Shaoxing wine
Several sites say that Shaoxing wine was available on Spadina in Toronto. I live in Halifax and am out of Shaoxing and hope to pick up some in TO in mid May on my way through.
Here in Chinese stores we can only buy Shaoxing laced with salt. The salt changes the taste and ruins the character of Shaoxing. The NS liquor stores do not carry the unsalted pure variety as there is no demand. So can anyone tell me if the Chinese grocers on Spadina sell the salted or the pure that I need for cooking. Or must I go to a government liquor store in the area around Chinatown, say Dundas West at Spadina? (Just browsed the LCBO website and they do not list any Shaoxing.)
I got my last 2 bottles in Berlin if you can believe it.
Many thanks.
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Charles Yu
Apr 14, 2011 05:13 PM
Give the Chinese Emporium on 4385 Sheppard East ( next to Tokyo pastry and cake shop ), Scarborough a try! They have unsalted ones which they managed to get in thru other sources
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re: Charles Yu
Charles - Thanks. I have phoned 416 directory assistance and they have no listing for a Chinese Emporium at 4385 Sheppard Ave. East. Might you have a phone number for them? They must be in the Pearl Plaza but no searches have located them. The Tokyo Bakery does however come up. As I will be going to Belleville from Pearson this is on the way as I have a stop nearby.
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re: smfan
Charles Yu
Apr 16, 2011 03:45 PM
Did you by chance check out there range of 'Shanghainese preserved meats products?! Think they are the only outfit in the GTA to have relatively genuine salted pork and sauce marinated duck...etc
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re: chilibeanpaste
Just a follow-up on the Shun Tai Trading Co. on Sheppard for anyone planning a visit to pickup unsalted Shaoxing wine. I was there Friday past and they had several varieties of Shaoxing BUT all of them were salted. I enquired at a nearby Ontario Liquor store and a Chinese employee said the OLCB had no interest in importing unsalted Shaoxing. Farther up Sheppard I went to the big Chinese grocery store called Farm Fresh, same story; one employee there said that while he thought there would be a big demand he knew of no sources. Very strange and puzzling. And so the quest continues.
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re: chilibeanpaste
aser
May 16, 2011 02:07 PM
Are you white?
They sell the unsalted ones hidden in the back, but you have to be Chinese to get it, or at least speak fluent Cantonese or Mandarin. They think you might be a LCBO narc or something trying to clamp down on them. That's why they offer it to Charles and not you.
It's available in Chinatown too but you have to ask and you have to speak the mother tongue unfortunately. It'll never be on the shelf.
Solution? Ask a Chinese friend to come along with you.
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re: aser
Kagemusha - Maybe the USA but how to get it to Nova Scotia is the question.
Thanks Aser. Can you hear me pulling my hair out? It's funny because the LCBO employee kept saying we're not interested in bringing it in as it is so low in alcohol content. I now think maybe he was saying others do but was wary of telling me where to find it. Oh well, next time when I'm in Toronto.
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re: aser
haggisdragon
May 24, 2011 10:32 AM
I succeeded in snagging a bottle here yesterday with the help of my canto speaking girlfriend. Yay.
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Breadcrumbs
Apr 14, 2011 01:40 PM
chilibeanpaste, not sure what you consider to be "laced w salt". I picked up some Shaoxing wine in Chinatown and the label says the Alcohol Content is 15% and the Salt is 1.5% Not sure if you feel any salt is too much but in the cooking I've done, I haven't found it to be an issue as recipes don't tend to call for much product.
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re: Breadcrumbs
Kagemusha
Apr 14, 2011 01:48 PM
Salt is salt. The real deal does surface occasionally thru Vintages channels but that's going to be the only source aside from licensed wholesalers. The salted stuff is usually available at T&T. Always felt the 1.5-2% salt was a bit shy of the actual content but lighter than the usual "cooking" grade which is positively briny.
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re: Kagemusha
estufarian
Apr 14, 2011 02:21 PM
I've never seen the salt-free version in a Vintages listing. And my records go back over 10 years.
So, unless it is an 'unadvertised special' it doesn't seem to be available at retail in Ontario.
And no agent in the OIWSBA (industry group) has it listed either.-
re: estufarian
Thanks everyone. I'm gobsmacked. Hard to believe in Toronto with its large Chinese community that there is no demand for authentic Shaoxing.
I did see the two drinking wines in the $20 range on the LCBO site but I'm not so sure these are suitable for cooking.
The bottle from Berlin was distributed via Holland and is 14% alcohol with 0% salt and is superb for cooking. I see the price tag was Euro 8.98 but it was purchased at KaDeWe which is a rather expensive department store. Funny I asked at the Chinese grill in the store if they had chili bean paste and the cook rung his hands saying he could find virtually no authentic Sichuan ingredients in Berlin. I was happy as a clam to find the Shaoxing though.
BTW the salt-laden (i.e. any amount of salt) Shaoxing is nasty stuff reminiscent of some homemade fuel from the 50's suitable for tractors. It is laced with salt for one reason only - alcoholics or minors cannot walk into the store, pruchase it and drink any amount without getting violently ill.
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re: chilibeanpaste
estufarian
Apr 14, 2011 03:00 PM
There's probably a demand - BUT with a Government monopoly handling the liquor/wine sales, there's no need to meet ANY demand.
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jayt90
Apr 14, 2011 01:24 PM
Grocery store cooking wine has salt, enough to keep people from drinking it..
The LCBO at Spadina/Dundas has two Chinese liquors, 53% alcohol, in the $20 range.
Two Chinese wines , slightly sweet, seem to be listed but out of stock. Contact a www.vintages.com specialist
to see if there is any, or if a case can be purchased from the private import warehouse.
