Sake and mirin are Japanese cuisine ingredients, and their starting ingredient is rice. However, sake, a very popular alcoholic drink that is paired with all kinds of food, should not be confused with mirin, a condiment that can have a higher or lower alcohol content and is used to prepare a large number of dishes. We’re going into the Japanese pantry to dispel any doubts about what differentiates sake from mirin.
What is sake
Sake is probably the most well-known of the Japanese alcoholic beverages on an international level. Contrary to what is often thought – perhaps because it is sometimes served in small containers that could be associated with what in other drinks is shot – sake is not a spirit or a wine. It is a fermented drink made using rice, which is accompanied by the koji fungus as an activator of the fermentation process since the grain itself does not ferment.
What is mirin
Mirin is a very popular condiment used in Japanese cuisine, obtained by fermenting glutinous rice inoculated with koji fungus. It is a sweetener that provides a sweet taste and is obtained by mixing fermented rice with shochu —the rice distillate that is also used as a drink. With a bright, amber appearance, it contains alcohol in small quantities, so it must always be cooked before being used.
What is the difference between mirin and sake?
As they are two different products, there are differences between mirin and sake that give each of them its own characteristics. These include the way in which they are made, the types or varieties that exist of each of them, their flavour, their alcohol content, and their possible applications in cooking.
Brewing method, how are sake and mirin made?
Mirin is a condiment made by mixing cooked glutinous rice and koji fungus, which is then fermented, with shochu, a distilled alcoholic beverage that can also be based on rice, but is also made using other cereals and some tubers. The resulting mixture is left to rest, that is, it is aged for a period of time – normally a few months – so that all its sweet nuances come out as a natural part of the process. The result is pressed and filtered, obtaining mirin.
On the other hand, sake is an alcoholic beverage that results from the fermentation of rice, which, as already mentioned, requires the presence of the koji fungus for fermentation. In this case, only the core of the rice grain is used, that is, its inner part, obtained after polishing and discarding the outer layers, and which binds the starch present in this cereal. It is the koji fungus that converts the sugars of this starch that can ferment and become alcohol.
Types of sake and mirin
There are different types of sake, categorized into two large groups. The first group includes those considered Premium, which are made without added sugars, preservatives, colorants, and acidulants.
Within these, there are different subcategories, depending on two factors. First, whether they contain added alcohol (known as Junmai sakes) or not (known as Non-Junmai sakes ) and, secondly, no less important, the level of polishing to which the rice grains are subjected.
From lowest to highest quality, the combination of both parameters gives us sakes with a polishing content of 70% or more, which without added alcohol are known as Junmai and with added alcohol, as Honjozo. If the polishing is done using a special technique or method or a special variety of rice, the sake to which no alcohol is added is called Tokubetsu Junmai and, if it is added, Tokubetsu Honjozo.
One step higher, with a polishing of 60% or more, are sake without added alcohol, Junmai Ginjo, and sake with added alcohol, Ginjo. And at the top of the quality pyramid, without added alcohol, with a polishing of 50% or more, is sake Junmai Dai-Ginjo, and, with alcohol, sake Dai-Ginjo.
In addition, there is a second category or type, called Futsushu, which includes all sakes considered “ordinary” or of lower quality, which can be made by adding preservatives, acidulants, and sugars… and that do not meet the rice grain polishing levels included in the Premium category.
There are two very different types of mirin. On the one hand, there is hon-mirin, a traditional, natural product that contains 14% alcohol, and shio-mirin, which contains 1.5% alcohol. On the other hand, there is shin-mirin, which is a synthetic concentrate that contains a very low amount of alcohol, with a 1% alcohol content that imitates traditional mirin without its alcohol content.
Alcohol content
Generally speaking, sake has an average alcohol content of 15%, which means that the proportion of alcohol is considerably higher than that of fermented beverages, but much lower than that of distilled beverages. The maximum alcohol content of sake is around nineteen degrees. Depending on whether or not alcohol has been added to the sake, the range of possibilities includes one or another amount, and there are also sakes with a low alcohol content of less than ten degrees.
As already mentioned, mirin has two opposite poles of alcohol content. If it is a synthetic product, shin-mirin, the figure will be 1%, while in hon-mirin made using an artisanal process for its preparation, this percentage rises to 14% and in the case of shio-mirin, it is only 1.5%.
Flavor
While mirin is characterized by a sweet, deep flavor that can vary depending on the recipe followed, but is recognizable, it is impossible to say that sake has a single flavor. It would be like assuming that all white wine, for example, or all beer, to take well-known examples, taste the same. In the same way as its aromatic profile, the flavor of sake can be more or less sweet, more or less alcoholic, more or less dry… and its intensity varies depending on all the characteristics that have defined its production process, the level of polishing of the rice, whether or not alcohol is added, in the case of Premium sakes, or other ingredients, in the case of Futsushu sakes.
Culinary uses
Sake has one main use: it is a drink that can be paired with all kinds of dishes, and its wide range of varieties can be combined with all kinds of snacks, a bit like we would do with wine in Spain. As a result, there are different tools for tasting it: the type of sake depends on the bowl, glass, cup, etc. In addition, it is used as an ingredient in cocktail recipes, when it is part of a drink in which it is mixed with other drinks.
Mirin is a key ingredient in the preparation of many of the sauces that make up Japanese cuisine, but it is never used raw, given its alcohol content. Used as an ingredient, it adds sweetness and generates deeper flavours. It is normal to find mirin in recipes for sauces as well-known as teriyaki or yakitori, but also as a marinade for meat and fish recipes, in egg dishes or with some types of broth, such as donburi. Although it is a condiment, its role is decisive when it comes to adding sweetness to many preparations and it has a great presence in Japanese cuisine.
Can mirin be substituted for sake?
To answer the question… yes, you can substitute mirin (a condiment) for sake (a drink), as it would work as a replacement ingredient, for example, to make a sauce. But… if you decide to do so, you have to consider that mirin is much sweeter than sake and that the latter has a higher alcohol content than the former. That is, using it as a substitute would mean balancing its flavor by sweetening it with, for example, honey or sugar to balance its acidity.
Mirin and sake substitutes
Imagine you find a Japanese recipe that you want to cook at home and you have all the ingredients you need to make it… but you’re missing Mirin! It’s time to look in the cupboard and see what you can use instead to cook that dish. Good ideas are sake, as answered in the previous question, but it could also be a white wine mixed in three parts to one part sugar. Rice vinegar, vermouth, sweet wine or chamomile can also be good options, mixed with less than half a teaspoon of sugar to balance them out.
If sake is used as part of a recipe, it is then cooking sake, called Ryori shu (a condiment containing salt). The best possible substitutes, if you don’t have sake at home, would be a dry sherry, rice vinegar diluted with water, a white wine or Chinese Shaoxing wine, which is also made from fermented rice.