WHY YOU NEED MIRIN FOR TERIYAKI SAUCE
Besides soy sauce and sugar, one important ingredient that gives teriyaki sauce its deep, rich flavor is mirin. Mirin is a Japanese rice-based cooking wine that has a lower alcohol content than sake and is usually lightly sweetened. It gives teriyaki sauces that characteristic rich umami flavor. I see many teriyaki sauce recipes online that omit mirin, and I can’t help but be skeptical of them. Without mirin, all you really have is sweetened soy sauce. You can usually find mirin in the Asian section of your grocery store or at your local Asian supermarket. One thing to note, you might find bottles of “aji-mirin” at your local store. Aji mirin translates to “mirin-flavored.” They taste just like mirin but contains slightly more sugar. It works just fine for this recipe. Some teriyaki sauce recipes call for equal parts of soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Because I don’t typically keep sake around the house, I use water for the recipe instead. I think the sauce still has great flavor without the sake. For more information about mirin and its various types, check out my mirin post here.
RECIPES USING TERIYAKI SAUCE
Pan-Fried Teriyaki TofuTeriyaki Tofu Spring Rolls with TofuHomemade Noodles with Spicy Peanut SauceTeriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps
