Used traditionally in braises and sauces, this dark vinegar with a rich but mild taste is made from rice, wheat, millet or sorghum. Like balsamic vinegar, which it somewhat resembles, Chinese black vinegar can have, if well aged and produced, a striking complexity of flavor and aroma. Ming prefers Chinkiang black vinegars (such as this one), which are named for the Chinese province of their production and made from glutinous rice and malt resulting in a mild sweetness.