You can always buy mirin online, but if you're really in a crunch, you can sub in a dry sherry or a sweet marsala wine. However, these mirin substitute options will lack that pleasurable umami taste. This vinegar is the darkest of all the three varieties, and is noted for its distinctive smoky flavor. Since red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar often have mustier, sharper flavor (think of old red wine, Smith says), they may be too intense to swap in for more-subdued rice wine vinegar. Rice wine vinegar has a similar taste as Mirin, but any white wine vinegar will work. In a pinch, substitute vermouth, dry sherry, or marsala wine for mirin. Although it sometimes gets confused with rice wine vinegar, mirin actually is a sweet rice wine used in Japanese cooking. Don’t have sherry? It doesn’t just flavor food. The best mirin substitutes have both acidic and sweet properties, and they include: sweet Marsala wine; dry white wine; dry sherry; rice wine vinegar; These won't be quite as sweet, so try adding 1/2 teaspoon of sugar per tablespoon of the substitute. After treating yourself to a drink, use an equal amount of vermouth, dry sherry, or marsala wine in place of mirin. Ready to get cooking? Rice wine and rice vinegar are popular ingredients in Asian cooking. White wine vinegar or rice vinegar + sugar. Or if you're a person who happens to have rice wine vinegar on hand, add some sugar (about 1/2 teaspoon of vinegar to 1 tablespoon sugar), and then replace one for one in a recipe. 2. Related recipes. If you would prefer using a non-alcoholic substitute, you can use vinegar. However, mirin contains much less alcohol and more sugar content. A. Rice Wine vinegar VS Mirin. Rice Wine Vinegar Substitutes You could also mix 1/2 teaspoon sugar into one tablespoon of rice wine vinegar to mimic mirin's flavor. Apart from these, another popular rice vinegar is the seasoned rice wine vinegar, which is made from sake, sugar, salt, and sometimes mirin. No problem. If you don't cook Asian food frequently at home, you probably don't have mirin on hand. Well, they don’t taste remotely the same … so you *can* substitute the one for the other, but the result in the finished recipe will be quite different. Yet, you may still wonder … When I can’t find mirin that is not designated as “cooking” mirin, I use the sake-sugar substitute. The next best mirin substitute is white wine vinegar or rice vinegar. Some sake with sugar added to taste will work better than any type of vinegar. Add between 1 and 2 tablespoons of sugar to 1/2 cup of white wine, vermouth, or dry sherry to replace 1/2 cup of mirin. Despite their similar names, they have many differences. 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