When a recipe calls for mirin, the Japanese sweet rice wine, you need a combination of acidic and sweet flavors. If you don't cook Asian food frequently at home, you probably don't have mirin on hand. Despite their similar names, they have many differences. Rice wine vinegar has a similar taste as Mirin, but any white wine vinegar will work. 2. When I can’t find mirin that is not designated as “cooking” mirin, I use the sake-sugar substitute. White wine vinegar or rice vinegar + sugar. Mirin is actually a type of rice wine, which is where it differs from rice vinegar. Rice Wine vinegar VS Mirin. Related recipes. It has a stronger taste, and is widely used in Japan to make sushi rice. The best mirin substitutes have both acidic and sweet properties, and they include: sweet Marsala wine; dry white wine; dry sherry; rice wine vinegar; These won't be quite as sweet, so try adding 1/2 teaspoon of sugar per tablespoon of the substitute. This vinegar is the darkest of all the three varieties, and is noted for its distinctive smoky flavor. No problem. Yet, you may still wonder … Both are very acidic, so you’ll need to account for the sweetness of the mirin by adding 1/2 teaspoon of sugar per tablespoon of vinegar. A. In a pinch, substitute vermouth, dry sherry, or marsala wine for mirin. Don’t have sherry? Rice wine and rice vinegar are popular ingredients in Asian cooking. Rice Wine Vinegar Substitutes Apart from these, another popular rice vinegar is the seasoned rice wine vinegar, which is made from sake, sugar, salt, and sometimes mirin. Although it sometimes gets confused with rice wine vinegar, mirin actually is a sweet rice wine used in Japanese cooking. You can always buy mirin online, but if you're really in a crunch, you can sub in a dry sherry or a sweet marsala wine. Ready to get cooking? However, these mirin substitute options will lack that pleasurable umami taste. If you would prefer using a non-alcoholic substitute, you can use vinegar. Or if you're a person who happens to have rice wine vinegar on hand, add some sugar (about 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar to 1 tablespoon sugar), and then replace one for one in a recipe. Since red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar often have mustier, sharper flavor (think of old red wine, Smith says), they may be too intense to swap in for more-subdued rice wine vinegar. Add between 1 and 2 tablespoons of sugar to 1/2 cup of white wine, vermouth, or dry sherry to replace 1/2 cup of mirin. It doesn’t just flavor food. The next best mirin substitute is white wine vinegar or rice vinegar. You could also mix 1/2 teaspoon sugar into one tablespoon of rice wine vinegar to mimic mirin's flavor. It has a bit of alcohol in it, which makes it similar to sake, the traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage. Use one tablespoon vinegar and a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar for every one tablespoon of Mirin in the recipe. 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