Chinkiang Black Vinegar

Brown rice vinegars are often used in Hunanese cookery.

At their best they have a mellow, many-layered flavour, and are not especially sharp. Of those available in the West the best is Chinkiang vinegar from eastern China, which is similar in character to those used in Hunan province

......excerpts from Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, Recipes from Hunan Province by Fuchsia Dunlop.