Reddit reviews Gold Plum Chinkiang Vinegar, 18.6 Fl Oz (Pack of 1)

Gold Plum is highly recommended https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Plum-Chinkiang-Vinegar-18-6/dp/B00BUIKGU0

Some of my favorites, off the top of my head:

• La Gan Ma Spicy Chili Crisp. It's a salty condiment that's ridiculously addictive:

https://www.tastecooking.com/cult-spicy-chile-crisp/

• Chinese sausage have a unique sweet flavor from rice wine or sorghum wine. Slice them into little coins and add to a stir-fry. Many varieties are available (some are all pork and some contain added pork liver or chicken.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_sausage

• Red dragonfruit, if they have them (most dragonfruit are pink on the outside, and boring white on the inside; sometimes you can find ones that are red on the inside, and I like those much better. The market will label them somehow if they're the more expensive red-centered ones.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitaya

• Pork floss ("pork sung"; this is dried shredded barbecued pork, used as a topping for some comfort foods such as congee. It tastes a bit like bacon, but they have the texture of cotton candy.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rousong

• Japanese curry bricks are a great shortcut to making Japanese-style curry. All you need to add are meat, vegetables, and water. S&B Golden Curry is a good first choice for beginners, but there are many other varieties available.

https://www.sbfoods-worldwide.com/recipes/010.html

• Thai curry paste combined with coconut milk makes Thai-style curry. Many varieties are available; if you're new, I suggest starting with a tiny can of Maesri brand "karee" (yellow curry) flavor, combined with 1 can of coconut milk.

https://importfood.com/products/thai-curry-paste/item/karee-curry-paste

• Koon Chun brand Black and Double Black soy sauce are variations of dark soy sauce with molasses added for extra sweetness and color, but not thickened the way some other compounded soy sauces are. Sometimes I substitute Koon Chun's black soy for dark soy sauce in recipes.

https://www.amazon.ca/Koon-Chun-Double-Black-Sauce/dp/B00012OI0U

• Chinkiang black vinegar (many brands are available) is tangy and is what makes good hot & sour soup brown. It's essential for many Chinese recipes (balsamic vinegar is sometimes used as a substitute.)

https://www.amazon.com/Gold-Plum-Chinkiang-Vinegar-18-6/dp/B00BUIKGU0

• A bag of MSG crystals! You will likely never use all of that one-pound bag but it's something cheap that you can experiment with.

https://www.amazon.ca/Ajinomoto-Monosodium-Glutamate-Umami-Seasoning/dp/B00IH28XDE

• dried shiitake mushrooms. Shiitakes are considered an expensive, exotic item in Western cuisine, but in Asian cuisine they're just the regular mushrooms, and quite affordable if you buy them dried. You have to soak them in hot water (and then trim off the stem) before using them.

https://www.taste.com.au/quick-easy/articles/how-to-prepare-dried-shiitake-mushrooms/8jwnrwwb

• frozen gyoza imported from Japan (Shirakiku and Ajinomoto are the two big Japanese frozen food brands.) Many flavors are available. They're some of my favorite snack foods, though cooking them can be a little bit of a scary experience due to hot oil. Make a basic dumpling sauce by mixing the black soy sauce (above) with a little of the black vinegar (above)!

https://www.amazon.com/Ajinomoto-Chicken-Gyoza-Dumplings-Frozen/dp/B013H9M9YA

https://www.japaneseflavours.com/recipes/16_yaki-gyoza-pan-fried-how-to-cook-frozen-gyoza

...if you prefer chewier dumplings, the store will also have a wide variety of Chinese frozen potstickers (in the northeastern US you may hear them called "Peking Ravioli".) They have a thicker pastry.

Gold Plum Chinkiang Vinegar is pretty good and a classic.

I’ve recently strayed to this Hengshun 6 Year Aged Vinegar, and have loved the added complexity.

For either one, feel free to add some water to your sauce bowl. Pretty much every dumpling stand I’ve been to has done so, because black vinegar can be intense. I’ve started adding more water since switching brands and making my own dumplings from scratch on a regular basis, because I don’t want to drown out the flavor.

While we’re here geeking out about Chinese sauces, here’s a reminder that Shaoxing cooking wine is amazing. I ran out for a while, and my dumplings and stir fries suffered dramatically. Sometimes you don’t appreciate something until it’s gone.

Next time you make this, sub out that vinegar for this kind.

You'd probably want to cut back to like 1/4 cup though.

I also use black mushroom. Rehydrated and cut thin.

Oh, it's called "Gold Plum Chinkiang Vinegar". Here's what it looks like, although I bought mine from an Asian market here in Vegas. Look forward to getting started!

You can't find a lot of Asian ingredients on Amazon Fresh or other delivery services.

Amazon (the main site) does sell more stuff, but the prices are ridiculous sometimes.

Ex. Chinkiang vinegar, a very staple type of vinegar for Chinese food. $2 at a local Chinese market. $8 on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BUIKGU0