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Don’t have mirin, or realized you’re all out while you’re cooking? Here’s the best mirin substitute to use in recipes of all kinds.

Mirin substitute
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Making a recipe that calls for mirin and don’t have it? Don’t worry, there are few options that are perfectly suited as a substitution. This ingredients has a unique flavor and essence: but you can get away with a few tricks if you don’t have time to go to the store. First: what is mirin?

Mirin is a type of Japanese rice wine that’s used in Japanese and Asian cuisine. It brings a subtly sweet complexity that is hard to replicate. You should be able to find it in your local grocery next to the Japanese products. Look near the soy sauce! Don’t have time to shop for it? Here are some substitute ideas.

Best mirin substitute

1. Dry sherry or sweet marsala wine.

The best substitute for mirin? A dry sherry or sweet marsala wine! While these wines are used in French and Mediterranean style cuisines and not Asian, their subtly sweet flavor can replicate that of mirin. Because you might not have these stocked in your pantry, keep reading for a more common substitution.

2. White wine vinegar or rice vinegar + sugar.

Don’t have sherry? No problem. The next best mirin substitute is white wine vinegar or rice vinegar. Both are very acidic, so you’ll need to account for the sweetness of the mirin by adding ½ teaspoon of sugar per tablespoon of vinegar.

Related recipes

Ready to get cooking? Here are some recipes where you could use this mirin substitute:

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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