is white rice vinegar.  In Chinese cooking, vinegar, like soy sauce, is considered a staple and an important source of one essential flavor of the balanced "Principle of Five Flavors"- sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and hot/spicy. The five flavors are believed important in maintaining balance and health, and ingredients like vinegar which provide the flavor “sour,” aid in breaking down fats and calcium in the diet, as well as preserving foods.  Mild in taste and lower in acidity than western vinegar,  white rice vinegar is used for dressings, pickling, and in fish dishes.  Various other types of vinegar such as red, black, and brown rice vinegar which are featured in specific recipes are used extensively in many traditional Chinese dishes.