Huangjiu substitute

Best substitute

Shaoxing wine

Use the same amount as the huangjiu you are replacing

Best for stir-fries

Close match

If a recipe asks for Chinese yellow wine, buy Shaoxing wine, because Shaoxing is a huangjiu and is the specific one nearly every Chinese recipe means. Without it, dry sherry at 1:1 is the long-established substitute, and dry sake or mijiu at 1:1 works if you accept a paler, cleaner result. Huangjiu's job is not acidity like a grape wine. It removes the strong smell from pork, chicken, beef and fish, and it adds a savoury, slightly nutty aroma and a faint sweetness that give a stir-fry or braise its background depth. That is why dry sherry works so well: it has the same oxidised, nutty character, which plain white wine does not.

Other huangjiu substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Dry sherry
Close match
Use the same amount
The classic Western swap, and a genuinely good one.
What changes
Fino, manzanilla or amontillado all share the nutty, oxidised savouriness that defines huangjiu.
Best for
stir-fries, braises, marinades, meatballs, chicken and pork dishes
Sherry is a few points stronger and slightly more bitter-almond in flavour, so a braise made with it is a touch sharper and less rounded but reads correctly. Amontillado gets closest because it is darker and nuttier. Avoid cream sherry, which is sweet enough to make a savoury sauce taste like dessert, and avoid bottles labelled cooking sherry if you can, since they are heavily salted.
3Dry sake or mijiu
Different taste
Use the same amount
Mijiu, sometimes written michiu, is the clear Taiwanese and Chinese rice wine, and sake is its Japanese cousin.
What changes
Both are rice wines doing the same structural job.
Best for
steamed fish, white-cooked chicken, light stir-fries, seafood, delicate sauces
Both are clear and much cleaner tasting, so the dish keeps its brightness and its pale colour but loses the deep nutty note. A red-braised pork made with sake tastes noticeably thinner in the background. Add a quarter teaspoon of soy sauce per tablespoon of wine to bring back some savoury depth. In pale dishes such as steamed fish, this is arguably better than Shaoxing.
4Dry vermouth or dry white wine
Different taste
Use the same amount
A workable pantry option when nothing Asian is in the house.
What changes
Best for
stir-fries, marinades, chicken, pork, vegetables
Grape wine is much more acidic and fruitier, so a stir-fry made with it tastes tangy and slightly Mediterranean rather than savoury and rounded. Dry vermouth is closer than plain white wine because its herbal bitterness stands in for some of the complexity. Add a pinch of sugar per quarter cup to soften the acid, and use the smaller side of the amount called for.
5Mirin with soy sauce
Different taste
Use 1 tablespoon mirin plus a few drops soy sauce for every tablespoon of huangjiu, and cut other sugar in the recipe
Common in Japanese-leaning kitchens and fine for marinades and glazes.
What changes
Best for
marinades, glazes, quick stir-fries, sauces
Mirin is sweet, so used one for one it makes a savoury braise taste candied and it will brown meat faster and darker in a hot wok. Reduce or drop any sugar the recipe adds, and watch for scorching.
6Stock with rice vinegar and ginger (no alcohol)
Different taste
Use 1 tablespoon unsalted chicken stock plus a few drops rice vinegar for every tablespoon of huangjiu
The honest alcohol-free answer: nothing fully replaces the alcohol, so you rebuild the flavour from savoury and aromatic parts instead.
What changes
Best for
alcohol-free cooking, halal cooking, stir-fries, braises, marinades
The alcohol in huangjiu is what dissolves and carries off strong meat smells as it evaporates, and stock cannot do that. Lean instead on smashed ginger, spring onion whites and a short soak of the meat in lightly salted water or milk. The finished dish tastes cleaner and simpler, with the meat's own flavour more forward. Use only a few drops of vinegar, because vinegar is far more acidic than wine and a heavy hand makes a stir-fry taste sour.

What is Huangjiu?

Huangjiu is Huangjiu, written huang jiu and translated as Chinese yellow wine, is the family of amber, brewed Chinese rice wines of roughly 14 to 18 percent alcohol that taste savoury, nutty and faintly sweet, and Shaoxing wine is its most famous member.

Cooking tips

Add the wine to the hot pan around the edge, not into the middle of the food. It hisses, steams and evaporates immediately, which is exactly what you want, because the point is for the alcohol to leave and take the strong smells with it.
For dumpling fillings, meatballs and other raw mixtures, use only a teaspoon or two per pound of meat. Nothing evaporates in a raw mix, so too much leaves the filling tasting boozy and can make it loose and wet.
Read the label for added salt. Bottles labelled cooking wine, whether Chinese or sherry, usually contain salt, sometimes a lot of it, so season the dish at the end rather than the start.
Match the wine to the colour of the dish. Amber huangjiu tints a pale sauce slightly brown, which is fine in red-braised dishes and unwanted in white-cooked chicken or steamed fish, where clear sake or mijiu is a better choice.
Yellow wine keeps for months in a cool cupboard and years in the fridge, and it is inexpensive. If you cook Chinese food more than occasionally, one bottle of Shaoxing removes this question permanently.

Frequently asked questions

Is huangjiu the same as Shaoxing wine?

Shaoxing is a type of huangjiu, not a separate thing. Huangjiu is the whole category of brewed Chinese yellow wines, and Shaoxing, from Zhejiang province, is the style most used in cooking. If a recipe says Chinese yellow wine or Chinese rice wine, a bottle of Shaoxing is the correct purchase.

Can I just leave it out?

You can, and the dish will still work, but it will taste flatter and porkier or fishier, because the wine's main job is removing off-smells. Replace the volume with stock or water so the pan does not run dry, and add extra ginger and spring onion. In a marinade for strong-flavoured meat, this is the swap you will notice most.

Is huangjiu the same as mijiu or michiu?

No, though they are close relatives. Mijiu, also spelled michiu, is a clear rice wine, lighter and cleaner, while huangjiu is aged and amber with a nutty savoury depth. They substitute for each other one for one, but the dish loses depth going from huangjiu to mijiu, and gains a browner colour going the other way.

Can I use white wine instead of Chinese yellow wine?

Yes, at 1:1, and plenty of home cooks do. Understand the trade: grape wine is sharper and fruitier, so the dish tastes tangier and less savoury. Dry sherry is a much closer match if you have it, and a pinch of sugar plus a few drops of soy sauce helps a plain white wine behave more like huangjiu.

Does it matter which grade of Shaoxing I buy?

For everyday cooking, no. An inexpensive bottle is fine for marinades, stir-fries and braises. Older, better bottles are meant for drinking and their subtlety is lost the moment they hit a hot wok.

Related substitutes

More alcohol & vinegars substitutes

Huangjiu substitute

Other huangjiu substitutes

2Dry sherry

3Dry sake or mijiu

4Dry vermouth or dry white wine

5Mirin with soy sauce

6Stock with rice vinegar and ginger (no alcohol)