Shaoxing, or Shao hsing, wine is a rice wine used for cooking and drinking in Chinese cuisine. With a flavor resembling dry sherry, Shaoxing wine may be as much as 50 percent alcohol. Shaoxing wine can be used as a marinade or to provide an acidic element for stir-fries and sauces. If you're feeding the whole family, understanding how to cook with alcohol, such as rice wine, can keep the meal safe for your children and delicious for everyone.
Using Shaoxing Wine
Shaoxing wine can add flavor to dishes ranging from mu-shu pork to grilled vegetables. Daring young eaters may enjoy exploring these dishes or even helping to prepare them. If you have a less daring eater, simply prepared meats can shine with rice wine. In marinades, it helps to tenderize the meat creating a flavorful dish, especially when paired with garlic, soy and ginger.
Quantity
When considering whether a meal prepared with Shaoxing wine is appropriate for children, the amount of alcohol matters. A recipe that serves four may use as little as 1 tbsp. of rice wine. Unlike red or white wine, Shaoxing wine is a small component in most recipes, rather than forming the basis for a sauce. The small quantity of Shaoxing wine present drastically reduces the potential alcohol in the final dish, as each serving contains less than a teaspoon of rice wine.
Cooking With Alcohol
Depending upon the cooking time and method, a significant portion of the alcohol may cook away. Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water and therefore evaporates during the cooking process. If your sauce simmers for 15 minutes, only 40 percent of the alcohol remains. In a slow braise, as little as 5 percent of the alcohol may remain, according to a 1992 study in the "Journal of the American Dietetic Association." If you use a small amount of Shaoxing wine and cook your sauce or meal thoroughly, only traces of alcohol may remain in your finished dish, posing no risk to children.
Substitutions
If you do not feel comfortable adding Shaoxing wine to your meal, you can substitute non-alcoholic liquids in its place. Although broth is typically used to take the place of wine in cooking, Shaoxing wine adds a flavor that is very different flavor from most wines. Replace Shaoxing wine with an equal amount of lemon juice, pineapple juice or orange juice to provide the necessary acid in your dish.
References
- Cooking With Kids; Eating Wine and Spirits; Kate Heyhoe
- "Fine Cooking": Chinese Rice Wine
- What's Cooking America: Alcohol Substitutes
- "Journal of the American Dietetic Association"; Alcohol Retention in Food Preparation; J. Augustin, et al.; 1992
