Such an unusual phrase, like rice vinegar, is mostly familiar to lovers of Japanese cuisine, which without it is simply impossible to imagine. In addition, in many Asian cuisines, this vinegar is quite popular. The Japanese began to use rice vinegar in the third century BC. e., however, for several centuries it was available only to wealthy sections of the population. It only got to the tables of ordinary citizens in the 16th century, and now this vinegar is a common component for preparing affordable traditional dishes.
In Japanese national cuisine, rice-based vinegar is called "su" and is used in making sushi. Japanese rice vinegar is characterized by a sweetish taste and a milder taste, unlike Chinese rice vinegar, which is more spicy and has a sour taste. By smell, it is somewhat similar to balsamic vinegar, but has a somewhat woody hue.
The scope of rice vinegar is wide enough. The most popular is Kokumotsu-su vinegar, which is made from several varieties of rice. In addition to it, you can use vinegar "yonedza" - from one variety of rice. The cheapest is vinegar "soi-su", which is a mixture of synthetic and natural rice vinegar.
There are several types of rice vinegar: light, red and black, as well as vinegar with spices. Vinegar made on the basis of rice is much milder than apple or alcohol, so it is widely used to give rice a special flavor for dressing vegetable salads, pickling various seafood, as well as served with poultry dishes, fish dishes and used to make various sauces. Light vinegar is used to make various sweet and sour dishes, and black is a popular table seasoning. Rice vinegar is able to give vegetables a characteristic slightly sour, light taste and aroma, so it is customary to add it to sauces.
This amazing rice product is good not only for its excellent taste and mild, refined taste, but also for its pronounced antibacterial properties, which endow it with the ability to enhance our body's resistance to various diseases.
How to make rice vinegar?
Rice vinegar can be prepared independently, although this is a rather laborious and lengthy process. But the resulting self-made product is worth it and grabs it for a long time. Important! All containers used in the process of preparation of vinegar should be ceramic or glass, it can be stirred exclusively with wooden spatulas or spoons.
Rice Vinegar: Recipe
To make homemade rice vinegar, you will need: 300 grams of rice, 1.2 liters of water, 900 grams of sugar, 1 \ 3 tbsp. tablespoons of dry yeast.
Rinse thoroughly under running water, place in a ceramic or glass bowl and pour water. Place a container of soaked rice in a warm place for 4 hours, and then cool and keep it cool for a day (not in the cold). After this, strain the resulting infusion through several layers of gauze and add sugar. Stir thoroughly until sugar is completely dissolved and boil in a steam bath for half an hour. Cool the resulting mixture, pour into a bottle, add yeast. Fermentation should last 5-7 days (until the foam and bubbles disappear), after which it is necessary to pour the mixture again into clean dishes, tie the neck with gauze and put in a dark place for a month.
The resulting vinegar should be transparent, have a pleasant aroma and a sweet and sour taste. If you make the taste of the resulting vinegar, you need to strain it again, boil and pour into tightly sealed jars. Such vinegar can be stored for a long time.