Seasoned rice vinegar or awasezu (合わせ酢) is a condiment

Condiment

A condiment is an edible substance, such as sauce or seasoning, added to food to impart a particular flavor, enhance its flavor, or in some cultures, to complement the dish. Many condiments are available packaged in single-serving sachets , like mustard or ketchup, particularly when supplied with...

 made of sake, sugar

Sugar

Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...

 and salt

Salt

In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...

. Besides these three necessary ingredients, mirin

Mirin

is an essential condiment used in Japanese cuisine, consisting of 40%–50% sugar. It is a kind of rice wine similar to sake, but with a lower alcohol content—14% instead of 20%. There are three general types. The first is hon mirin , which contains alcohol. The second is shio mirin, which contains...

 is also sometimes used (but only rarely). Although it can be made at home, prepared awasezu can also be readily bought at supermarkets. Seasoned rice vinegar is added to cooked rice (ご飯  gohan) to be used in making sushi

Sushi

is a Japanese food consisting of cooked vinegared rice combined with other ingredients . Neta and forms of sushi presentation vary, but the ingredient which all sushi have in common is shari...

. It is also used in salad dressing varieties popular in the west, such as ginger or sesame dressing

Ginger dressing

Ginger dressing is an Asian style salad dressing. It is made with seasoned rice vinegar, minced garlic, ginger, olive oil, chili sauce, scallions, sesame seeds, soy sauce, peppers, honey or corn syrup, and water...

.