CHATTERBOX

[Renée Profile]

What a shame I missed it Sue!

Pampy, I saw Shaoxing wine somewhere. It might have been Booths or Waitrose. Anyway Wing Yip's will be much more interesting! Have fun and of course you'll buy much more than you went in for! Many years ago, the vicar and his wife who lived across the road from where we lived had a doctor and his wife staying with them. His wife was Chinese and she did this wonderful mix of yellow bean sauce (in a can) and five spice powder and used it to slow cook Chinese shoulder pork chops with onions, I expect. It was so good. I've only seen yellow bean sauce in Chinese supermarkets.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Waitrose certainly sell Shaoxing wine

Yellow bean sauce puzzles me Chilli Bean paste /sauce and Black Bean Sauce come in resealable jars, but Yellow Bean only in cans, I've tried keeping it in a sterilised jar in the fridge, but maybe I'll try freezing in future as it goes very dark and not very nice

Thai and Vietnamese versions seem to come in jars (on Google) but I've never seen them in a shop

[jeral Profile]

karadekoolaid, Thanks for the local info. I see the US is looking to see what ways they can use to bring pressure on Maduro to step down and/or return the constitution (keep it the same unchanged) and securing the release of the Opposition leaders. I don't how, or if Trump will agree, and since Maduro won't listen to his own people it's hard to see why he'd listen to the US. Something will have to give though.

[jeral Profile]

...but Yellow Bean only in cans...

Does yellow bean have a low sugar content? I recall that condensed milk has to be sweetened or it goes off even in tins. Maybe the bottles have added sugar? Just guessing as it's the sort of thing I'd wonder about too.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

I doubt any of the bean pastes have enough sugar to preserve them, any more than soy sauce does, I think the preservation is due to salt and fermentation.

Surely condensed milk is basically evap + sugar? Evap keeps years in the can

[Renée Profile]

There are some yellow bean pastes that don't have sugar, but I used to get this one by LKK:

https://www.spicesofindia.co.uk/acatalo ... gIC8PD_BwE

[Pampy Profile]

Several supermarkets sell Shaoxing rice wine but only in small bottles which are usually expensive. I use it quite a lot so I usually get a couple of 600ml bottles at a time. The one I use is still shown on Tesco's website https://www.tesco.com/groceries/product ... lsrc=aw.ds but my store no longer stocks it. Such a shame that I'll have to go to Wing Yip!!

[Sakkarin Profile]

Avoid this Wing Yip Shoohsing wine, as according to the ingredients it is 100% sesame oil.

https://www.wingyipstore.co.uk/wing-yip ... 700ml.html

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Several supermarkets sell Shaoxing rice wine but only in small bottles which are usually expensive. I use it quite a lot so I usually get a couple of 600ml bottles at a time. The one I use is still shown on Tesco's website https://www.tesco.com/groceries/product ... lsrc=aw.ds but my store no longer stocks it. Such a shame that I'll have to go to Wing Yip!!

At least it's significantly cheaper at Wing Yip! (£5.20 / £6.50)

Avoid this Wing Yip Shoohsing wine, as according to the ingredients it is 100% sesame oil.

https://www.wingyipstore.co.uk/wing-yip ... 700ml.html

[jeral Profile]

I doubt any of the bean pastes have enough sugar to preserve them, any more than soy sauce does, I think the preservation is due to salt and fermentation.

Surely condensed milk is basically evap + sugar? Evap keeps years in the can

I think I've got to the bottom of the milk thing, being that evap is sterilised after evaporation, but although condensed starts off the same it isn't sterilised so sugar is added to preserve.
https://www.uoguelph.ca/foodscience/boo ... /html/1668

Elsewhere, I find that it's only recently been called "sweetened" (for added clarity?) condensed milk since by definition it has to have sugar; in the US if it says "unsweetened" it is just evap.

The one I remembered from years ago was Fussells' "condensed" but the only reference to it says it had sugar, so must have been in the days when it was a given that it would have. Sugar content is a whopping 40-45% by the way.

HTH I'm no nearer as to yellow bean unless some is or isn't sterlised after fermentation.

[jeral Profile]

Avoid this Wing Yip Shoohsing wine, as according to the ingredients it is 100% sesame oil.

https://www.wingyipstore.co.uk/wing-yip ... 700ml.html

I gather that dry sherry can be substituted for shaohsing rice wine. (Lidl is good for dry sherry.) Dunno how 100% sesame oil fits the bill though.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

Surely all canned goods are sterilised, it's part of the process? Doubtless sweetened condensed milk will last longer without canning, but both will be sterile as canned

You can sub sherry for Shaoxing but Shaoxing is cheaper! And I have tasted them side by side and not that similar in fact, though sherry does work fine
I used to buy something called Montilla, another Spanish wine, similar to sherry but slightly lighter in flavour and alcohol, used it a lot in cooking including as a sub for Shaoxing. Havee seen any in years, used to be quite cheap at Sainsbury

No longer
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2013/mar/15/montilla-vineyards-sherry-andalucia-spain

http://devinos.co.uk/region/montilla-moriles/

[jeral Profile]

Surely all canned goods are sterilised, it's part of the process? Doubtless sweetened condensed milk will last longer without canning, but both will be sterile as canned.
...[clip]...

It is for evap but not condensed apparently: Quote:

The evaporated product, the unsweetened condensed milk, is normally packed in cans, which are then sterilized in autoclaves or horizontal sterilizers, or UHT-treated and aseptically packed in paperboard packages.
Sweetened condensed milk is basically concentrated milk, to which sugar has been added. The product is yellowish in colour and high viscous. The high sugar concentration in sweetened condensed milk increases the osmotic pressure to such a level that most of the microorganisms are destroyed. This product is not heat treated after packaging as its high sugar content preserves it for a long shelf-life. Taken from:
http://dairyprocessinghandbook.com/chap ... ensed-milk
---

I wondered if dry sherry might be dearer, but if you can't get the proper stuff without paying a fiver P&P...

[Renée Profile]

You can get some fairly cheap dry sherry, especially those that have the supermarket name on them. Shaoxing wine is made from rice and sherry from grapes, as you probably know.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

My mum always kept a bottle of Cyprus 'sherry' for cooking, I think there was a picture of a lady on a donkey on the label... would be a tad sweet for Chinese food I think

South Africa makes good sherry like wine and even better 'port', but according to the South African version of Gourmet magazine can't agree on what to call it when selling it to countries that recognise PDO and so won't let it be called sherry or port <doh>

[Sakkarin Profile]

I have tasted them side by side and not that similar

I once bought a cheapo and a more expensive Shaoxing from Wing Yip to test side by side, and they tasted completely different. My favourite, and the taste I associate with Shaoxing, probably as it was the taste I remember of the first I ever used, has a sweetness to it, slightly like watered-down Southern Comfort. The other one of the two-way test was very dry, and very little sweetness. Neither were really like sherry, although if you mixed the two together they might have been.

[Stokey Sue Profile]

To me Shaoxing always smells a little of beer, which isn't surprising as both are fermented grain

Are tge driest and priciest ones intended for drinking rather thancooking?

[Badger's Mate Profile]

My mum always kept a bottle of Cyprus 'sherry' for cooking

We used to have a bottle of Emva Cream at Christmas.

In the days when I had a bit more kitchen space I used to keep demijohns of home brewed 'sherry' and red wine for cooking. Occasionally I'd make rosehip wine with a sherry yeast for cooking too. I also used to buy Montilla from Sainsbury's, but that didn't always get cooked with.

I used to buy Shaoxing from Loon Fung in Chinatown, or Loon Fung Hong, the wholesale place in Tottenham. From which I deduced that 'Hong' means either 'wholesale' or 'Tottenham'!


I don't do anything like as much Chinese cooking as I used to and now either use a splash of dry sherry or ginger wine, if I think the sweetness won't matter.

[Joanbunting Profile]

The last thing my mother would ever have had in her pantry as an ingrdient was alcohol except perhaps a small bottle of dark rum for white sauce for the Christmas pudding and some sherry for trifle. Actualy both sides of the family we almost all teetotal. Fortunately Dad and one of my uncles weren't, and Mum did enjoy the occassional glass of dry shherry.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

You can sub sherry for Shaoxing but Shaoxing is cheaper! And I have tasted them side by side and not that similar in fact, though sherry does work fine

Quite agree, Sue. We`ve got a Chinese Market here that functions on Sundays, and I have bought both cheap and "expensive" Shaoxing wine - both cheaper than sherry.
It`s difficult to describe the taste difference in words, although the Shaoxing, to me, tastes more of alcohol. I`d need to take an East Asian Sommelier course to be able to specify my thoughts!