Mirin

Mirin is a sweet Japanese cooking wine made from glutinous rice, koji and distilled spirit. It tastes like a light syrup with a gentle rice-wine depth and it does three jobs at once: sweetens, adds shine to glazes, and keeps fish and meat firm while it simmers. You meet it in teriyaki, sukiyaki, nikujaga, tamagoyaki and most Japanese simmering liquids (soy sauce, mirin and dashi is the base ratio). There are two very different products under the name: hon-mirin (true mirin, about 14% alcohol, naturally sweet) and mirin-style seasoning (aji-mirin), which is mostly corn syrup, water and a little alcohol with added salt.

How to buy

Read the label: "hon mirin" or an alcohol content of 12–14% means the real thing; "mirin-style", "aji-mirin" or "sweet cooking seasoning" with less than 1% alcohol is the imitation, which is fine for glazes but sweeter and flatter. Takara Hon Mirin is the easiest genuine brand to find in US supermarkets and Japanese grocers like Mitsuwa or Nijiya; Kikkoman Aji-Mirin is the common substitute-grade bottle in the Asian aisle. Hon-mirin is sold as alcohol in some states, so it may be in the wine section rather than with condiments.

How to store

Hon-mirin keeps in a cool, dark cupboard for about a year after opening; refrigeration makes the sugars crystallize, so leave it out. Mirin-style seasoning has little alcohol to protect it and should go in the fridge after opening, where it lasts 3–6 months. Either kind is past its best when it darkens noticeably or smells sour rather than sweet.

Substitutes

• Sake plus sugar: 1 tablespoon sake + 1 teaspoon sugar per tablespoon mirin — closest in flavor, slightly less glossy.
• Dry sherry or white wine plus sugar, same ratio — a touch fruitier and sharper.
• Rice vinegar plus sugar (1 tablespoon vinegar + 1 tablespoon sugar) — brings sweetness and brightness, loses the wine roundness.
• Honey or maple syrup diluted 1:1 with water — sweet and glossy, but no umami.

How to use

Add mirin early in simmered dishes so the alcohol cooks off and the sugars penetrate; for a teriyaki glaze, boil equal parts soy sauce, mirin and sake with a little sugar until it coats a spoon. Use it in place of some or all of the sugar in a recipe, about 1 tablespoon mirin per teaspoon of sugar. If you swap hon-mirin for mirin-style seasoning, reduce any salt in the recipe slightly, since the imitation already contains it.