The Substitute for Sake In Cooking
If you are looking for a sake cooking substitute, you can pick either dry sherry, cooking sherry, or rice wine for cooking instead. All of these substitutes are naturally fragrant and sweet. While you may not get the same results, these substitutes will work. If you don’t want to use a substitute that is also the wine, you can use rice wine vinegar instead and use a fruit juice like grape juice to add sweetness to the dish. Add the juice at a ratio of 1:3, and you should be able to get good results. For every one tablespoon of rice wine vinegar that you use, add three tablespoons of grape juice or any other fresh fruit juice available. Keep in mind that the unique flavor of the juice you will be using will affect the food, so prepare to make adjustments. In the end, sake is sake, and the flavor profiles will be different.
Can Mirin Be Used Instead of Sake?
Yes, mirin can be used to flavor a dish instead of sake. Mirin has a much stronger flavor profile than sake, but it works just as well. In the absence of mirin, you can also use sake as a substitute for the former. You can use dry sherry or even Shaoxing wine. Shaoxing wine is very popular, and you should find it in your local supermarket or Asian convenience store. Just remember that when you are cooking with any wine, you need to burn off the alcohol because you are only interested in the flavors left over after the alcohol has dissipated.
