Rice Wine Vinegar

What is the difference between just Rice Vinegar and rice wine vinegar?
Recipes and cooks are always calling for rice wine vinegar and I can't find the stuff anywhere! I was in Matsuwa last weekend and could find none there either, even after asking for help from people who appeared to shop there on a regular basis.

They're the same thing.

Hi,

I have been listening the back issues of The Splendid Table. I was just listening to a description on how to make your own rice wine. Instructions are here and the episode where it is discussed is here.

The key ingredients are sticky rice and "1 wine yeast ball, called qu (pronounced chu), jiuqu, or jiuyao (often written as chiuyao). These are little white balls about an inch in diameter and can be spotted in clear packages in Asian grocery stores."

Regards,

Hi,

I consulted with CrazyC for the Chinese:

The characters are 酒饼 (simplified characters) or 酒餅 (traditional characters).

Literally the words for wine, alcohol and cake. Usually the packaging will say Shanghai wine cake or 上海酒饼(餅)

I am going now try to find it. This should be interesting!

Regards,