Rice vinegar is made from fermented rice or rice wine in China and Japan. Japanese rice vinegar is very mild and mellow and ranges in colour from colourless to pale yellow. There are two distinct types of Japanese vinegar: one is made from fermented rice and the other is made by adding rice vinegar to sake. Chinese rice vinegars are stronger than Japanese ones, and range in colour from clear to various shades of red and brown. Compared to Western vinegars, Chinese and especially Japanese vinegars are very mild and sweet.

White rice vinegar is a colorless liquid, higher in vinegar content and more similar in flavour to Western vinegars, but still less acidic and milder in flavour. Black rice vinegar is very popular in southern China. Chinkiang vinegar is considered the best of the black rice vinegars. Normally black rice vinegar is made with glutinous or sweet rice, although millet or sorghum may be used instead. It is dark in colour, and has a deep, almost smoky flavour. Thus, it may be used as a substitute for balsamic vinegar. Red rice vinegar is darker than white rice vinegar, and paler than black rice vinegar, but has a distinctive flavour of its own.