Many sushi and rolls of traditional Asian cuisine include three main ingredients, the rest are changed, giving an indescribable taste - they are removed, added... In Japanese cuisine, rice, rice vinegar and nori seaweed (another name is kombu) always remain. The disadvantage of the listed constant components is their high price. Therefore, if desired, it can be replaced with more economical analogues.
What is unique about rice vinegar?
Traditionally, rice vinegar is made from rice wine or fermented brown rice (black rice is sometimes used). It has a pleasant mild taste, which it imparts to the dishes in which it is included. The difficulty with replacement arises in the fact that such a mild taste and slightly sweetish aftertaste is difficult to reproduce, so another vinegar will need to be mixed with water, salt, sugar or soy sauce. Vinegar infused with rice gives dishes only a slight, barely noticeable sourness. Rice-based vinegar is a dietary seasoning, which is why it is so common in the preparation of many dishes not only of Far Eastern Asian, but also European cuisine. It is added to cold and warm salads, soups, sauces, as well as marinades, Japanese and Chinese noodles, hot dishes and, of course, rolls and sushi - it is a natural preservative for raw fish.
How is it different from other types of vinegar?
Firstly, it is not so “caustic” and does not harm the gastric mucosa; there are no contraindications for its use in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.
Secondly, the most important property of rice vinegar is its ability to reduce the calorie content of foods to which it is added, as well as promote proper metabolism.
And thirdly, rice vinegar contains the largest number of amino acids, 20 of them! They fight against waste and toxins in the body.
What can you replace rice vinegar with?
There are several replacement options, these include pure vinegars (wine and apple) and various dressings based on them. Let's consider all our possibilities. So, to replace rice vinegar, the following are suitable:
- Red wine vinegar;
- Table vinegar 6%;
- Ginger marinade;
- White wine vinegar;
- Vinegar essence 70%;
- Homemade rice vinegar;
- Various refills.
Pure vinegars, when replaced, change the taste of the finished dish; it turns out to be somewhat sharper and sour, not as pleasant as when using rice vinegar. In addition, they impart a sour smell.
As for vinegar essence 70%, it has a very strong acid, and in order to replace rice vinegar with it, you must first dilute it with water in proportions specific for each level of vinegar concentration. For example, to get 6% vinegar from it, which can already replace rice vinegar, you need 1 tbsp. Add 12 tbsp to a spoonful of essence. spoons of water.
You should not replace rice vinegar with balsamic vinegar, as it is too spicy and overpowers the taste of fish, rice, and other ingredients of the dish. Also, you cannot use 9% table vinegar as a substitute, it will give too sour a taste.
What is the concentration of the product? Is it diluted?
Each vinegar has its own concentration, somewhere there is more acetic acid, somewhere there is less. The concentration of rice vinegar is 3%, apple vinegar is 4–5%, wine vinegar is 4%, 6% and 9%. Acetic acid solution - essence has a concentration of 70%.
For some recipes, you need to change the concentration of vinegar by diluting it with clean water. For this, there are special online vinegar concentration calculators; they can be found on the Internet. For each starting vinegar and the desired result, there are different proportions. For example, in order to obtain 9% vinegar from 70% vinegar essence, we dilute 1 part vinegar to 7 parts water.
How to get 6% from 9%
Most often, 9% vinegar is diluted to 6%. So, to change the concentration, you need to dilute 9% vinegar with water in the following proportions: 2 parts of the existing vinegar and 1 part of water, that is, for 2 glasses of 9% vinegar, take 1 glass of water, dilute it, and in the end we get 3 glasses of 6% vinegar.
How to make vinegar dressings
When preparing Japanese dishes, some housewives replace rice vinegar not with pure vinegar from other materials, but with vinegar-based dressings. Here are the recipes for some of them:
Red grape vinegar dressing
- Mix 4 tbsp. spoons of wine vinegar, 3 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt;
- Bring to a boil, but be careful not to let it boil.
With apple
- 1 tbsp. mix a spoonful of apple cider vinegar with 1 tbsp. a spoonful of clean water (preferably warm or at least at room temperature), add 3 teaspoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt;
- Let's bring to a boil. Just like in the previous version, do not boil.
Vinegar-soy
- 2.5 tbsp. Mix tablespoons of table or white wine vinegar with 2.5 tbsp. spoons of soy sauce, add 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sugar;
- Boil. You can add spices and sesame seeds.
Lemon
- 2 tbsp. Mix spoons of lemon juice with 2 tbsp. spoons of warm water, add 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt;
- This dressing does not need to be heated or brought to a boil. After dissolving the salt and sugar, it is ready.
Many people cannot distinguish the lemon dressing in Japanese dishes from real rice vinegar, which means that this substitute does its job perfectly.
Green with algae
- You can use 1 sheet of nori or 2 sheets of other seaweed; do not use kelp, as it gives an unpleasant bitterness;
- Let's take 2.5 tbsp. spoons of any vinegar (you can use apple or wine), 2.5 tbsp. spoons of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of salt;
- Heat everything until the sugar and salt dissolve;
- Grind the seaweed, add it to the vinegar mixture and whisk everything until smooth.
Homemade Rice Vinegar
Homemade rice vinegar will be as close as possible to the properties of real rice vinegar. Of course, it takes a lot of time:
- Pour 1 cup of washed round grain rice into a deep glass dish;
- Fill with clean water (you will need 250 ml, a glass and a quarter glass);
- Leave the soaked rice at room temperature for 4 hours, then place it in the refrigerator for a longer time, for example overnight;
- Strain the rice through gauze or another clean cloth (do not wring it out first), at the end we get 200 ml of liquid; if less, add boiled water to a glass;
- Pour 4 tbsp into the resulting liquid. spoons of sugar, let it dissolve, stirring with a wooden (this is an important condition) spoon;
- Place this rice-sugar solution in a water bath; as soon as the water underneath it begins to boil, count down 20 minutes;
- Remove from the water bath and let cool;
- Add 1/3 teaspoon of dry yeast, mix;
- Leave the solution in a glass jar for a week to ferment. The jar should not be closed, but the top should be covered with clean gauze - it provides air access and protects from dust and other unnecessary substances;
- After a week, the solution stops fermenting and bubbling, which means that the sugar has almost completely turned into alcohol, we leave it to settle for another month;
- After the specified period has passed, drain the solution through cheesecloth and boil;
- Cool, pour into a dark glass bottle - rice vinegar does not like light, and put in the refrigerator;
- Rice vinegar is ready.
The drained solution may appear cloudy, but this does not mean you did anything wrong. You can lighten it by adding 1 beaten white of a fresh chicken egg while boiling. After this, it is better to drain the solution again through gauze.
Rice vinegar is used in Asian cuisine, primarily for sushi and rolls. Is it possible to simply omit this ingredient from the recipe? We answer: no, without it there is absolutely no way. Rice vinegar serves as a kind of bonding agent - it helps the rice stick to the nori seaweed in which it is wrapped, but prevents them from sticking together. Therefore, we either replace it, or prepare it at home ourselves, or buy the original product.
How to replace the product when marinating
As you know, rice vinegar is also used for marinade. For example, it is present in the ginger marinade. To replace, prepare the following dressing (we get 1/3 cup at the end):
- Dilute apple (5%) or wine (6%, 9%) vinegar with water to a concentration level of 4%. If we take 6% wine vinegar, the proportions will be as follows: for 3 tbsp. spoons 6% vinegar you need 1.5 tbsp. spoons of water;
- Add 2 tbsp. spoons of sugar and 1.5 teaspoons of salt;
- Bring to a boil.
Substitution in rolls and sushi
You can use any of the listed dressings; the choice of one or another substitute depends only on the remaining ingredients included in the dish. You won’t add green dressing with seaweed to sweet rolls, but lemon dressing will come in handy.
What to use when replacing vinegar in salads, Japanese noodles or rice
For preparing salads, dressings based on lemon juice and green dressing with seaweed, as well as homemade rice vinegar, are perfect. For Chinese noodles - dressing with red grape vinegar or apple vinegar, dressing with soy sauce. You can add homemade rice vinegar, vinegar-soy dressing or nori dressing to rice with fish, meat or vegetables.
Sushi came to us, as we know, from Japanese cuisine, in which each ingredient plays a special role. Often people who decide to make sushi on their own wonder what rice vinegar for sushi is and how to use it correctly? After all, it is usually mentioned in recipes. You can find the answer to this question with us; we will tell you about the correct use of this product so that you definitely do not make a mistake! How much rice vinegar should I add? What does it taste like? The questions will be covered in detail, and you will be pleasantly surprised by preparing everything according to our recommendations.
What is it and how to use it?
Rice vinegar has a sweetish taste, it is soft enough and without it it is not sushi at all, the Japanese definitely know a lot about cooking. No one can tell you exactly how much rice vinegar you need, because everyone has their own secrets, so try experimenting.
You need to add vinegar to flavor the rice, and it also makes it a little sticky. This will help you shape the rice into a variety of shapes. How much vinegar is needed to make the rice sticky enough should also be determined during cooking. A lot depends on how much rice vinegar you add, and one of the best things is that it has many health benefits and is even antibacterial.
But how much?
To make rice vinegar dressing, you will need sugar and salt. For 450-500 g of rice you need to put 2 tbsp. vinegar and 1 tsp. salt and sugar. Without bringing it to a boil, the dressing is stirred, then the rice is sprinkled with this mixture or simply watered, using wooden utensils. Stir gently, without pressing, so as not to accidentally cook porridge.
The history of the origin of rice vinegar goes back a little more than 20 centuries; it was then that it was created and prepared in China. And in the 3rd century BC, the Japanese began to actively use it in cooking, and it was from there that it began its journey to other countries of the globe.
At that time, not everyone could afford to use such a luxurious product, since it had a fairly high cost. It was used as a seasoning for culinary masterpieces with rice.
Over the years, rice vinegar began to be used for sushi rice. Following all the Japanese canons of those times, the recipe for creating sushi had the following sequence: raw fish was seasoned with salt and combined with rice. This combination of ingredients made it possible, using fish enzymes, to extract lactic acid from rice, which actually gave the fish a slightly sour taste and helped extend the shelf life of sushi to almost one year.
Sushi rice vinegar, unlike other vinegars, has a rather mild taste. In addition, this product has excellent antibacterial qualities, because many Japanese dishes are created from fresh fish. Rice vinegar is expensive, so you can easily make it at home.
For those who don’t know how to replace rice vinegar for sushi, let’s reveal a little secret: it can be regular wine, apple or table vinegar. But you need to remember that the above vinegars have a more pronounced sour taste, so you need to season sushi rice with them extremely carefully and in moderation.
How to make rice vinegar for sushi at home
It turns out that not everyone can buy ready-made rice vinegar for sushi in the store; it can be prepared at home. There are several alternative recipes for making rice vinegar for sushi.
For it you will need:
60ml grape vinegar;
3 tsp Sahara;
1 tsp salt.
All products are mixed and put on fire so that the bulk ingredients dissolve. But you can’t let it boil.
Another option for homemade rice vinegar is a combination of apple cider vinegar, hot water, sugar and salt.
When you get tired of ordinary dishes and want something special, you don’t have to go to a restaurant. Now on store shelves you can see products for preparing a wide variety of delicacies, including Japanese cuisine. However, it is not so easy to find one of the most important ingredients in Japanese dishes - rice vinegar. What can replace it?
Should we look for alternatives?
Rice vinegar is both a rare and quite expensive product. It is not surprising that many cooks are thinking about eliminating it from the dish altogether. However, this extreme measure will negatively affect the taste of homemade sushi or rolls. After all, this type of dressing is used mainly not to make the rice sticky, as many people think (if you cook it correctly, it will already be quite sticky), but to give the dish an exceptional taste. Rice for sushi and rolls is very bland, as it is cooked without adding any spices, and vinegar contains sugar, salt and wine.
Among other things, it has antibacterial properties, which is very important when working with raw fish. Recently, due to its milder and piquant taste compared to other types of vinegar, rice vinegar has become increasingly popular in Europe. It is used not only in Asian dishes, but also in the preparation of sauces, dressings, marinades for meat, and even added to soft drinks.
What can replace rice vinegar in rolls?
Since you can’t do without this gas station, and it’s extremely difficult to find in stores, or you want to save money, what to do? Is it possible to replace rice vinegar with regular vinegar? To be honest, it’s impossible without changing the taste. Apple or wine products in their pure form will give rolls or sushi a more sour, sharp taste. But there is still an alternative. If you add sugar and salt to various types of vinegars, their taste will be closer to the original. Let's look at several recipes for making seasoning for rice. The technique will be the same, only the components will differ.
Using apple cider vinegar
- apple cider vinegar - 1 tbsp. l.;
- granulated sugar - 1 tsp;
- salt - ½ tsp;
- hot water - 2 tbsp. l.
- wine vinegar - 4 tbsp. l.;
- sugar - 3 tbsp. l.;
- salt - 1 tsp.
- table vinegar 6% - 50 ml;
- soy sauce - 50 ml;
- sugar - 1 tbsp. l.
Wine or apple cider vinegar and nori
- vinegar - 2.5 tbsp. l.;
- granulated sugar - 2.5 tbsp. l.;
- salt - ½ tsp;
- nori - 1 sheet.
To prepare a vinegar solution using these methods, you need to mix all the ingredients in one container and put it on the stove. Without bringing to a boil, heat until the sugar and salt are completely dissolved. In the case of nori, crushed seaweed must be added after the solution has been heated, and then the mixture must be beaten until smooth. You can also add dry seaweed or orange zest to any of these recipes.
Thus, the difference with a real oriental dressing will be almost invisible. Pour one of these dressings over the cooked rice and stir gently with a wooden spoon.
What else can replace rice vinegar for sushi? A good option would be made from ginger marinade: it is also sweet and sour and goes well with rice. Lemon juice may also help. Take 2 tbsp. l. juice, add 2 tbsp. l. warm water and dissolve 1 tsp in it. sugar and ½ tsp. salt.
You should not replace the rice product with balsamic: it has a specific sharp aftertaste that can overwhelm the taste of the finished dish. It is also not recommended to use 9% table vinegar.
If you fundamentally want an identical taste, try making rice vinegar yourself.
Another alternative recipe that allows you to completely replicate the taste of the original. It is very labor-intensive and time-consuming, but the result will be worth it. You will not be able to distinguish this rice vinegar from the store-bought one and will also avoid counterfeits.
All containers for preparation should be made of glass, and mixing should be done with wooden utensils.
Ingredients:
- white rice (preferably jasmine) - 300 g;
- dry yeast - 1/4-1/3 tbsp. l.;
- sugar - 800 g;
- egg white.
Preparation:
- Wash the rice and add water. Leave for 4 hours covered.
- Place the bowl of rice in a cool place overnight.
- The next day, strain through cheesecloth to obtain rice water. Pour a glass of sugar into it and stir until it dissolves.
- Steam the solution in a steam (water bath) for 25 minutes and then leave to cool.
- Pour into a glass container and add yeast (1/4 tbsp per liter of liquid).
- Leave for a week to ferment.
- Pour the solution into a clean jar. Tie the neck with gauze and place in a dark place for fermentation.
- The vinegar should be infused for a month or two at room temperature to achieve the desired taste.
- Strain the slightly cloudy prepared liquid, boil it (for longer storage) and bottle it.
You should get more than a liter of vinegar. To make it more transparent, add egg white before the final boil.
Rice dressing prepared at home will be aromatic, sweet, with a slight sourness, and very pleasant to the taste. The product is much softer and more delicate than apple or alcohol vinegar; in addition, it is rich in amino acids.
How to make vinegar for rolls at home
Sushi and rolls are part of our daily life. Now you no longer have to go to a restaurant to try these Japanese dishes. All ingredients can be bought in the store. and the sushi is no worse than what you can taste in restaurants. But the necessary products, for example, rice vinegar, may not always be at hand. The Land of Soviets will tell you what to replace rice vinegar with.
Rice vinegar is one of the main ingredients in Japanese cuisine.. Rice vinegar originally originated in China, from where it was brought to Japan. In Japan, rice vinegar used to be available only to the privileged. It was only a few centuries later that ordinary people could also use rice vinegar for cooking.
In Japan, rice vinegar is very popular not only due to its mild taste, but also because of its antibacterial properties. If the Japanese menu constantly includes raw fish, then it should be made as safe as possible for further consumption. This is precisely why the Japanese constantly use rice vinegar to make rolls and sushi.
Rice vinegar for sushi is not always found on the store shelf. Therefore, we have to look for a way out of the situation and replace rice vinegar with something else. So what can you replace rice vinegar with?
Naturally, rice vinegar can be replaced with other vinegar. will suit you apple, wine or regular. But the thing is that rice vinegar has a very mild taste, so try not to overdo it with regular vinegar, otherwise you will ruin your sushi or rolls.
There are several recipes you can use to replace rice vinegar. Try to take 4 tbsp. l. grape vinegar, add 1 tsp. salt and 3 tsp. Sahara. Place the mixture on the fire and cook until the salt and sugar dissolve. Please note that the vinegar should not boil.
Another option to replace rice vinegar. You can mix 1 tbsp. l. apple cider vinegar, 1 tsp. sugar, 0.5 tsp. salt and 1.5 tbsp. l. hot water. Mix all ingredients and wait until sugar and salt dissolve.
How to make rice vinegar
This option for replacing rice vinegar is also possible: take 50 ml regular table vinegar (6%), 20 g sugar and 50 ml soy sauce. Stir the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved. By the way, you can also use apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar for this recipe.
If you are afraid that your substitution of rice vinegar will in any way affect the taste of the sushi, then you are mistaken. The main thing is add the vinegar you prepared in smaller proportions. But here everything depends only on your taste.
It is also worth considering that there are other options for replacing rice vinegar. Welded can be soaked in lemon juice diluted in water with a little sugar. With such impregnation, you may not even notice the difference in taste.
By the way, Rice vinegar can also be made at home. Of course, it will take a little fiddling, but the result will be worth it. So, let's tell you how to prepare rice vinegar. You will need sugar, yeast, white short grain rice, egg white and a piece of cotton cloth or gauze. First, soak the rice for 4 hours in a covered bowl. Then refrigerate the rice overnight. Strain the rice, but do not squeeze it. For every glass (250 ml) of rice water, add 3/4 of the same glass of sugar. Mix the sugar well until it is completely dissolved. Boil the mixture in a water bath for 20 minutes. After cooling, pour the mixture into a jar.
For 1 liter of mixture, add 1/4 tbsp. l. yeast. Leave the mixture to ferment for 4-6 days. The bubbles should completely disappear. Then pour the mixture into another clean jar and let it steep for a month. Then strain the mixture and boil it before bottling.
Because homemade rice vinegar is cloudy, it can be cleaned. To do this, just add beaten egg white before boiling. Then strain the mixture and you can bottle it.
How to make sushi vinegar
