best.

[shel]

Thanks for the tip. I popped over to Amazon and found a couple of other books as well. In any case, I'm off the the Asian Pacific market armed with some suggestions from other web sites.

Another new vinegar to try!

Shel

[phatch]

Black vinegar is good stuff. You'll often see people use less balsamic as substitute. I disagree, I don't think they taste that much alike.

But I think they're very compatible together. Black and balsamic make a good vinaigrette together.

I use black vinegar in hot and sour soup, in Kung Pao and also in my sauce for potstickers.

[shel]

Originally Posted by phatch

I use black vinegar in hot and sour soup, in Kung Pao and also in my sauce for potstickers.

I'm going to first try it in H&S soup. I've been using brown rice vinegar and have been pleased with the results. Maybe this'll allow another dimension or direction for the soup.

Shel