I buy a lot of herbs and spices for rubs and sauces. My last purchase was the wrong stuff. I found out by doing some research on Oriental wines used for cooking. One popular brand is Shaohsing. My research found out that there are many impostors/knockoffs out there. If a recipe calls for a Chinese "Rice Wine" , GET RICE WINE and NOT the "Cooking Wine" type. The Cooking Wine variety is very bitter and SALTY and is said to taste awful. The stuff usually comes in a Red and Black Labeled bottle. What you want is the bottle with the RED and Blue Label. At the top of the front label is a GOLDEN PAGODA flanked by the words PAGODA and BRAND. This is the premium stuff with No salt which has a top shelf taste. The red and black bottle has a Red pagoda flanked by the words Golden and Brand, with a different style of a pagoda. Just do not get the Rice "Cooking Wine", no matter what design the label has and says.
A 25 oz. bottle of Shaohsing Rice Wine costs about $17.00 plus S&H which was $9 from MA . I just ordered a bottle. Here is the website. www.PosharpStore.com
Hope this helps if you ever want to order some Rice Wine for cooking.

It's not the same thing, but Ive always had good luck with Nakano rice vinegar. It is sweet, yet sugarless, and has no salt.

I always use vermouth. Works for me. Here it is with trout manure.

We've got rice wine in our pantry. I have never figured what it is there for. One thing for sure, it's well-aged.

me too!

shop the asian stores. they have everything you need.

o.k