Shaoxing Wine (sometimes spelt Shaosing Wine) is a type of rice wine for cooking essential in much Chinese cooking. It’s a secret ingredient that makes recipes truly taste like what you get at Chinese restaurants. Chinese restaurants use it by the gallon in everything from stir fry sauces to soup broths, marinades and wontons!
Shaoxing Wine is used in practically every single Chinese recipe I’ve shared – because it’s key ingredient!
What is Shaoxing Wine?
Shaoxing wine is a type of Chinese cooking wine, and is alternatively spelt Shao-hsing or Shaohsing wine. It is made from rice and is one of the most popular types of of Chinese rice wines for cooking thanks to its complex and sweet flavour.
It’s the default rice wine I use for Chinese cooking and so I refer to it simply as Chinese Cooking Wine in almost all my recipes.
Remember Shaoxing wine is designed for cooking and not for drinking! Tasted by itself, it’s harshly alcoholic and a bit salty too, as salt is added to most formulations (my understanding is this is primarily for alcohol tax and regulation reasons).
Along with soy sauce, it is probably one of the most important seasonings and cooking liquids for Chinese cooking. Just like in much European and Western cooking, it is used to add depth and complexity to sauces, broths and anything else it is added to.
It’s usually used in small quantities – most stir fries only call for 1 or 2 tablespoons of Shaoxing Wine – and you can’t distinguish the taste of it in the finished dish. You just know it’s better! 🙂
Shaoxing Rice Wine
The best substitutes for Shaoxing Wine / Chinese Cooking Wine are as follows:
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Dry sherry – that’s right, just every day cheap and cheerful dry sherry;
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Mirin – a Japanese sweet cooking wine. If you use this, omit or reduce sugar called for in the recipe because Mirin is much sweeter than Chinese Cooking Wine. If there’s no sugar to omit, that’s fine, just know that the sauce will be a bit sweeter;
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Cooking Sake / Japanese Rice Wine – this is a bit lighter in flavour than Chinese cooking wine, but is an acceptable substitute and the best substitute.
These wines bring a similar depth and complexity to sauces.
Non-alcoholic substitute for Shaoxing Wine
Non-alcoholic substitutes will vary from recipe to recipe, and I try to include the best substitute in every recipe. However, as a general rule, the best non-alcoholic substitute is to use chicken broth (liquid chicken stock) in place of water in sauces.
Caveat: I understand that there are some people who can’t get or can’t consume alcohol, whether for health or religious reasons. But because Chinese cooking wine is such a key ingredient in Chinese sauces that cannot really be approximated by anything else, I cannot promise the same recipe outcome if it is made without using a wine.
But for those who can consume alcohol, I really urge you to use one of the alcoholic substitutes above. You will thank me! 🙂
Pictured: Chop Suey / Chicken Stir Fry
What is Shaoxing rice wine used for?
Amongst all the familiar Chinese foods that we’re accustomed to in the West, you’d be hard pressed to find a single dish on a Chinese restaurant menu that does not use Chinese cooking wine!
It is used in almost every stir fry sauce, from classic Chop Suey / Chicken Stir Fries (pictured above) to Cashew Chicken, Mongolian Beef to Beef and Broccoli, and Kung Pao Chicken.
It’s also used in noodle recipes such as Chow Mein, and soup broths, like Wonton Soup and Chinese Corn Soup. And the fillings for dumplings, like Wontons and Potstickers.
Pictured: Kung Pao Chicken and Potstickers
Secret ingredient
If you’ve ever made a Chinese recipe and wondered why it didn’t taste quite as good as what you get from your favourite Chinese restaurant, then Chinese Cooking Wine is probably the missing ingredient.
You can get every other ingredient “right” in a stir fry sauce, but if you don’t use Chinese cooking wine, it will be missing that extra something-something that makes it truly taste restaurant quality.
Or if it really looks tasty and you really want to try it anyway, add a splash of Chinese cooking wine and know you’ve just improved the recipe. 😉
Pictured: Chow Mein
Is Shaoxing wine safe for children to consume?
Chinese Cooking Wine usually has an alcohol content of between 15 – 20%. Because stir fries are cooked quickly, the alcohol content does not necessarily fully evaporate. However recipes only use a small amount of Chinese Cooking Wine – usually only 1 or 2 tablespoons for a stir fry that will serve between 3 to 4 people.
Based on this, the amount of alcohol per serving is probably 1 or 2ml at most, which is a minuscule amount (one bottle of regular beer by comparison contains about 15 – 20ml of pure alcohol). And you certainly cannot taste it!
If you are concerned about consuming a small amount of alcohol in food, then I would advise you to not eat any Chinese food from Chinese restaurants because Shaoxing Wine is such a key ingredient in Chinese cooking, it is used in almost everything. Certainly in all the take out favourites!
In fact, I would advise you not to eat Chinese, Japanese, Korean or Thai food from any restaurant because all these cuisines use cooking rice wines in a similar manner. 🙂
Which Shaoxing wine brand I use
I use a brand called Double Phoenix (red bottle, above right) which I get from Asian grocery stores. It costs a whopping $2 per bottle and will make 40 or 50 stir fries. It’s very affordable!
There are plenty of different brands at Asian stores and to be honest, I’m not furiously loyal to Double Phoenix, it is just the most common brand that I see. I’ve used others and not noticed a difference.
Chinese Cooking Wine is also now sold in supermarkets here in Australia. A brand called Pandaroo (above left bottle) which is perfectly adequate – though more expensive than real Chinese brands!
How to store Shaoxing wine
Shaoxing wine does not need to be refrigerated once opened. Just keep it in your pantry – and it keeps for years! Check the expiry date on your bottle.
Pictured: Egg Fried Rice
I hope that’s helped to answer some questions you might’ve had about Shaoxing Wine! You’ll find that I use Chinese cooking wine in virtually every Chinese recipe on my site. I’ve popped a list of some of the most popular ones below! – Nagi x
POPULAR RECIPES THAT USE SHAOXING WINE
Try these popular Chinese takeout recipes at home:
CHICKEN
BEEF
NOODLES
DUMPLINGS & STARTERS
Hi Nagi thank you for this valuable information. I have a question how is Shaohsing cooking wine different than shaoxing? Thank you
Same thing! 😊
Hi Nagi, Thank you so much for sharing the great recipes!!! I can’t wait to receive your cookbook! Question: I bought a bottle of shaoxing cooking wine from a Chinese grocery store in 2019, and it has been in my liquor cabinet (out of the sun and cool), unopened, ever since. Can I use this still or should I bin it and go get another bottle?
With this being alcohol, do you purchase this at a liquor store?
No it’s generally available at grocery stores and Asian shops! N x
Could redwine vinegar be used instead of rice wine
No Kay, sorry – that’s a completely different vinegar more suited to French or classic recipes than Asian ones! N x
Hello, I saw at Woolies the Double Phoenix in the red label, and there’s also a blue label too. Do you know if there’s a taste difference?
Thanks.
Hi Sarah – they are fairly interchangeable. One is 14 percent alcohol and the other is 16 percent. N x
Hello Nagi,
Thank you for sharing all your delicious recipes!
Do you know if there is such a thing as gluten-free Shaoxing wine?
Hi Nagi, thanks for the great recipes. Regarding Shoaxing Wine, I’m only able to get what appears to be drinking Shoaxing wine (Kuaijishan 5 yr). Can I use this in the same way as the cooking variety?
Many thanks
Hi Andrew – For sure! Any wine that’s good for drinking can be used in cooking. “Cooking wine” is a modern commercial term for cheap wine that’s good enough for cooking but isn’t really good enough quality for drinking. Back in the days before industrialisation, the only wine that was around for cooking was the drinking wine! I’m sure your stir fry will taste even better with your quality drinking rice wine in it : )
Excellent! Thanks Alberto! 😊👍
Hi NAGI . Great recipe . I did not have the Chinese cooking wine or any of the substitutes on hand . I replaced with chicken stock plus combo of rice wine vinegar and brown sugar . I added some chicken breast slices which made the dish a complete meal . My wife and I were very happy with the result . The rice in the dish tasted to me as at least equal to Chinese restaurant fried rice . Thank you very much for your great recipes. I have tried a number of them and enjoyed all !!!
I have a bottle of m&s shoaxing wine and states on it that once opened use within 2 months,could someone explain why this is,thanks
Hi Tineats. Do you have a cookbook?
Do you send recipes to emails. I’ve been cooking your meals for quite some time now and just love what you do and how you explain things with humour and fun but delicious. Thank you very much.
we want to buy Chinese rose wine for lap Cheong.
Do you have this wine?
waiting for your feedback
Hi Nhut, I don’t, it has a completely different flavour to Shaoxine because of the rose 🙂 N x
Please share your thoughts on Mei Kuei Lu Chiew – Chinese Rose Wine!
I bought this for some recipe I made in the past (can’t remember what) and haven’t used it since.
Could I use it as a 1-for-1 substitute for Shaoxing wine in your recipes?
Thanks Nagi – love your tried-and-tested recipes … Happy Friday!
Hi Nagi so I am unable to find Shaoxing Wine, instead there’s Shaoxing Wine Vingar and Mirin Vinegar available easily, can I substitute the same?
Hi Akriti – no you can’t as they are vinegar and will be sour, I’d stick with one of the recommended subs on the page here 🙂 N x
Hi Nagi, I hit up my local Chinese mart to replace my last bottle of pandaroo but ended up with shiwan mijiu. Will this be a decent substitute or should I head back to my supermarket for the pandaroo?
Hi! Sorry if this is a repeat question, I tried looking through the comments but didn’t see anything similar.
I can’t get shaoxing wine, sake, or sherry where I live. We do have a lot of regular wine, other dark liquors(whiskey, etc.), and clear liquors(gin, vodka, etc.).
Is there another substitute for Shaoxing wine that could possibly be used for braised pork belly? Or should I just use chicken broth?
Any help is appreciated 🙂
I now possess a bottle of shaoxing cooking wine, which I have never used previously. I enjoy foods that are marinated before cooking. Do you have any marinade recipes that use shaoxing?
For those who eat Halal, I substitute Rice Vinegar for anything that says wine and they always come out delicious. I have not tried Chinkiang Vinegar yet, but plan to.
Adding Chicken Broth is not always a good substitute as we would need to make Halal Chicken Broth. *another step*
It would be wonderful to have a good easy recipe for making Chicken broth on Recipe Tin Eats.
Hi Kamilah, vinegar is not alway the best substitute here as it’s sour – shoaxing isn’t a vinegar and isn’t sour so when you sub with a vinegar, you’re changing the flavour of the dish significantly. N x
I agree! Although I have never tasted Shaoxing wine 😉
Each recipe is different like you said. So far just the rice vinegar has worked for me.
I do try to freeze Halal Chicken Broth, but I don’t always have it on hand so I have to find more readily available substitutes.
Apple juice with a bit of rice vinegar can help with the sour or pomegranate juice may be a promising substitute as used in a lot of Mediterranean dishes.
I haven worked through all the recipes on your blog yet, but I am having fun trying. Thank you so much!
Hello Nagi! Thank you always for your wonderful recipes. Got a question about this, or rather something I suppose might be similar…? I do have Shaoxing at home, but I recently found a wine called Jiujiang at my grocery store. It’s clear instead of dark but it seems to be another type of rice wine so I was wondering how similar it is to Shaoxing? Or to sake as well, not sure what it could be used for.
Any Chinese rice wine you see stocked at the Chinese grocer will be fine to use. Aside from Shaoxing, I’ve used clear michius, Japanese sake etc – they all work.
Hi Nagi. Thank you for this post! I live in Norway and unfortunately cannot find Chinese cooking wine anywhere!! I have however found mirin. I see you have listed this as a suitable substitute, however I wondered if it matters that it’s non-alcoholic mirin?
Non alcoholic Mirin will be fine Rosie!! N x
Hello! Are you aware if there a gluten free option for the cooking wine?
I subscribe to the old adage to not cook with a wine you would not drink. In the US all cooking wine is adulterated with salt to avoid the alcohol tax and able to be sold in markets that do not normally sell alcoholic beverages. I cannot address the quality of wine used in supermarket Shaosing but other cooking wines are the pits and made with the cheapest wine. I get my drinking grade Shaosing in the liquor store for around 10 bucks. It really does taste like dry sherry and would use it going the other way, as a sherry substitute. The current brand I am using is Shaosing Hudiao Wine
Hi Wendy, I’m unsure sorry – I’d need to look into this! N x
I was very excited to find your recipe and realized a missing ingredient in my home made Chinese inspired cooking is probably Shaoxing! Like some of the other commenters, I’ve searched high and low for gluten free Shaoxing and it truly does not seem to exist. So thank you for adding the alternative suggestions. I actually happen to have Mirin in my pantry already and will give that a try.
Thank you for your reply. My quick research says no. I went and purchased some Sherry today. Thank you for your wonderful recipes!!
Nagi! Nagi! Nagi! Your recipes are sinfully deslish! Thank goodness for lockdown otherwise I never would have found you. Used my slow cooker more in the last 4 months than in the last 4 years. I like all the tips you give. Dozer is beautiful and so lucky to be able to taste your food. I have 3 beautiful Rottweilers and they also love your recipes.