What Mirin Is and How Cooks Use It

Mirin is a sweet rice wine used in Japanese cooking. Cooks use it to add richness and complexity to stocks, stews, marinades, and sauces. It also gives a glossy sheen to glazed dishes like teriyaki.

According to Bon Appetit, Sonoko Sakai, the author of Japanese Home Cooking, prefers the term koku to describe the flavor of mirin.

Traditional hon mirin is made from glutinous rice, koji, and shochu. It has an alcohol content (ABV) of around 14%. Hon mirin is often pricey and hard to find in the US.

Aji-mirin is a different style that is typically made with glucose or corn syrup, water, rice, salt, and alcohol. Kikkoman's aji-mirin contains about 8% alcohol. Some mirin-style products are salted and may not be alcohol-free.

If you do not have mirin, a simple vinegar and sugar mix is not a good swap. Hiroko Shimbo, Sakai, and J. Kenji Lopez-Alt agree that rice vinegar mixed with sugar would be too acidic to replace mirin.

Lopez-Alt generally combines two parts sake with one part sugar by volume as a mirin substitute. Shimbo prefers brown rice syrup as the sweetener in a mirin substitute.

To keep mirin fresh, store it tightly sealed in a cool, dark place.