When cooking at home, many people encounter this situation: they run out of cooking wine and casually grab a bottle of baijiu (white liquor) as a substitute. So, what is the difference between baijiu and cooking wine? Is this method of using them interchangeably correct?
Actually, cooking wine is a general term for all wines used in cooking, mainly including yellow wine. Its function is to remove the fishy and gamey smell from meat and seafood, enhance the aroma of the dish, and help various flavors like salty and sweet to fully penetrate the food.
The reason cooking wine can achieve this effect is twofold. First, the ethanol in wine is volatile, which can cause the proteins and amines that cause the fishy and gamey smell in meat to evaporate. The alcohol concentration of wines like yellow wine and Fenjiu is relatively low, generally around 15%, which removes the unpleasant smell without destroying the proteins and lipids in the meat. Second, yellow wine contains a relatively high amount of sugar and amino acids, which can enhance the flavor and aroma of the dish.
The alcohol concentration of pure baijiu is higher than that of yellow wine, generally around 57%. The higher ethanol content will to some extent destroy the proteins and lipids in the meat. Moreover, the sugar and amino acid content in baijiu is lower than in cooking wine, so its flavor-enhancing effect is significantly weaker. Therefore, it is best not to use baijiu as a substitute for cooking wine. If you must, it is better not to use too much.
The timing for using cooking wine in cooking should vary depending on the ingredients. For example: when braising fish, you should add the cooking wine right after the fish is fried; when stir-frying shrimp or shredded pork, you should add the cooking wine after the main ingredient is cooked; when making soup, you should add the cooking wine after the soup comes to a boil.