Fans of Japanese cooking do not just love to eat its dishes, they often cook them themselves, trying to strictly observe the composition and rules of cooking or, on the contrary, to bring their vision into the recipe. Fortunately, now it’s not difficult to buy any components of the same sushi. However, those who have just ventured to reproduce their favorite dish for the first time, sometimes find themselves in difficulty due to confusion in terminology or the absence of any components. Most often, the novice cooks “stumble” when they start looking for mirin vinegar. A sake of the same name or a wine with the same name can stand on a shelf, and an amateur chef is tormented by doubts: is this the ingredient he needs?
What it is
To be precise, saying “vinegar mirin” is absolutely wrong. Both for the intended purpose and the method of production, Mirin is nevertheless a wine made most often from rice. Once upon a time it was a lightweight, "ladies'" subspecies of sake. Today, for more than two hundred years, it has not been used as a drink and is a seasoning. The wine still contains a certain percentage of alcohol, but the process of fermentation does not go to a certain strength, but only to the desired level of sweetness. Outwardly, Mirin vinegar looks like golden syrup and is one of the three main components of Japanese cuisine. Along with it are used still dashi (broth from fish) and the well-known soy sauce.
Varieties of Mirin
Three varieties of seasoning are made and used in Japan. Khon Mirin is an old, traditional wine sauce. It is strong enough, in principle, can be used as an alcoholic drink (although it would never occur to the Japanese). The next subspecies is sio mirin. This is a salty wine, practically free of alcohol. The taste is significantly different from the first, because it really contains salt. The new subspecies is syn mirin. We can say that it is generally non-alcoholic, 1% is not a fortress. But his taste is identical to that of classical vinegar Mirin.
What is this seasoning for?
Without it, it is practically impossible to cook anything that tastes typical of the cuisine of the Land of the Rising Sun. Mirin sauce (vinegar) is involved in almost all traditional Japanese dishes. Fish and meat are cooked with it, it is added to soups. Fruit purees also contain a few drops of cooked wine. This sauce is also used to give desserts a shiny surface. Of course, the most famous direction in which Mirin rice sauce is used is for sushi and rolls. At the same time, few people know that some varieties of tofu also can not do without it. The famous teriyaki sauce is almost half composed of mirin: it and soy sauce are taken in equal amounts and are supplemented with ginger and sugar.
What to do if there is no mirin
With all the wealth of Japanese ingredients on the shelves of supermarkets, it is not always possible to find the necessary. And how to replace mirin in this case? Most people believe that wine vinegar can be diluted with water , and the dish will not lose anything in taste. This is mistake! The people confuse mirin (sweet wine) with mitsukan - sour rice vinegar. Of course, ordinary vinegar will not give the finished dish the necessary sweet touch. More experienced chefs, sushi fans, advise to take dry white sherry in the absence of mirin. Given that the strength of the wine is significantly higher than that of Mirin, it needs to be taken in smaller quantities. If you don’t really like the taste of sherry (for example, it seems too sweet or tart), you can dilute it with a few drops of vinegar. But this must be done carefully so as not to overdo it with sourness.
In general, do not be discouraged if a component is missing. You can experiment and come up with your own substitute.