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September 22, 2016

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The golden nectar versatile yellow wine

By Li Anlan | September 22, 2016, Thursday | Print Edition

YELLOW wine, or huangjiu, is the Chinese liquor that best represents the autumn season. It’s also one of the most versatile drinks, complementing different dishes, both in kitchen preparation and at the table. Unlike Chinese white spirits like Maotai and Wuliangye, yellow wine is a much milder liquor that’s fermented rather than distilled. It typically has an alcohol content around 13-15 percent, compared with the fiery 57 percent that white spirits pack. In Chinese, all alcohol, both fermented and distilled, is called jiu, which sometimes confuses foreigners in translation.

Yellow wine has the longest history of Chinese alcohol.

In the “Book of Songs,” dating back to 11th century BC, there is a verse that reads: “Rice harvested in October brews the wine for spring.”

Yellow wine became the prominent alcoholic drink across China in the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties. The northern and southern variations of the wine are different in taste. The northern style comes in two varieties: sweet yellow and bitter yellow. Many people prefer the latter because it is similar to the semi-dry yellow wine of the south. Sweet yellow wine is too cloying for many people.

Yellow wines are fermented from a variety of ingredients, including glutinous rice, black rice and millet. Starter cultures include daqu and hongqu.

Brewing traditional yellow wine by hand involves multiple steps: steaming the rice, adding the starter culture, mixing the seed mash with more prepared grain and then aging the wine.

A major factor in the quality of the wine is the quality of water used in the brewing process.

Newly brewed yellow rice wine is strong and sweet, so many prefer the more aged brews that are mellower.

Yellow wine is produced in many regions across China, offering consumers a wide range of options. The most common way of identifying yellow wine is by place of origin, like Shaoxing, Danyang and Jinhua wines.

The most notable yellow wines come from Shaoxing in Zhejiang Province. Indeed, many Chinese simply refer to the drink as Shaoxing wine. The city of Shaoxing hosts the China Yellow Wine Museum, exhibiting the history and culture of yellow wine.

Alcohol consumption is sometimes frowned upon, but many Chinese people believe yellow wine is a healthy drink because of its low alcohol content and high amount of amino acids. In traditional Chinese medicine, yellow wine is sometimes used to enhance the efficacy of remedies.

Yellow wine is perhaps best known as the ideal companion to steamed hairy crabs in the autumn. Its “warmth” is believed to neutralize the “coldness” of the crabs.

Yellow wine is graded by sugar content, from sweet to dry.

Dry yellow wine contains a sugar content that’s 15 grams per liter or less. It’s a mellow, fresh brew that goes well with vegetables, cold dishes or light seafood.

Semi-dry yellow wine preserves some of the unfermented sugar content, with the total amount between 15-40 grams per liter. It’s great to pair with red meat and hairy crabs.

Semi-sweet yellow wine is fermented with yellow wine itself instead of water to inhibit the growth of the yeast. It has sugar content of 40.1-100 grams per liter and pairs nicely with poultry.

Sweet yellow wine is first made into fermented rice wine, then enhanced with rice liquor, or zaoshao liquor. Total sugar content is usually higher than 100 grams per liter. It’s ideal with sweet dishes and desserts and not suitable as a warmed drink.

Yellow wine can be enjoyed chilled, at room temperature or warm.

The ideal temperature for yellow wine tasting is 38 degrees, when the aroma is at its strongest. To warm yellow wine, the traditional method is to place the bottle in hot water instead of over direct heat.

In the summer, yellow wine is often mixed with soda or juices and chilled with ice cubes as a refreshing low-alcohol cocktail.

A popular and comforting cocktail in the winter is a yellow wine eggnog, which is made by heating beaten eggs in Shaoxing wine and sweetening the mixture with brown sugar.

Yellow wine is also a common condiment in Chinese cuisine.

Liao jiu, or seasoned cooking wine, is made with 30-50 percent yellow wine alongside other spices. It can be added to many home-style dishes to enrich the flavor or can be used as a marinade to reduce the odor of certain fish or meat.

Regular yellow wine can also be used in cooking instead of liao jiu. It imparts a mild flavor and touch of sweetness to various dishes, especially soups or stews that require longer cooking times.

Yellow wine is a key ingredient in the famous Dongpo pork dish, where fatty pork belly is braised in soy sauce and yellow wine and then steamed to soften the meat.

Yellow wine boiled egg is a winter dish of high nutritional value. In a small pan, fry an egg until it’s slightly cooked on both sides, then add thinly shredded ginger and yellow wine. Bring to a boil until the egg is fully cooked. The fried egg can also be replaced with boiled eggs.

Yellow wine chicken is cooked in the same way as regular chicken dishes, with or without soup. It replaces water in the recipe for richer taste.

Yellow wine mutton is an extra rich dish for the winter season. Mutton leg, carrots and white radishes are stewed in yellow wine.

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