Japanese Cooking: Mirin and Sake?

Question

I love Japanese food and try to buy the proper ingredients for every dish. A lot of the recipes I have call for mirin, sake and sugar. However I am having trouble finding a place to purchase good sake.

My question is, would I throw the taste of dishes completely off if I used extra mirin for the lack of sake?... And possibly less sugar since mirin is 40-50% sugar.

Answer 1

If you can find mirin, you should be able to find cooking sake at the same shop too as along with soy sauce and dashi, are essential Japanese cooking ingredients.



In the event that you are unable to find cooking sake, it can be replaced with a normal drinking sake. However, you have to make sure that you get a very dry sake if you use it for cooking.



As a last resort, you can use other alcoholic drinks. Dry sherry is a good option as is dry Vermouth. As a very last resort, you could dry a dry white wine.



I would recommend that you try and find some cooking sake if you cook Japanese food on a regular basis. There are many online shops, including Amazon that sell cooking sake online. Otherwise, try one of the substitutes and see how it tastes.



Hope this helps.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.



RE:

Japanese Cooking: Mirin and Sake?

I love Japanese food and try to buy the proper ingredients for every dish. A lot of the recipes I have call for mirin, sake and sugar. However I am having trouble finding a place to purchase good sake.



My question is, would I throw the taste of dishes completely off if I used extra mirin for...

Answer 3

I've had a similar dilemma when making Japanese food, and I figured that since all that was missing, really, was the extra alcohol, I tossed in a splash of vodka!! I'll probably get boo-ed off the cooking section for saying that, but I didn't want it to be too sweet from the extra mirin! lol. Despite what so many tv chefs say about cooking wine, I really don't think the Japanese are using the best sake for cooking--just as I doubt the French grandmas are using a Grand Cru Bordeaux to make their Coq au Vin. The best sake in Japan is served cold--and is never warmed for drinking, even in the winter.

Answer 4

Most Japanese dishes don't have to have Sake. You can use any Sake, I don't know of any bad Sake available out there. There are a lot of bad wine out there but I don't think you can buy a bad Sake. It is said use wine or alcohol with the dishes you are making that you wouldn't mind drinking. So, just get a good white wine if you can't find Sake - Sake has about 17% alcohol.

I don't know where you live but, if you have a big Asian grocery or a Bev Mo, you can get a small bottle of Sake - else, you might get a big bottle at most grocery store like Save Mart or Safeway (California).

You don't need to add extra Mirin in place of Sake in your recipe - I don't with my Sukiyaki. Although I have to have Sake in my Kamameshi when I make them.

If you can get some DASHI (for soup stock - in dried form), it will give your dish more of a Japanese essence - if you haven't tried it yet.

Answer 5

They are all very important in Japanese cooking. Mirin is a sweet cooking wine and has a different flavour to regular cooking sake. You should be able to find both of them in the Asian section of any large supermarket or an Asian Supermarket.



Essential Japanese Cooking Ingredients

http://japan-australia.blogspot.com/2010/03/basic-japanese-cooking-pantry.html

Answer 6

Cooking Sake

Answer 7

I know that in my area, there are Asian markets where finding mirin would be easy. You might ask employees there where to find sake. Some of the Asian markets around here have asked local liquor stores to carry sake for them. If you can't find it at your local liquor store, you might ask if they could special order it for you.