mirin
Sweet Japanese rice wine for cooking that gives sauces and glazes a mild sweetness and shine.
Mirin is a sweet, alcoholic seasoning wine made from glutinous rice and, along with soy sauce and sake, one of the basics of Japanese cooking. It is sold in Asian grocery shops, and well-stocked supermarkets carry it in the Asian aisle. True mirin (hon-mirin) has around 14 percent alcohol, while the cheaper mirin-style seasonings (aji-mirin) contain little alcohol and often added sugar or glucose syrup, but are generally usable as well.
Substitute:
Sake or dry sherry with some sugar, about one teaspoon per tablespoon, comes close; sweetness and shine are roughly right, but the rounded, slightly malty depth of mirin is missing.
Used in
Buri no TeriyakiPan-fried yellowtail glazed in soy sauce, mirin and ginger30 minButadonGlazed pork over hot rice, on the table in half an hour30 minChawanmushiSteamed savoury egg custard with chicken, shrimp and shiitake40 minDorayakiTwo soft little pancakes with sweet red bean paste in between90 minGyudonThinly sliced beef and onion simmered in a sweet-salty broth over warm rice30 minKinpira GobōBurdock root and carrot in soy sauce and mirin, finished with toasted sesame30 minMame GohanJapanese short-grain rice steamed with fresh green peas, sake and kombu70 minNegima-NabeTuna, thick Japanese leeks and tofu simmered in seasoned dashi30 minNikujagaJapanese simmered beef, potatoes and shirataki in a sweet soy broth45 minOyakodonChicken and softly set egg over hot rice, on the table in 25 minutes25 minSake no TeriyakiSalmon in a glossy teriyaki glaze of soy sauce, honey, ginger and garlic30 minShōyu RamenClear soy sauce broth, pork belly marinated in the seasoning broth, egg and nori3,5 hTakikomi GohanOne-pot rice with beef, garlic and butter, finished with fresh shiso70 minTeriyaki no TareJapanese teriyaki sauce from soy sauce, mirin and sake — ready in fifteen minutes15 minTori No TeriyakiChicken in a glossy soy-mirin glaze, finished with sesame and spring onion35 minTsukuneJuicy chicken meatballs under a glossy coat of reduced tare45 minYakisobaStir-fried wheat noodles with chicken, plenty of vegetables and soy-mirin seasoning30 min