Gary Lim

Hi Gary,

Thanks for your email and compliments.

Black vinegar... depends. Some are made from rice, some from black dates, some are artificial vinegar!! Read the label carefully!

Vinegar is yin / expanding.... strong smell, made from fermentation, etc. Spoit foods produce vinegar!

So among vinegars, it is better to use vinegars made from compact / yang foods like rice or barley. You can buy this type of vinegar at natural and organic food stores such as Brown Rice Paradise or Organic Paradise. They are not black, but they are rice or hato mugi (China barley) vinegar. Very fragrant. A bit expensive, but the quality is good.

You might be able to find black vinegar that is made from rice in Chinese stores. They are much cheaper but I cannot comment on the quality. Some may be ok.

Such vinegars are more balanced, ie among yin foods, they are less yin.

On the other hand, there are some health advocates who strongly recommend Apple Cider Vinegar. This is not advisable. Apple cider vinegar - which is made from fruit - is more yin in the yin category. The energy is more extreme.

Because the energy is more extreme, it gives faster results. But this is not good in long term. Also, such vinegars are more suitable for average Westerner, who eats lots of meat and are very yang.

Whatever it is, NEVER USE ARTIFICIAL VINEGAR. It is not suitable for human consumption!

Also, vinegar is used in small amounts as a dip or seasoning, not to be drunk daily as a "health drink".

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Vinegar vs soy sauce

They are TOTALLY DIFFERENT. One is yin, one is yang, One is sour, one is salty.

Therefore they are not substitutes. They have completely different qualities. For example, you cannot say instead of eating meat, you eat fruits. They are totally different!

Of course, if you ate too much meat in the past, it may be good to eat more fruits now.

Similarly, if you ate too much soy sauce and other salty seasonings, maybe good if you take some sour seasonings for a change. But remember that they are completely different categories of foods - not meant as substitutes.

By the way...

Shanghai type restaurants (siow loong pau) - serve dim sum (steamed dumplings) with a dipping of vinegar and pickled ginger. The Japanese also have ponzu sauce, which is soy sauce + lemon juice (a form of "vinegar").

This is actually nice way to avoid taking too much salt, especially if you have high blood pressure.

In terms of yin / yang and the "5 energies", salt and vinegar - ie salty and sour - are opposing energies and they neutralise each other.

Salt is metal energy (strong inwards), sour is tree energy (upwards). Metal cuts down tree! So the two are opposed.

In cooking, if you added too much salt by mistake, one remedy is to add lemon juice or vinegar. It will "lift up" the saltiness.

Oh yes, the Chinese also have a dish, pork knuckles cooked with soy sauce and vinegar. Even tar mee pok (dried flat noodles) has soy sauce plus vinegar, at least the better / more traditional ones do! Yummy :)

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Vinegar and oil

It is also interesting that you say vinegar "makes the food less oily".

Vinegar has slight "dispersing" energy, although not as much as pungent foods like chilli, ginger and other spices. These foods have "fire energy" which is strong dispersing.

More importantly, sour foods like vinegar and lemon juice stimulate the function of the liver / gall bladder. The liver produces bile while the gall bladder stores and releases bile when it is needed to digest oil.

So yes, it is a good idea to take oily foods with some vinegar. Salad dressings are commonly made with oil and vinegar.