Shao hsing rice wine Low alcohol and made from rice

Tag : Dry Yeast

Shao hsing rice wine Low alcohol and made from rice, millet and yeast and aged forthree to five years. Dry sherry is a substitute.
Light soy sauce Not as thick as dark soy, but tastes saltier, unless you choose alow-sodium version. Made from fermented soya beans and wheat.Wheat-free soy sauce is called tamari.
Oyster sauce Originally a thick seasoning made from extract of oysters, butvegetarian varieties made from mushrooms and without monosodiumglutamate are better. Very salty, so best used sparingly as acondiment rather than for cooking or marinading.
Toasted sesame oil A nutty-tasting oil used for flavouring. A little goes a long way.
Chilli oil Dried red chillies heated in groundnut oil to produce a hot, spicyoil. Use in sauces and at the end of cooking for a spicy hit.
Clear rice vinegar Sweet and subtle clear vinegar made from fermented rice,relatively low in acidity. More commonly used than black ricevinegar. Cider vinegar works instead.
Sichuan peppercorns Widely used in China, the dried reddish berries from a type of ashtree are used whole or ground to a powder. Pungent, peppery andcitrusy, they can be devillishly hot. One of the components ofChinese five spice powder.
Important flavourings: Fresh root ginger, garlic, chillies, salt.
Other specialist ingredients: dried Chinese mushrooms; dried baby shrimps; dried tangerine peel;dried Sichuan chillies; cinnamon stick/bark; fennel; cloves; staranise; jasmine rice
Where to buy: Look for Asian brands such as Wing Yip, Blue Dragon, Clearspringand Sanchi in larger supermarkets and health food stores or shoponline at wingyipstore.co.uk and waiyeehong.com
Chinese Food Made Easy starts on BBC Two on July 7. The bookChinese Food Made Easy, by Ching-He Huang (Harper Collins,£16.99), is available at £15.29, free p&p. Phone0870 1608080; timesonline.co.uk/booksfirstbuy
For more information on Ching visit her website