13 Recipes That Use Rice Vinegar, and They're Not All for Asian Dishes (2024)

You come across a recipe that uses rice vinegar, but you already have a crowded shelf of vinegars in your pantry: red wine, white wine, cider, balsamic... Besides, isn't rice vinegar just for Asian dishes? No. Does it really need to be stocked with your everyday ingredients? Yes! There are several uses for rice vinegar in the kitchen.

Rice vinegar, which is made from fermented rice wine, has a sweet, delicate flavor and is less acidic compared to most types of vinegar. While usually clear, the color of rice vinegar can vary depending on its country of origin—usually Japan, China, Korea, or Vietnam—ranging from pale yellow to brown, red, and even black.

To get the most use out of a bottle of rice vinegar, choose an unseasoned variety. (We like Marukan.) A seasoned one has added sugar and salt, so it's trickier to cook with. Read on for more that you should know about rice vinegar, plus some rice vinegar recipes to try.

Rice Vinegar, Rice Wine Vinegar, and Rice Wine

First of all, let's straighten out any confusion among rice vinegar, rice wine vinegar, and rice wine. (Hint: You don't need to stock all three.)

The first two, both vinegars, are essentially the same and entirely interchangeable. We'll just call it "rice vinegar" for simplicity's sake.

Rice wine, on the other hand, is not interchangeable with rice vinegar. Rice wine is something you can potentially drink because it's sweet, while rice vinegar is too acidic for most of us to enjoy as a beverage. Rice wine lends sweetness and depth of flavor to dishes, whereas rice vinegar adds acidity and a touch of mild sweetness.

Recipes That Use Rice Vinegar

Back to rice vinegar: It's used mostly—but not exclusively—in Asian-inspired dishes such as stir-fries, salads, noodles, and vegetables. Experiment with one of these recipes with rice vinegar, or come up with your own.