Nope, Chinese Rose wine is not pinkish like its western counterpart...but clear...and the alcohol content is...54%!!!!!!! (normal wines have around 9-14%, liquers around 40%)
It is predominantly a cooking wine and is made from sorghum wine (gao liang jiu) and distilled rose petals, sugar and salt.
What is it used for???
Apparently bak kua (dried pork) and lup cheong (chinese pork susuages)... the company's website informs me that it has been hailed as China's Brandy and can be used as a base for various cocktails.
compared to the usual shao xing wine ($1.6- 5), chinese rose wines ranged from $6.5- $8....at first i thought it was a bit expensive...but hey, $6.50 for a bottle of brandy isn't bad at all!!!!
Taste wise...it is quite hot, has a very subtle rose fragrance and is quite salty (instead of sweet as I expected). I got it to make Bak Kua for a dear friend who is leaving for Port Lincoln for her first placement...the meat is currently marinating in the fridge..
I must admit that I am quite impressed with the packaging of the wine...it comes in quite a presentable box and the bottle is sealed with gold foil and even has a promotional leaflet showing a pretty pictures of the production process (a whole vat of pink rose petals) and recipes for some cocktails...seems positively luxurious!! (very rare in my experience for made in china foodstuffs.. :P the grocers here must have just been importing the lower end products..)
1 kg of bak kua requires... (cue drumroll..) 2 tablespoons of the wine...so now i have a full bottle left...Rose cocktails anyone???
** Lily did mention that the wine can be substituted with shao xing wine but for first attempts, i usually prefer to get the exact ingredients and then experiment with following attempts...
UPDATE:
here are some rose wine cocktails from the company's website for the benefit of non-chinese reading friends...
Night of Tianjin
1/6 rose wine
5/6 pineapple juice
Put some crushed ice and pineapple juice into a glass, add rose wine and stir. Serve.
Night in Paris
1/6 rose wine
1/6 grenadine
4/6 orange juice
1 egg white
Add crushed ice to shaker, add the rest of the ingredients, and shake vigorously.
Pour into cocktail glass.
Fragrant rose
2/3 rose wine
1/3 grenadine
Add wine and juice to crushed ice. Top with some lemonade. Stir and put into a ball glass.
Night rose
½ rose wine
¼ limejuice
¼ grenadine
Add to crushed ice, stir, and serve in short glass.
10 comments:
Hi!
I recently got a bottle from France thinking it was a 'sake' but after reading I've realized its not at all.. Ive not dared to drink it straight as I left that to a friend who went as red as the packaging!
I'll be making some cocktails during the weekend, can you suggest the best ones?
thank you!
hi dr gonzo!!!
sorry for the late reply!! To be honest, I haven't tried making any cocktails with the wine! How did your cocktails go? Did you have a look at the ones on the company's website??
Might try to experiment when i get back to my own kitchen in a month or so!
Sorry that i can't be much help!
Love your article but it fails to tell somebody like me in Sonoma County where to buy it so I can try a new recipe for Char Siu... HELP!!!
I love your article but it fails to tell somebody in Sonoma County like me where to buy this. It's a no at every asian market and Bevmo up here... I'm trying to find it and Maltose to try a recipe for Char Siu.
HELP.
where can i buy Mei Kuei Lu Chiew (Chinese Rose Wine) in the US?
Thanks so much for any help. I have been searching for it for a year now.
I have been looking to buy some Mei Kuei Lu Chiew (Chinese Rose Wine) for about a year. Where in the US can I buy it?
This is used a lot to make the marinade and baste for Char Siu (Char Siew).
Very interesting Blog, I buy this in Australia from a Chinese supermarket. I have only ever used it for cooking fish, and have never thought of drinking it(i did actually think about it but I thought it would be a bad idea). It costs Under $10, which makes it the cheapest spirit on the market by far. I might try some of the Cocktails this weekend, but i am concerned about the salt content of the wine. It may lead to a naty hangover.
Anyone having trouble finding maltose or rose wine and has a 99 Ranch Market near by….
Look for maltose right next to the honey. It’s in a small white tub with blue letters and a pink lid. I could not find anything labelled rose wine, but a little researched showed that it also goes by the name “Mei Kuei Lu Chiew” which is in the liquor aisle near the Sake. It has a rose embossed on the back of the bottle. It’s about $15 for a 750ml bottle.
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