Brown Rice Vinegar substitute

Best substitute

Unseasoned rice vinegar

Use the same amount as the brown rice vinegar you are replacing

Best for sunomono and cucumber salads

Close match

Use plain unseasoned rice vinegar 1:1. That is the whole answer for almost every recipe - it is the same drink made with white rice, so it is very slightly sharper and less nutty, and if you want to close that small gap add a quarter teaspoon of mirin or a pinch of sugar per tablespoon. If you have no rice vinegar at all, use apple cider vinegar or champagne vinegar at three quarters the amount, because both are more acidic, plus a pinch of sugar. Know what it is doing: brown rice vinegar is the gentle acid in a dish, there to brighten and cut richness without dominating, which is exactly why macrobiotic, Japanese and whole-foods recipes reach for it in dressings, sunomono and tempeh marinades. Substitute something aggressive like distilled white vinegar and the dish stops tasting balanced and starts tasting sour.

Other brown rice vinegar substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Seasoned rice vinegar or sushi vinegar
Different taste
Use the same amount then cut the sugar and salt elsewhere
Perfectly usable if you adjust for what is already in the bottle.
What changes
Seasoned rice vinegar is rice vinegar plus sugar and salt, so a dressing made with it comes out sweeter and saltier than intended - pleasant in a salad, wrong in a marinade you were also going to season. For each tablespoon you use, leave out roughly half a teaspoon of sugar and a good pinch of salt from the recipe and taste before adding more.
Best for
salad dressings and slaws, sushi rice, quick refrigerator pickles, dipping sauces
Do not use it where you need a pure acid, such as a delicate broth. The sugar makes itself known.
3Apple cider vinegar
Different taste
¾ the amount, plus a pinch of sugar
The most likely bottle already in your cupboard and a reasonable stand-in.
What changes
It is stronger, typically 5 percent, so scale it back, and it brings an unmistakable apple fruitiness where brown rice vinegar is grainy and neutral. A ginger-sesame dressing made with cider vinegar tastes brighter and more Western; a delicate sunomono tastes distinctly appley. The pinch of sugar softens the extra bite.
Best for
dressings and slaws, marinades for tofu, tempeh and chicken, quick pickles, grain and bean salads
The unfiltered cloudy sort has more flavor of its own, so if you want to stay subtle, use a filtered one. Dilute with a teaspoon of water per tablespoon if it still tastes harsh.
4Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
Different taste
¾ the amount, plus a pinch of sugar
Both are clean and pale, which keeps the look of a dish right.
What changes
They are more acidic and carry a distinctly winey, grape-derived sharpness, so where brown rice vinegar sits quietly under the other flavors, these step forward. Champagne vinegar is the gentler of the two and the better choice. In a sesame dressing the result tastes crisper and more European; in a Japanese pickle it tastes noticeably tart.
Best for
vinaigrettes, dressings for sturdy salads, marinades, deglazing a pan
Add a teaspoon of water per tablespoon of vinegar to bring the acidity down toward rice vinegar levels, then adjust the sugar.
5Ume plum vinegar (umeboshi vinegar)
Different taste
½ to ¾ the amount, and cut the salt
A natural neighbour on the macrobiotic shelf, and it works if you respect one thing: it is mostly salted plum brine, so it is intensely salty as well as sour.
What changes
Used at full quantity it turns a dressing into something you cannot season further. At half to three quarters, with the recipe's salt removed, it gives a lovely fruity-sour lift that is arguably more interesting than brown rice vinegar in a salad.
Best for
salad dressings, steamed greens and blanched vegetables, grain bowls, dipping sauces
Taste as you go. This is a stronger, saltier ingredient masquerading as a mild vinegar, and the salt is the part people forget.
6Lemon juice
Different taste
Use the same amount for uncooked dishes
Fine in a pinch for dressings and finishing, where any bright acid will do the structural job.
What changes
It tastes obviously of citrus rather than of fermented grain, so a miso-sesame dressing made with lemon reads fresher and zestier and loses the soft savoury depth vinegar brings. It also fades faster, so add it just before serving rather than hours ahead.
Best for
dressings and finishing, raw vegetable salads, sauces served immediately, steamed greens
Not a substitute in any pickling or preserving recipe, where the type and strength of acid matters. Rice vinegar's flavor also holds up to heat much better than lemon juice does.
7Distilled white vinegar
Different taste
½ the amount, diluted with water
The least-bad last resort, and worth being honest about: it is harsh, one-dimensional and considerably stronger, and it tastes sharply of nothing but acid.
What changes
In a delicate Japanese preparation it flattens everything around it. If it is all you have, use half the quantity, dilute it with an equal amount of water, and add a pinch of sugar - you will get the sourness the recipe needs without any of the mellowness.
Best for
quick pickles where other seasonings dominate, cleaning up a flat-tasting sauce, cooked dishes rather than raw ones
Avoid it entirely in sushi rice and sunomono, where there is nowhere for the harshness to hide.

What is Brown Rice Vinegar?

Brown Rice Vinegar is vinegar brewed from unpolished brown rice, known in Japan as genmai su, a shade darker and rounder than ordinary rice vinegar, mellow and faintly nutty, and its job is to be the gentlest acid on the shelf, usually 4 to 4.5 percent acidity against the 5 to 6 percent of wine vinegars, so it brightens a dressing or a bowl of sushi rice without stinging.

Cooking tips

Rice vinegars are weaker than wine vinegars, usually around 4 to 4.5 percent acidity against 5 to 6 percent, so swaps run in one direction: use less of a wine vinegar than the recipe's brown rice vinegar, and more brown rice vinegar if you are going the other way. Getting this backwards is the most common reason a dressing tastes too sharp.
Safety point for pickling and canning: never substitute one vinegar for another in a tested recipe for shelf-stable canned pickles. The acidity of the finished jar is what keeps it safe, and many rice vinegars fall below the 5 percent that canning recipes assume. Follow the recipe exactly and check current guidance from the National Center for Home Food Preservation. Refrigerator pickles you eat within a couple of weeks are a different matter and you can use whatever vinegar you like.
Brown rice vinegar's mellowness makes it forgiving in raw dishes but easy to lose in cooked ones. Add it at the end of cooking, off the heat, or its subtlety simmers away and you are left with plain sourness.
It is a natural partner for the ingredients it usually appears with - miso, sesame, ginger, tamari, kombu - because its low acidity does not fight them. If you swap in something sharper, add a little extra sweetness or fat to rebalance rather than reducing the acid to nothing.
Look for it in Japanese and natural food shops as genmai su or brown rice vinegar, often from the same producers who make traditional soy sauce. Unpasteurised bottles may throw a haze or a sediment, which is harmless - shake before use and keep it in a cool cupboard away from light.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use regular rice vinegar instead of brown rice vinegar?

Yes, at 1:1, and it is by far the best substitute. The only difference is the rice: white rice vinegar is a little cleaner and sharper, brown rice vinegar a little rounder and nuttier. Add a quarter teaspoon of mirin or a pinch of sugar per tablespoon if you want to match the mellowness exactly.

Is brown rice vinegar the same as rice wine vinegar?

Rice wine vinegar and rice vinegar are the same thing under two names - vinegar made from fermented rice, not from rice wine as such. Brown rice vinegar is a specific version of it, brewed from unpolished rice, which gives it a slightly darker color and a softer, grainier flavor. All three are interchangeable at 1:1 in cooking.

Can I just leave it out?

Not if it is the acid holding the dish together. In a dressing, a sunomono or a marinade, removing the vinegar leaves the food tasting flat and heavy, since the acid is what balances the oil, salt and sweetness. Substitute something - even lemon juice - rather than omitting it. If it is a small splash in a soup or stew, you can leave it out and add a squeeze of citrus at the table instead.

Is brown rice vinegar gluten free?

Vinegar brewed from rice alone contains no gluten, but some inexpensive rice vinegars are blended or made in facilities that also handle wheat-based products, and a few Japanese vinegars have other grains in the mash. If it matters, read the label and look for a specific gluten-free statement rather than assuming.

Why does my brown rice vinegar look cloudy?

Traditionally brewed and unpasteurised vinegars often develop a haze or a soft sediment, sometimes a gelatinous blob of vinegar mother. It is harmless and a sign of a live product. Strain it if you want a clear dressing, and store the bottle in a cool dark cupboard to slow it down.

Related substitutes

More alcohol & vinegars substitutes

Brown Rice Vinegar substitute

Other brown rice vinegar substitutes

2Seasoned rice vinegar or sushi vinegar

3Apple cider vinegar

4Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar

5Ume plum vinegar (umeboshi vinegar)

6Lemon juice

7Distilled white vinegar