Looking for a seasoning sake to help boost your everyday cooking? Mirin is the key to taking your regular marinades, soups, sauces and rice dishes to the next level. As a sweet seasoning sake, this ancient Japanese culinary seasoning mirin makes the perfect secret ingredient in just about any recipe. What makes mirin such an essential ingredient for cooking is the unique combination of its synergetic effects in cooking and three key components: alcohol, amino acids (umami), and sugar.
One of the most unique characters of mirin is umami. Umami is the fifth basic taste alongside sweet, sour, salty and bitter. It was named umami meaning “savoriness” in Japanese. The delicious “savoriness” is produced by several amino acids and experienced in many flavorful foods such as seaweed, parmesan cheese, anchovy, and shiitake mushroom.
Takara Mirin is made with premium sake, rich in natural amino acids, containing alcohol and additional natural sweetness.
Below, you’ll discover the details of what mirin is, how to use mirin in your cooking, some specific mirin recipes and where to get the highest quality mirin.
What Is Mirin?
Mirin is a syrup-like liquid that can serve as a seasoning or glazing ingredient to enhance numerous types of food. Also referred to as sweet Japanese rice wine, mirin is a type of rice wine that shares many similarities with sake but has a higher sugar content and lower alcohol content. Mirin’s lower alcohol content makes it a versatile ingredient because its alcohol burns off more quickly during the cooking process.
The sweet flavor of mirin makes it a great condiment to use with saltier ingredients, such as miso or soy sauce, because it provides a pleasant contrast. In general, mirin is a seasoning sake that adds a mild sweetness to dishes and helps flavors be better absorbed. Mirin also helps tenderize meat and mask any particularly strong fishy or gamey tastes.
While regular sake offers many of the same benefits, its higher alcohol content gives it a slightly stronger flavor. To offset its powerful taste, sake is usually added earlier in the cooking process than mirin, which allows extra time for some of the sake’s alcohol to evaporate. You can add mirin in toward the end of the cooking process as a glazing agent for the dish or use it untreated in a recipe.
If you want to cook a dish with mirin but don’t have any mirin on hand, you can use a substitute of regular sake mixed with sugar. The ratio of sake to sugar should be about three parts sake to one part sugar. Although the result won’t taste exactly the same as mirin, the sugar will balance out the more potent taste of sake to create a more mirin-like condiment.
What Can You Cook With Sake?
If you’re wondering what to cook with sake or mirin, you’re in luck — you can cook just about anything with these flavor-packed condiments. Whether you’re searching for traditional Japanese sake recipes or looking for more innovative ways to use mirin, you’ll find a myriad of ways to get creative in the kitchen with these seasonings.
To get started on your next mirin culinary adventure, consider using the condiment in one of the following ways:
- Make mirin marinades and brines: Incorporating a splash of mirin when crafting a marinade will balance out the taste of other common marinade ingredients, such as garlic and ginger, and make the meat more tender. You can use a mirin marinade or brine to coat anything from pork or poultry to beef or fish. Specifically, cooking chicken with mirin or sake gives it a delightful pop of flavor while tenderizing the meat to make it mouthwateringly delicious.
- Create a mirin and sake sauce: Serving your main dish alongside a mirin sauce will take the meal’s flavors over the top. Most notably, mirin is excellent when used in a teriyaki sauce. Whipping up a sauce that includes both mirin and traditional sake will intensify the other sauce ingredients’ flavors, resulting in a stunning sauce to pair with your entree. Your new signature sauce will go best with grilled meats and fish or even used as a glaze for baked dishes.
- Stir mirin into soups and stews: You can easily elevate the flavor profile of any soup or stew by pouring in a bit of mirin. Adding one tablespoon of mirin per one cup of chicken broth, beef broth, fish broth or even vegetable broth will give the broth a rich, more complex taste without overshadowing the broth’s natural flavors.
- Steam and stir-fry with mirin: Next time you’re transforming leftovers into a magnificent stir-fry, add a dash of mirin. Including mirin in your stir-fry will give it a more vibrant flavor while balancing out the bolder tastes of other common stir-fry ingredients like soy sauce and garlic. You can also steam your stir-fry ingredients with mirin seasoning sake beforehand to give them an even more profound taste. Use half water and half mirin to steam food like meats, shellfish, vegetables and rice to infuse them with a more distinct savory flavor.
Top Cooking Recipes With Mirin
When it comes to sake cooking wine recipes, the options are endless. If you’re looking for more specific ways to incorporate mirin or sake into your meals, check out these five popular mirin and sake recipes:
- Easy teriyaki glaze: If you want to make an unforgettable teriyaki sauce, this easy teriyaki glaze recipe is for you. All you need is a bit of mirin, sake, soy sauce and sugar, and you’ve got the makings of a delicious teriyaki glaze. Once you mix this simple glaze together, you can use it to enhance everything from grilled meats to sushi.
- Roasted teriyaki salmon: Once you’ve mastered the art of making teriyaki glaze, you can expand your cooking skillset to include roasted teriyaki salmon. Pairing your teriyaki glaze with roasted salmon greatly complements the rich flavors of the oily fish. All you have to do is coat the salmon in your teriyaki glaze and put it in the oven to make a professional-level filet entree.
- Scallops with citrus sauce: Another mouthwatering mirin seafood recipe, these scallops with citrus sauce combine the sweetness of mirin with the tart flavors of fresh orange and lemon juices to create a burst of well-balanced flavor. A hint of saltiness from soy sauce completes this seafood feast.
- Zesty mirin barbecue sauce: Take your usual backyard barbecue up a notch with this zesty mirin barbecue sauce. The mix of sweet mirin and molasses with spicy ginger and smoked paprika makes the perfect condiment for anything grilled. Enjoy this smoky and slightly sweet sauce as a marinade for meats or simply as a dipping sauce.
- Mustard onion sauce with pan roast beef: It’s hard to think of a better match for mirin and sake than roast beef. Layering the sweet flavors of mirin with the savory taste of sake results in a rich roast with deep, complex flavors. This mustard onion sauce with pan roast beef dish relies on mirin and sake to mellow out the strong taste of whole-grain mustard. One bite, and it’s sure to become your new go-to roast recipe.
What Is the Best Mirin Brand for Cooking?
If you’re ready to start cooking with mirin, you’ll want the best brand. When you purchase Takara Mirin, you can be confident you’re getting a top-quality rice wine. Takara Mirin is brewed with premium Junmai sake and does not include any high fructose corn syrup. You can use Takara Mirin in your dishes to enhance the natural flavors and richness of food and create gourmet meals.
Browse our range of products, from flavorful mirin to sake, today.
